Pet Insurance FAQs

The portion of vet bills covered by your policy depends on the plan you choose.

With our Platinum Accident and Illness Cover, you’ll get back up to 80% of eligible vet bills. Gold Accident and Illness Cover will cover up to 75% of eligible vet bills. Our Bronze Accident and Illness Cover covers up to 60% of eligible vet bills.

All policies have a maximum annual limit of $12,000 a year. With our Bronze Accident and Illness Cover, there is a $2,000 annual limit for each separate condition your pet is treated for.

The minimum age to apply for Guardian Pet Insurance is 8 weeks. With our Platinum and Gold Cover policies, you can insure pets up to 9 years of age. With our Bronze Cover, you can insure pets up to the age of 16.

No, Guardian Pet Insurance policies pay a percentage of up to 80% (depending on the cover selected) toward eligible vet bills and have no additional excess when making a claim.

Hereditary and congenital conditions will be eligible for cover if your pet has not shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality at any time before the first policy period or during any applicable waiting period.

Your policy begins one minute before midnight on the day that your application is accepted. Be aware that a 30-day waiting period applies for illnesses, and there is a 6-month waiting period for cruciate ligament conditions (this may be waived on application – refer to the Policy Booklet for more information). 

Yes, you can insure multiple different pets under a single Guardian Pet Insurance policy. Any relevant waiting periods, limits, or exclusions will apply to each pet individually.

As with every insurance policy, there are some exclusions you should be aware of with Guardian Pet Insurance. Pre-existing conditions, dental procedures, or fractured teeth are generally not covered. Preventative treatment will only be covered if you have purchased the additional Routine Care Benefit available with Platinum Accident and Illness Cover.

It’s important to read the Policy Booklet for a full list and definition of exclusions.

Yes – as long as we continue to offer the product, you renew your policy with us each year and pay your premiums with no break in cover, we will continue to provide cover for chronic, recurring or lifelong conditions such as cancer or arthritis (subject to the terms and conditions of your policy). Benefits for these conditions, like any other, are subject to the annual policy limits and exclude some pre-existing conditions. For more information please refer to the relevant Policy Booklet.

Guardian Pet Insurance is issued by The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd ABN 78 090 584 473, AFSL 241436.

For new policies, your premium is calculated using a combination of factors about you and your pet. These factors can affect the premium amount up or down depending upon whether we believe it increases or decreases the risk to us, such as the cover you have chosen, the benefit percentage applicable to the cover you have chosen, the species, breed and age of your pet and other factors related to our cost of doing business.

For renewing policies, factors that are taken into consideration for renewal premium calculation include your pet’s age and breed, as well as data relating to the health of pets that are of a similar age and breed. Each year we review premiums based on these factors to ensure we can accommodate the costs of possible treatment up to your annual benefit limit, in the event that your pet becomes injured or ill.

Yes, your premium will increase each year. This is for two main reasons:

1. Just like humans, the older our pets get, the more likely they are to have health hiccups. Cats and dogs age faster than we do, which means that their likely veterinary treatment costs can go up rapidly each year too. As a result, the cost of insuring your pet will also increase as they get older.
2. Advancements in veterinary treatments. The overall cost of medical treatment for pets has increased in recent years due to the increased availability of medical treatments and technology-enabled services and ongoing demand for these services. The treatment options and advancements in technology are providing us with great opportunities to give our pets a great quality of life for longer. While this is great news for the care of our pets, these treatments come at a significant cost. Year on year treatment costs increase, and this is factored into the cost of pet insurance.

Please see ‘How are my premiums calculated' in the relevant Policy Booklet for more information about calculation of premiums.

GapOnly® allows your vet to lodge your claim during your visit, which is assessed in approximately 10 minutes. Once the claim for your insured pet has been processed and a benefit outcome is calculated, you simply pay the gap¹. That’s the difference between the vet’s invoice and your insurance benefit amount, so you don’t need to worry about being out of pocket while your claim is being processed.

Firstly, check that your vet is enabled by visiting gaponly.com.au. If they are, simply let your vet know that you’d like to submit a GapOnly® claim the next time you are there. To minimise delays, it’s best to let your vet know that you intend to make a GapOnly® claim as early as possible so they can prepare your claim ahead of time.

You can request a pre-approval (from any participating vet practice) prior to your pet's treatment, or have your claim processed ahead of picking up your pet from the vet. Pre-approvals can be lodged Monday to Friday 8:00am – 8:00pm, and Saturday 8:00am – 5:00pm AEST (excluding NSW public holidays).

You can contact your current vet and ask if they offer GapOnly®, or simply visit gaponly.com.au.

When GapOnly® isn’t available, an electronic pet insurance claim can either be made online by your treating vet or you can submit the claim yourself via your online pet portal. Claims would then be assessed and paid in the form of reimbursement of any eligible vet bill.

If the claims assessment concludes a $0 benefit, you will need to pay your vet for the full invoice amount. If you’re not totally happy with the outcome of a claim decision, we will do our best to work with you to resolve it. You can get in touch with us by calling one of our trained consultants on 1300 709 560. Alternatively, you can put your concerns in writing:

Guardian Pet Insurance
Locked Bag No. 9021
Castle Hill NSW 1765

Or fax: 1300 738 979
Or email: claimreview@petsure.com.au

Remember to provide us with your name, policy number and full details relating to your concerns. Further detailed information about our complaints process can also be found in your Policy Booklet.

GapOnly® claims are available at participating vets Monday to Friday 8:00am – 8:00pm, and Saturday 8:00am – 5:00pm AEST (excluding NSW public holidays). When GapOnly® isn’t available, your vet may be able to submit an electronic pet insurance claim instead.

A GapOnly® claim made in a vet clinic will take around 10 minutes to process. If the claim is likely to take a little longer, the vet clinic staff will let you know so you can decide whether you’d like to wait or not. If you’re not able to wait, you will be required to pay your vet the full invoice amount so your vet clinic can adjust your GapOnly® claim to a standard electronic claim, and your insurance provider will consider the claim and once approved, reimburse you the calculated benefit of an eligible vet bill.

GapOnly® works in partnership with participating vets, and as long as your vet is GapOnly® enabled, you can use it for all eligible vet fees covered in your policy.

Yes, you can ask your vet to submit a GapOnly® claim so you don’t have to wait for your claim to be processed when you pick up your pet. Simply let your vet know when you drop off your pet that you’d like them to submit a GapOnly® claim for your pet’s treatment and, if available, they can arrange this for you.

A pre-existing condition is:

• A condition that existed or occurred prior to the commencement date of your first policy period or within any applicable waiting period; and
• A condition that you or your vet were aware of, or a reasonable person in your circumstances would have been aware of.

This is irrespective of whether the underlying or causative condition was diagnosed at the time.

Whether it is a pre-existing condition will depend on its nature and experience. If your pet has a temporary condition that has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality in the 18-month period immediately prior to your claim treatment date, it will no longer be excluded from cover as a pre-existing condition. Chronic Conditions and several other specified Conditions cannot fall within this category. For more information please refer to the relevant Policy Booklet.

If your pet has had a temporary condition that was subject to the pre-existing condition exclusion, you can apply to have it reviewed.

Your vet will need to certify and provide veterinary records verifying that the condition remains a temporary condition and has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality for a period of 18 months. The pre-existing condition exclusion(s) will not be deemed to have been lifted unless agreed to by us in writing.

You can download a copy of the Pre-existing Condition Exclusion Review Form here.

If your pet has a chronic condition that existed or occurred before the commencement date of your first policy period or during any applicable waiting period, that condition will always be excluded from your policy.

For more information please refer to the relevant Policy Booklet.

Yes. You can check the Pet Portal for a summary of your coverage or refer to your Policy Booklet and Certificate of Insurance for all your coverage information.

Pre-approvals aren’t mandatory, but can provide you with additional reassurance, if you want to know if an upcoming or specific treatment for your pet will be covered, email us at claimreview@petsure.com.au with the following information:

• Policy number or policy holder and pet name
• Name of the condition being treated and the proposed procedure
• Name of your regular vet and the vet where the procedure will take place
• An itemised estimate of costs relating to the procedure (optional)     

Once we receive this information, you can expect to hear back from us within two business days. 

Note: A pre-approval will not be deemed to be valid unless we have agreed to it in writing. The reimbursed amount may vary from the pre-approval if the treatment provided by your vet differs from the treatment request in the pre-approval.