Cheap Pet Insurance NZ: The Most Affordable Plans Compared

Petcover's alarmingly-named Catastrophe 1 and 2 plans are marketed as low-cost pet insurance plans that will give you only the cover you need when a major illness or injury hits. These plans are not any more affordable than most and they don't really live up to the name, primarily because they both have condition limits for several major treatments including only $500 for skin conditions, $1,500 / $3,000 for cruciate ligament, patella luxation and hip dysplasia and $2,500 / $5,000 for cancer.

Another major downside to these plans (and Petcover more generally) is that your co-payment on claims increases when your pet reaches certain age milestones (these are different for different breeds). That means that your insurance gets less and less valuable, the longer you have it and the more likely you are to use it.

What you might notice however is that these plan only cover accidental injury and illness and have no extra cover meaning that your premiums should be a little smaller as you don't pay for any of the more gimmicky cover options like overseas treatment or emergency boarding. But that's not really the case. Although, there is an optional third party liability add-on for up to $1,000,000 cover but that will increase your premiums too.

Overall these two plans also miss the mark with lower than average policy limits or $5,000 and $10,000, but are still worth considering if you only want accident and illness cover. We'd also consider Petnsur's Rhodium Plan which has a $300 excess and $6,000 policy limit for slightly broader cover and no condition limits though.

The combination of Cove's Major and Minor plans is their aptly named Major + Minor plan. Why it has this name is a bit unclear though because the plan has a lot more in common with the Major Plan than the Minor, accident-only, plan. In many ways, the Even More Major Plan would make more sense.

That's because the Major + Minor Plan covers all the same claims (Accidental injury, illness, hereditary conditions, parasite treatments, emergency boarding) as the Major Plan with the same stand down periods (21 days for illness, 6 months for cruciate ligament and intervertebral disc disease) and condition limits ($1,500 for emergency boarding).

The only real differences between this plan and the Major plan are the potentially higher costs at the vet (a variable excess and 20% co-payment instead of a fixed $1,000 excess and 10% co-payment) and the fact that you can add Dental and Everyday Stuff Cover. Although these have yearly limits of $500 and and $100 per condition respectively as well as a 6 month waiting period for both.

The other major thing is that the policy wording on Cove's insurances states that they may reduce cover for your pet as it gets older, which is certainly a bit worrying even if you can easily switch to a more comprehensive insurance like PD Insurance's Deluxe Plan at any time before your pet turns 9.

All of these extra conditions put Cove's Major + Minor Plan firmly in the top half of our ranking of NZ pet insurances.

Read our full Cove Pet Insurance review.

PetCover has some of the most confusing pet insurance plans in New Zealand. Luckily this one is not so difficult to comprehend but unluckily it is also not a plan we liked very much. 

This comes down to a several of major things, namely that it doesn't cover some of the most common and expensive injuries and illnesses (cruciate ligament, patella luxation, hip dysplasia, skin conditions, cancer, brachycephalic airway obstruction etc.). But also because you start by getting a 20% co-payment after 4 or 8 years depending on the breed of your pet and this increases as they get older. And finally because any condition that your pet may get is not always covered for life - which is part of the reason many people choose pet insurance in the first place.

There are a few parts of the Safety-Net Economy Plan to note (other than the relatively low monthly premiums) and those are the outrageously high $1,000,000 third party liability cover (for dogs), the non-standard cover which includes emergency boarding and repatriation, lost pet, advertising/reward, holiday cancellation and quarantine/loss of documents cover. 

And also the fact that there is no upper age limit, making this plan a bit better for older pets. Still though, a far better plan that's just slightly less gentle on the wallet is the Pet-n-sur Rhodium Plan with a $300 co-payment, $6,000, policy limit and no condition limits.

Petnsur's Silver, Gold and Platinum Plans are structured the same as each other so we'll compare them as one single plan so as not to dominant our site with Petnsur logos. Overall, we rate them as decent pet insurance plans but with several better alternatives.

Perhaps the most attractive thing about these plans is their level of cover. Compared to Petnsur's Rhodium Plan, the Silver, Gold and Platinum Plans cover vaccinations and emergency boarding as well as a number of extras from desexing & microchipping, to lost pet costs, funeral costs, replacement pet costs and even alternative therapies (Petnsur is the only pet insurance with this cover). However, the condition limits for these extras are also very small meaning that they don't actually help that much when it comes to claim time.

Also, depending on the plan you chose and therefore the premiums you'll pay, you'll have a co-payment of 30%, 25% or 20% and a policy limit of $4,000, $6,000 or $9,000 - that's a pretty high co-payment and low policy limit compared to other pet insurance plans with similar coverage in New Zealand.

It should be said that several major treatments like patella & cruciate surgeries as well as cancer also have condition limits as do medical and surgical treatments respectively making this plan somewhat limiting for the biggest potential vet bills. Consider Petnsur's Rhodium Plan for no condition limits or AA Pet Insurance's Accident + Illness Plan for similar cover but even more flexibility around premiums and costs.

The older brother to Tower's Accident Only Plan is their Essential Plan. Your monthly premiums are slightly higher and for this you'll also get illness, emergency boarding, lost pet and holiday cancellation cover plus a policy limit of $7,000 instead of $5,000. So, why do we think it's worse than Tower's accident only plan?

There are several reasons. For one, the condition limits of the Accident Only plan stick around including a $2,000 limit for non-life threatening injuries meaning you'd need at least 4 non-life threatening injuries to be treated in a year to make full use of this plan. This policy also now has a maximum age limit for new pets of 8 years, but this is actually 5 years for select breeds.

The policy also has a dental cover add-on but when you read the fine print you discover that dental treatment has a $350 limit, 20% co-payment and 90 day stand down period. So, a $450 dental bill will cost you $100. Anything more than that and you're on your own. Or, if your pet needs treatment within the first 3 months of your plan starting, then your own your own too.

And this plan's premiums are 1.5x bigger than Tower's Accident Only Plan - for what feels like less than 1.5x the cover.

Still, the Essential Plan covers illnesses so at least there's that. We like most pet insurances better than this one but if you're after a cost-effective alternative then Pet-n-Sur's Rhodium Plan is worth considering with a $300 co-payment, a $6,000 annual limit and no condition limits.

Southern Cross Pet Insurance's Big Stuff Cover Plan is one of the better comprehensive pet insurance policies in New Zealand, especially for big vet bills. It's structured in basically the same was as their The Works Cover, but with a couple of key differences.

The most notable is the removal of all condition limits (except the $1,500 limit for emergency boarding claims). The other big one is that as well as a 20% co-payment, this plan now includes a $1,000 excess per claim. That means that you have to pay for the first $1,000 of each vet bill yourself, essentially making this plan only suitable for mid-size and major vet bills. Your monthly premiums are also reduced to reflect this cost which also makes the plan somewhat more affordable (average $57.56 vs $95.00 for The Works Cover)

Still, with a $25,000 policy limit for all injury, illness, parasite, overseas treatments (in Australia and Norfolk Island) and even pre-existing conditions (when waived with a vet's note) this policy is suitable for owners who want to ensure a comprehensive and high level of cover should any bigger vet bills arise.

The Big Stuff Cover Plan doesn't get a higher rating from us because it excludes dental, third party liability and routine care among other things. And because of the deductible and co-payment this policy won't help that much with your smaller vet bills. A better option is Cove's Major Plan which covers the same conditions (except overseas treatments) but only has a 10% co-payment and $1,000 excess plus up to 20% in discounts when you take out multiple policies and pay annually.

Southern Cross's most comprehensive pet insurance policy is their PetCare Plan. It covers both accidental injury and illness and includes cover for hereditary conditions. There is, however, no cover for consultation fees, routine care, alternative treatments, or dental cover, but you can add all of these as add-ons to your policy.

This may seem less desirable than having a full coverage plan but ultimately it gives you the flexibility to choose the cover that you want. Additionally, you can set your own policy limit of either $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 - which is pretty unique and much appreciated if you want to save on monthly premiums by covering only smaller vet bills.

Like Southern Cross's accident-only AcciPet Plan, their PetCare Plan also has a flexible excesses of $100, $250 or $500 and 10%, 20% or 30% co-payment options. This policy also excels because it has no condition limits (except for cruciate ligament injuries).

Overall, our experts agree that Southern Cross's PetCare plan is one of the best pet insurances in New Zealand because it is a flexible insurance policy covering both accidents, illness and even more if you choose the add-ons.

You may want to pick another pet insurance if you want a higher policy limit - like PD Insurance's Deluxe Plan ($20,000 policy limit) or SPCA's Big Stuff Cover ($25,000 policy limit). PD insurance also covers third party liability (when your pet injures someone or damages something) while Southern Cross's PetCare plan doesn't.

It is also important to note that this policy can only be taken out if your pet is between 8 weeks and 6 years old. PD Pet Insurance offers a similar policy for pets up to 9 years old.

Read our full Southern Cross Pet Insurance review.

PD insurance's Classic Plan is a solid choice for those wanting the peace of mind of having illness, accident, and third party liability insurance cover while still having affordable monthly premiums. Extra illness cover also comes with a higher policy limit ($10,000) than most accident-only plans in New Zealand ($5,000) meaning a bigger safety net if you find yourself with multiple or reoccurring vet bills. 

Notably the Classic Plan doesn't cover dental illness and falls short of competitors like Southern Cross in that it provides no optional cover for routine care and day-to-day treatments like vaccinations. It also has some restrictive but not obscene claim/condition limits for certain conditions. 

It does however only have an excess of between $100 and $200 (decided by you) while Southern Cross's PetCare Plan also has a co-payment. Other things to note are that you get $150 towards fees when switching to any PD Insurance plan as well as one free month of insurance when buying online. The industry standard 5% multi pet discount is also available on all PD plans.

And finally because PD insurance has a longer than average stand down period you'll have to be insured for 21 days before making claims for illness and accidental ingestion and 180 days for third party liability and patella/cruciate ligament injuries. Southern Cross, on the other hand, has no stand down period on accidents and only 90 days for patella/cruciate ligament injuries with their PetCare Plan.

Read our full PD Insurance Review.

The eldest brother in the Tower Pet Insurance plan family is the Comprehensive Plan. While we think it's the best Tower pet insurance plan in New Zealand, it's still not a plan we would recommend to many pet owners.

We say all these plans are related because they are essentially the same plans but with some slight changes. With the Comprehensive Plan, your coverage is identical to the Essential Plan, as is the 20% co-payment, 8 weeks to 8-years-old eligibility, stand-down period of 14 days for illness and optional add-on for dental cover.

The differences are that the policy limit is now up from $7,000 to $15,000 and the specific conditions limits are also approximately doubled to reflect this. But your monthly premiums are only around 20% bigger with this plan making it feel like a lot more value for money.

Overall, this plan is okay but not a favourite of ours because it has a $4,000 limit per non-life threatening injury, relatively young maximum age for new policies of 8 years (5 years for some breeds) and other restrictive limit amounts like $1,500 for patella and cruciate ligament surgeries and only $350 when you add dental.

Petcover's most comprehensive and expensive plans are their three Superior Plans. Each offers slightly different annual policy limits and condition limits and therefore each also has progressively larger monthly premiums. The two more expensive plans also have optional lost pet and death benefits.

Otherwise, these plans are essentially the same as each other and cover a wide range of accidental injury, illness and less commonly covered expenses including up to $5,000,000 in third party liability cover (the most in NZ) along with cover for smaller things like emergency repatriation, quarantine/loss of documents, advertising/reward, and holiday cancellation.

Undoubtedly one of the worst things about Petcover policies is that many, including these three Superior Plans have co-payments that increase with your pet's age.

Overall, we don't recommend this plan unless you want the wide coverage that includes the extras mentioned above as no other pet insurance offers all of these specific cover options. Alternative plans with a similar structure include Tower's Comprehensive Plan which covers funeral costs, lost pet and holiday cancellation or Cove's Major Plan which covers emergency boarding and has an even higher $25,000 policy limit.
 

SPCA's entry-level Everyday Cover plan has all the makings of a top pet insurance policy but we actually think it's one of the worst pet insurances in New Zealand.

We say this primarily because of the $2,000 annual condition limit - not many pet insurance plans in New Zealand cap the amount you can claim for every condition. There's even lower limits on consultation fees ($300) and emergency boarding ($1,000). Then with a fixed 30% co-payment (again one of the highest in New Zealand) and no dental or third party liability cover it is very hard to recommend this plan.

Which is a shame considering SPCA Everyday Cover plan does stand out in that it has no maximum age limit, they offer a 10% multi pet discount and you can even have pre-existing conditions waived with a vet's note if your pet has been symptom-free for long enough. This plan also covers parasite treatments, which is not a given, and overseas treatments in Australia and Norfolk Island.

If you're looking for a plan with a similar level of cover but less downsides then consider AA Pet Insurance or Cove whose plans also have parasite and emergency boarding cover but have lower co-payment options and smaller or fewer condition limits.

Petnsur's Rhodium Plan is a top-notch, comprehensive plan designed to take most of the edge off of most of your vet bills. That's because it is structured somewhat uniquely in that it covers all major conditions and treatments but has a smaller policy limit ($6,000) and a smaller co-payment ($300) than almost all other pet insurances in New Zealand.

Better yet, there are no condition limits with this plan, so the full $6,000 can go towards one or many different claims throughout a given policy year. The other major highlights of this plan are that hereditary conditions will be covered so long as they aren't present in the pet's first 3 years of life and that there are relatively short stand down periods for this plan - 7 days for accidental injury and 21 days for medical treatments.

And it's worth mentioning the very competitive sign up offer too - six weeks of no obligation free insurance with cover for up to $2,000 is worth nabbing even if you decide that you don't need pet insurance.

If we have to criticize the Rhodium Plan a bit we could say that the policy limit is pretty low and that it doesn't offer much extra cover e.g. third party liability or emergency boarding, but to be fair it's not really built for this with a lower level of cover than the policies like Cove's Major Plan or SPCA's Big Stuff Cover.

Overall, we rated PD Insurance's Deluxe Plan as one of the top pet insurances in New Zealand. It covers accidents, injuries, hereditary conditions and unlike most pet insurances in New Zealand, third party liability and dental care.

Another key factor was the high $20,000 policy limit although the $7,500 per claim limit was certainly the most off-putting thing about this policy. As were the condition limits for accidental ingestion, cruciate, patella and hereditary conditions - even if these are relatively high. PD insurance also boasts one free month of insurance as a sign up offer, faster than average 2 day claims processing and a competitive 5% multi pet discount.

The other thing to watch out for with this plan is the long stand down periods - you can't claim for accidental ingestion, poisoning and illness in the first 21 days, or third party liability, cruciate ligament, patella luxation and dental illnesses in the first 180 days. So effectively you pay for 3 weeks or 6 months without cover for these conditions (ignoring the sign up bonus).

And even though it is comprehensive, this plan also doesn't cover emergency boarding, overseas treatments or routine care and vaccinations. An alternative plan that covers these conditions is AA Pet Insurance's only pet insurance plan although this plan does have more restrictive conditions limits for certain claims.

Another similar plan is Southern Cross's Pet Care Plan which allows you to add dental cover. This plan has a lower policy limit of $15,000 and a co-payment of at least 10%, but has shorter stand down periods and has optional cover for routine care and vaccinations. It also has very few condition limits.

Read our full PD Insurance Review.

SPCA's The Works Cover pet insurance plan is a reasonable choice if you're looking for a more comprehensive pet insurance policy but with several important conditions not covered and several smaller condition limits we do believe there are better plans available.

Still, this policy is one of the few in New Zealand that covers parasite treatments, emergency boarding and overseas treatments (in Australia and Norfolk Island) so is definitely worth considering if you're after this type of cover. It is also one of the only pet insurance plans in New Zealand with the ability to waive pre-existing conditions with a vet's note.

And we definitely don't have a problem with the 10% multi pet discount which is more than most pet insurance companies in New Zealand offer.

Our issues mainly come from the relatively large and inflexible 20% co-payment on all claims. This means you can't choose to pay more or less upfront but less or more when it comes time to make a claim. Combined with their condition limits and lack of cover in other important areas like dental and routine care and this policy is hard to love.

Another option is AA's only pet insurance plan which has all the same level of cover as well as dental and hereditary conditions along with similar condition limits but more flexibility with picking your own policy limit/premiums.

Petnsur's Titanium Plan is a comprehensive plan designed for owners who want full coverage for their pets. It is very similar to their Silver, Gold and Platinum plans although there are a few differences that we don't love and some that we do. Altogether though, the Titanium plan is pretty reasonable but we still reckon there are better offers from other insurers, especially considering the cost of this plan's premiums.

The biggest points of difference with the Titanium Plan are that you get third party liability and routine care cover but lose cover for vaccinations and emergency boarding. Otherwise the 20% co-payment stays, as does the 12 year maximum age for new policies and the very reasonable stand down periods of 7 days for injuries and 21 days for illness.

Your policy limit with the Titanium Plan also doubles to $18,000 from the Platinum Plan although you do lose extra cover for smaller things like lost pet, funeral costs, desexing, microchipping, and alternative therapies. 

Another downside is the condition limits. Of the total $18,000, you'll only get $3,000 for hospital expenses, tests and scans, $5,000 for most non-elective treatments, vet visits, and hereditary conditions, and $7,250 for theatre & surgical costs. All in all that's a bit disappointing for a plan that's supposed to be designed for your largest vet bills. PD's Deluxe Plan might not cover routine care but it has more generous condition limits so is definitely worth considering instead especially because the premiums are half as expensive.