What's the Best Pet Insurance for Older Dogs in New Zealand?

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.

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.

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.
 

Broad cover, flexible excesses and co-payments, a couple of add-ons and extras but low policy limits, and many specific claim limits - that's what you'll get with Petcover's Mid-Range Plans. So how do we rate them? 

Middle of the range.

We're certainly fans of cover for conditions like tick paralysis, third party liability and emergency boarding which are often excluded but when you have limits of $500 for emergency boarding and $1,000 for tick paralysis you start to feel less inclined to pick from this set of Petcover plans.

Interestingly many of the condition limits for these policies don't change between Core, Vital and Key Plans meaning that if you pick the Core Plan with a $5,000 annual limit then condition limits like $4,000 for hip dysplasia and $5,000 for cancer don't matter so much and therefore the plan starts to become more interesting.

Still though, we prefer pet insurance plans like Petnsur's Rhodium Plan or PD Insurance's Deluxe Plan. The Rhodium Plan doen't have condition limits so it actually covers most of your vet bills when you need it most and while PD's plan has some less significant condition limits it has no co-payment so you will likely never have a large vet bill.

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 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.

Tower's Accident-only pet insurance plan has all the makings of a solid, albeit, no-so-special accident only plan but we actually think you should avoid this policy. That's primarily because there's a $2,000 condition limit on non-life threatening injuries, meaning that if your pet gets injured but is not going to die, you'll only get up to $2,000 to cover your vet bills. With a 20% co-payment as well, as morbid as it sounds, this policy is only really worth it if your pet would otherwise pass away. 

While one would assume that having a 20% co-payment means that Tower's Accident Only Plan has slightly cheaper monthly premiums than a plan with a smaller, or no co-payment/excess, PD Insurance offers the same plan but without the $2,000 limit on non-life threatening injuries and only a $200 excess for a cheaper premium. 

And even if this was not the case, we would always rather pay slightly more each month but know we're covered then pay a little less but not get the support we need when we have to make a claim. Tower also has no other ways to save on your premiums other than 5% multi pet discount. Oh, and they throw in a measly $100 for funeral costs.

The only real saving graces for this plan are the fact that there are no stand-down periods and no upper age limit for new policies, both of which are pretty unique for a pet insurance policy in New Zealand, and make this plan a better options for older dogs and cats. 

For accident-only pet insurances, we much prefer PD Insurance's Accident Plan which has no co-payment, no significant condition limits and covers third party liability or Southern Cross's AcciPet Plan which has flexible excess and co-payment options, up to 10% off in savings and their only condition limit ($2,500 for cruciate ligament injuries) is triple that of Tower's ($800).

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.

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.

Overall, we rated Cove's Major Plan as the best pet insurance in New Zealand. It covers accidents, injuries, vet consultations and unlike most pet insurances in New Zealand, hereditary conditions, parasite treatments and emergency boarding. 

Cove's Major Plan also has the highest policy limit available in New Zealand and Cove offers more discounts than an other pet insurer (up to 20% when you pay annually and not monthly and if you buy multiple insurances through Cove).

It's not all good though. Perhaps the most limiting thing about the Major Plan is that you can only take it out if your pet is between 8 weeks and 5 years old. There's not many pet insurances in New Zealand that are so restrictive in this respect. Another, is that you will have to pay a $1,000 excess and 10% co-payment for every claim. Essentially, that makes this plan worthless for smaller vet bills under $1,000 (if there even were such a thing).

Still, with one of the cheapest monthly premiums this all comes out in the wash and is a very affordable option. Another thing to note is that there's a relatively standard 21 day waiting period on illnesses and 6 month waiting period for cruciate ligament and patella luxation injuries.

The reason we also rate other plans like Southern Cross's Pet Care Plan and PD Insurance's Deluxe Plan high are because Southern Cross has more flexibility with monthly premiums and cover because you can choose your excess, policy limit and add-ons and because PD Insurance is more generous with no co-payment for similar, albeit slightly lesser, levels of cover.

Read our full Cove Pet Insurance review.

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.

Unfortunately Cove's Accident Only Plan is their worst pet insurance policy. It's hard to mess up such a simple accident-only plan but Cove manages to do a pretty average job compared to the other options available.

So what's wrong with this pet insurance plan.

To start with, a fixed $500 excess is higher than any other accident only plan in New Zealand. On top of that, there's a 10% co-payment (i.e. a $3,000 vet bill would cost you $750). And on top of that, this plan can only be taken out if your pet is between 8 weeks and 5 years old. Most other accident only plans have a maximum age limit of 9 years (some have no maximum).

And then there's the 6 months stand down period for two of the most expensive conditions you'd want covered - cruciate ligament and intervertebral disc disease.

Cove seems to save things a little by also offering an emergency boarding benefit but this has a $1,500 condition limit which feels a bit unnecessary given the low policy limit, the excess and the co-pay.

The only real saving grace are the discounts you can get - a 10% multi-policy discount, a 10% discount when paying annually, and up to $100 when you refer a friend. We recommend most other accident-only pet insurances over this one but our favourite is PD's Accident Only Plan which has no important condition limits, no co-pay, has a maximum excess of $200, covers new pets up to 12 years old and third party liability claims.

Read our full Cove Pet Insurance review.