Canstar reveals its 2022 Pet Insurance Award winners and Most Satisfied Customers – Pet Insurance Award winner
Which Aussie pet insurance providers are offering outstanding value to consumers in 2022, and which one had the most satisfied customers?
There’s no doubt we are a nation of pet lovers. For many of us, there’s nothing better than having an animal companion by our side, snoring at our feet while we work or chasing a ball in the park on the weekend, and the numbers bear this out.
Recent estimates suggest that 70% of Aussie households currently own a pet, and of these, around half have a dog. The pandemic led to a significant boost in pet ownership, with many of us adopting a furry friend for company.
If you have a furry friend and vet bills are on your mind, you may well be wondering about pet insurance. With a wide variety of providers and products to choose from, how do you know which ones offer the best combination of price and features?
To help pet owners find value for money, Canstar’s experts compared 144 pet insurance policies from 33 providers on our database as part of our 2022 Star Ratings and Awards.
We also asked Aussie pet owners how happy they are with their insurance, and discovered which eligible provider had the most satisfied customers for 2022.
At a glance:
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Numbers crunched:
- 32 providers assessed for our Pet Insurance Star Ratings and Awards
- 143 expert-rated policies
- 7 Outstanding Value – Pet Insurance Award winners
- 812 pet insurance policyholders surveyed
- 1 Most Satisfied Customers – Pet Insurance Award winner
- Winners list:
- Outstanding Value Pet Insurance Award:
- Knose
- Medibank
- PD.com.au
- PetsOnMe
- Outstanding Value Pet Insurance with Routine Care Award:
- Petcover
- Petinsurance.com.au
- Woolworths Insurance
- Most Satisfied Customers Pet Insurance Award:
- Woolworths Insurance
- Outstanding Value Pet Insurance Award:
How were the winners decided?
Canstar’s Pet Insurance Star Ratings use a unique ratings methodology that compares both price and features across a range of pet insurance products on Canstar’s database, to find the ones that offer Aussie consumers outstanding value for money. Our researchers calculate scores to determine each eligible pet insurance product’s Star Rating, based on a 50:50 split between price and features.
The price score for a product considers how much a hypothetical policyholder would likely pay in either monthly or annual premiums, and what excess they’d pay in the event of a claim.
The features score, on the other hand, is based on six categories:
- the ease and accessibility of the application process
- the payment process
- the level of cover and inclusions
- the availability of customer service
- the claims-making process
- the ease of the cancellation process.
Canstar’s Outstanding Value Pet Insurance Awards are based on the Star Ratings, and recognise providers offering strong combinations of price and features via two types of pet insurance policies. The first of these is policies that offer cover for accidents and illness, and the second is policies that, in addition to accident and illness cover, also offer cover for several routine care procedures.
To be eligible for an Award in the Accident and Illness category, a pet insurance policy must provide cover for three or more of the following illnesses:
- spinal conditions/intervertebral disc disease
- hip dysplasia
- cancer
- ear/eye conditions (excluding cataracts)
- skin conditions.
In addition to the above, to be eligible for an Award in the Accident and Illness with Routine Care category, a policy must also provide cover for:
- teeth cleaning
- desexing
- microchipping
- vaccination/health checks, and
- controlling heartworm/heartworm testing.
This year, only policies that offer at least 70% of vet fees back or annual benefit cover of at least $4,000 were considered for the Awards.
2022 award-winning pet insurance providers
This year, four insurance providers won an Outstanding Value Award for their Accident and Illness Pet Insurance cover, while three were recognised for Pet Insurance with Routine Care.
Outstanding Value Accident and Illness Pet Insurance
The winners of the Outstanding Value Award for Accident and Illness cover were:
Of these four, Knose also received the Award in 2021, while the other providers are new entrants to the category.
Outstanding Value – Pet Insurance with Routine Care
The winners of the Outstanding Value Award for Pet Insurance with Routine Care were:
Petcover also claimed this award in 2021, while the others join it in this category in 2022.
For more information on how Canstar’s Pet Insurance Star Ratings & Awards work, you can read the methodology. You can also view the full Star Ratings results.
Which pet insurance provider has the most satisfied customers in 2022?
Canstar also likes to hear from Aussie pet owners themselves about the things they most value and appreciate in a pet insurance provider. As part of our Most Satisfied Customers Award for 2022, we surveyed 812 pet insurance policyholders, with respondents asked to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of their experience with their insurance provider, including cost, communication, customer service, the claims experience, comprehensiveness of cover and value for money.
Of the pet insurance providers considered for the award, one stood out and scored highly across the board: Woolworths Insurance. Woolworths is a household name in Australia thanks to its supermarkets, but it is also an insurance provider in a number of areas, including pet insurance. It offers pet owners five different cover options, from a Basic Cover tier with an annual benefit limit of up to $5,000, through to a Comprehensive Plus Cover tier, with an annual benefit limit of up to $30,000. It even offers a specific Indoor Cat cover.
Woolworths Insurance says that 93% of its claims are processed in five days or less, and that it has paid out more than $35 million in benefits to pet owners. Its policies come with VetAssist, which allows customers to have a video call or online chat with a vet, for times when advice is needed and you’re unsure if a trip to the vet is required.
What were the main drivers of satisfaction?
The results of our survey showed Woolworths Insurance performed well across the board with Australian pet owners. According to Canstar’s research, its customers were especially satisfied with both the cost of the product and the value for money on offer, as well as the comprehensiveness of cover on offer
For more information on how our Customer Satisfaction Awards work, you can read the methodology.
Main image source: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com.
About Canstar’s Research team
Canstar’s Research team provides the expertise that powers our Star Ratings and Awards, designed to help consumers make better-informed financial decisions. As Australia’s biggest financial comparison site, Canstar researches and rates products from more than 775 brands, across more than 30 finance categories. Our expert researchers analyse each product we rate by comparing price and features, with the top products being recognised with a 5-Star Rating. Our Star Ratings are made available for consumers to view for free via Canstar’s comparison tables. Providers whose products perform strongly in our Star Ratings may be recognised with an Outstanding Value Award.
→ Discover Canstar’s latest Star Ratings and Award winners
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This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts and Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
Alasdair Duncan is a Senior Finance Journalist at Canstar, specialising in home loans, property and lifestyle topics. He has written more than 200 articles for Canstar and his work is widely referenced by other publishers and media outlets, including Yahoo Finance, The New Daily, The Motley Fool and Sky News. He has featured as a guest author for property website homely.com.au.
In his more than 15 years working in the media, Alasdair has written for a broad range of publications. Before joining Canstar, he was a News Editor at Pedestrian.TV, part of Australia’s leading youth media group. His work has also appeared on ABC News, Junkee, Rolling Stone, Kotaku, the Sydney Star Observer and The Brag. He has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Journalism from the University of Queensland.
When he is not writing about finance for Canstar, Alasdair can probably be found at the beach with his two dogs or listening to podcasts about pop music. You can follow Alasdair on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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- Tick paralysis
- Car accident
- Poisoning
- Skin conditions