Countdown Pet Insurance Policy changes December 2024

Apart from the new cruciate ligament sub-limit (see below), you can now claim for any eligible health condition up to your annual benefit limit each year, on the terms set out in your updated policy document.

This means if your pet had previously reached their lifetime limit for treatment of a chronic condition, you can start claiming again for qualifying treatment that occurs on or after your policy renewal date.

There is now a mandatory  annual  excess. You can choose between:

• $100
• $250
• $500

In each policy period we’ll deduct your chosen annual excess when you claim for qualifying treatment before we reimburse you. This annual excess will be applied before your co-payment is calculated. Once you have reached your annual excess, no further excess is applied to claims on your base policy until your policy renews the next year.

Your annual excess only applies to claims made under the base policy, it is not applied to claims made under extra cover options.

You will automatically be issued a $250 excess, this will be displayed in your certificate of insurance. You are welcome to change this to a higher or lower annual excess, if you would like to do this, please call us on 0800 800 836.

A higher annual excess will reduce your premium as it means you will be paying more towards your claim/s, and a lower annual excess will increase your premium.

Consult care extra covers consultation fees charged by your vet for consultations, revisits, and for emergency and specialist vet consultations in relation to a health condition covered by your policy.

Your policy documents are now written in plain language to make them easier to read and to understand what your pet is covered for, and how your cover works. We have received the ‘WriteMark’ which is an independent verification that our policy documents meet a very high standard of clarity.

We can make changes to your policy during the term of the policy – on giving you notice of the change. If we make changes we’ll give you at least one month’s notice in writing.

There is now no exclusion for working pets or pets used for occupational purposes, only dogs used for pig hunting are not eligible for cover.

Other working pets, such as guide dogs, assistance dogs and breeding pets are able to be covered.

If you contact us to cancel your policy, we’ll cancel from the date you’ve paid your policy up to. If you have claims for a period not yet paid, we’ll collect your next premium and cancel from the date it is now paid up to.

If you’ve paid your premium in advance (annually, half yearly or quarterly), we’ll still cancel your policy effective from the date that we receive your request to cancel. We’ll still refund the portion of that premium that applies to the period beyond the cancellation date.

If you fail to declare a pre-existing condition, we may now only decline the claim and add the condition as an exclusion (we’ll no longer have the right to cancel the policy). We will only cancel the policy for misrepresentation, fraud or other non-disclosure or material breach after giving you a reasonable period to explain.

Medication that is not approved by the Ministry of Primary Industries or the Veterinary Council of New Zealand is no longer excluded from cover.

You can claim for certain supplements when these are prescribed as part of qualifying treatment by your vet. These supplements are detailed here: Supplement Schedule | Southern Cross Pet Insurance

We don’t usually cover dental care (unless you have dental care extra) but if your pet suffers a tooth break as part of an accidental injury, we will cover the treatment. This does not include accidents that involve your pet chewing or eating an object.

Elizabethan collars (cone collars) are covered if your pet needs one after a surgery or vet treatment.

We cover hydrotherapy provided by a member of the New Zealand Association of Canine Hydrotherapists.

We will cover the cost of Euthanasia if your pet has to be put down due to medical reasons covered by your policy. We still do not cover voluntary euthanasia or euthanasia due to behavioural or psychological reasons.

We will no longer pay claims for viral conditions, regardless of your pets' vaccination status, if there is a known epidemic outbreak in New Zealand at the time of infection.

We’ve changed our ‘grooming and bathing’ exclusion to clarify we do cover accidental injuries that happen at the groomers. This means you will be covered for treatment of an accidental injury that happens at the groomers.