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What you need to know
Gap only pet insurance processes your claim at the vet.
It is intended to ease the strain on your bank account if your vet needs treatment.
Insurers including RSCPA, Everyday and Pet Insurance Australia all offer gap only cover.
What is gap only pet insurance?
Gap only pet insurance is designed to make claiming more convenient. Rather than paying the full vet bill, submitting your claim and waiting to be reimbursed, gap only cover calculates your pet insurance claim on the spot while you're still at the vet. All you need to do is pay the gap – that is, the difference between the vet bill and how much your pet insurance covers.
Kinder on the wallet
For example, if you have to pay $1,000 for your pet's surgery and your policy covers 80% of vet bills. With a gap only policy, you'll only need to pay $200, rather than wait on the insurer to reimburse you for $800.
How does gap only work?
Gap only pet insurance removes a couple of steps from the claims process you would ordinarily have to go through if you had a standard pet insurance policy. Here's how it works:
Get a pet insurance policy
You'll need to take out a pet insurance policy that includes GapOnly cover. Say you have to pay $1,000 for your pet's surgery and your policy covers 80% of vet bills.
Visit a GapOnly vet
If your pet needs to go to the vet, you'll need to take them to a GapOnly vet. The GapOnly website lets you search your location for a nearby one.
Pay the gap
This is where things differ to a standard policy. Once your pet has received treatment, you only need to pay the gap. You don't need to pay the full bill and wait to be reimbursed.
What does it cover?
Gap only pet insurance covers the same things as any other pet insurance policy. The difference is the claims process. In that sense, it works more like many extras health insurance policies where you generally only need to pay for upfront treatment costs. The insurer and the vet take care of the rest.
Who offers gap only pet insurance?
Here's a list of pet insurers currently offering gap only cover:
Everyday
RSPCA
Pet Insurance Australia
PetSure
petinsurance.com.au
Compare pet insurance policies in Australia side-by-side
Gary Ross Hunter is an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, news.com.au, The Telegraph, Explore Travel and Escape. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Kaplan Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
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