Gap only pet insurance

Gap only pet insurance lets you claim on the spot and is available with a handful of insurers in Australia.

Key takeaways

  • Gap only pet insurance processes your claim at the vet.
  • It is intended to ease the strain on your bank account if your pet 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.

Savings
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:

Pet insurance

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.

Vet hospital

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.

Gap payment

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:

Compare pet insurance policies in Australia

10 of 91 results
Finder Score Accidental Injury Illness Maximum Yearly Benefit Paralysis Tick Yearly Sub-Limit Reimbursement rate Reimbursement Rate
Finder Score
$25,000
$3,000
80%
80%
Apply online and get 15% off your first year's premium. T&Cs apply.
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Finder Score
$30,000
No sub-limit
90%
90%
Medibank members get 10% off and a $100 PetO e-voucher when they sign up with promo code PETO100 and maintain 90 days of continuous cover. Offer ends 16 Dec 2025. T&Cs apply.
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Finder Score
$30,000
No sub-limit
90%
90%
Get your first 2 months free by using promo code: 2MFREE. Plus get a 10% multi pet discount. T&Cs apply.
Enjoy GapOnly claiming and complimentary use of myPetPass with 24/7 access to Live Vet Care. Also, policyholders are entitled to a free ID tag.
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Everyday Pet Insurance logo
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$30,000
$3,000
80%
80%
Everyday Pet Insurance customers get 10% off their monthly Woolworths shop. T&Cs apply.
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Knose Pet Insurance logo
Finder Score
Finder Score
$25,000
$25,000
70%, 80% or 90%
70%, 80% or 90%
Finder exclusive: Get 10% off your first year's premium, using Finder's exclusive discount code: FINDER10. Plus get a 5% multi pet discount. T&Cs apply.
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Coles Pet Insurance logo
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Not scored yet
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Not scored yet
$15,000
$3,500
80% or 100%
80% or 100%
Earn 10x Flybuys points per $1 spent on pet food at Coles Supermarkets, plus get a 5% multi-pet discount. T&Cs apply.
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Fetch Pet logo
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Finder Score
$30,000
No sub-limit
80% or 90% or 100%
80% or 90% or 100%
Get free 24/7 vet support. T&Cs apply.
Get dental, physio and behaviour cover included and skip wait periods by following our in-app journey.
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Coles Pet Insurance logo
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Finder Score
$40,000
$3,500
80% or 100%
80% or 100%
Earn 10x Flybuys points per $1 spent on pet food at Coles Supermarkets, plus get a 5% multi-pet discount. T&Cs apply.
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Vets Choice Pet Insurance logo
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$15,000
$2,500
80%
80%
Get a 5% discount when you insure more than one pet. T&Cs apply.
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Guardian Pet Insurance logo
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Finder Score
$12,000
$1,200
80%
80%
Lifetime cover for cats and dogs, up to 80% covered.
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We designed Finder Score to make comparing pet insurance easier, assessing more than 20 products for their price and features. Finder Score assigns each product a score out of 10.

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Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

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