What is the coverage period for my pet?

When you first sign up, you'll be covered for 12 months. As long as you renew every year after that, you can keep your pet insured for life.

What are the age requirements for cover?

You can insure your pet anytime up to 13 years old. As long as you keep your policy current, you can insure your pet for the rest of its life. If your pet is over 13 and you haven't purchased a policy, it will be too late to buy cover.

Does Trupanion provide cover for all accidents?

Your policy will cover you for any accident as long as it's a single, specific event that's unpredictable and unintentional. That means it won't cover you if you kick your cat or if your dog consistently provokes a den of snakes leading to repeated injury.

What's considered a pre-existing condition?

A pre-existing condition is a documented medical condition that occurred prior to you taking out your policy or during waiting periods. In some cases, as in hip dysplasia, your pet only has to show premature signs of the condition for it to be considered a pre-existing condition.

What's the applicable waiting period?

Your policy won't cover any illnesses that arise within 30 days of buying your policy and those illnesses will be considered pre-existing. It won't cover any injuries within five days of buying your policy and those injuries and ongoing complications will also be considered pre-existing.

What's considered a bilateral condition?

This is a condition that can happen on both sides of the body, for example a cruciate injury. If your pet developed the condition on one side of the body before you bought the policy, many insurers will consider the same problem occurring on the opposite side of the body a pre-existing condition even if it happens years later. Trupanion has a list of such conditions in its exclusions and this list includes luxating patella, glaucoma, elbow dysplasia, cataracts and several others.

Trupanion pet insurance review

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Trupanion offers one policy with a 90% reimbursement rate and an unlimited annual benefit.
Consider that routine and preventative care is not covered by this policy.
New policies are available for pets up to 13 years old with flexible excess options.

Pros

Unlimited annual limit, giving you peace of mind your pet will receive the care it needs, no matter the cost.
Flexible excess options, ranging from $0 to $1,000.
Cover available for congenital and hereditary conditions.

Cons

Routine and preventative care is not covered. There are some insurers who offer cover for this at an additional cost.

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Finder Score	Maximum Yearly Benefit	Paralysis Tick Yearly Sub-Limit	Reimbursement rate	Accidental Injury	Illness
7 Great Trupanion Pet Insurance	7 Great	Unlimited	No sub-limit	90%			View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading

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Why should you consider Trupanion pet insurance?

If you want a no-nonsense policy that offers the most cover you can find in Australia, Trupanion could be for you.

Although it does away with a few supplementary benefits that other brands offer, such as routine care, the unlimited benefits mean it protects you from what could really hurt: ongoing and extensive medical expenses due to illness and injury.

It's a policy that's very easy to understand and obviously dedicated to the health of your pet.

Here's what sets it apart from other policies on the market:

It pays 90% of eligible treatment costs. Other insurers pay anywhere from 75–85%.
It sets no benefit limit. All other insurers policies have limits and/or sublimits, which means cover can run out. The most other insurers will pay towards your pet's treatments is $20,000 per year.
The optional extras are unique and helpful. Instead of offering cover for boring and expected expenses like routine care, Trupanion offers extras that aid your pet's recovery through the Recovery & Complementary Care package, and help you avoid further unexpected costs through the Pet Owner Assistance Package.
You can newly insure an older pet. Trupanion allows new policies with full cover to be commenced for pets up to the age of 13, which is very uncommon. Most insurers only offer accident cover for older pets unless they've had consistent cover that has been in place since well before that.
You can insure your pet from birth. Trupanion allows baby pets to be covered from birth, if matched with their new family who have also paid a deposit.
Vet direct pay. You can have your claim approved and your invoice paid on the spot if you visit a partner vet or hospital.

What isn't covered by my insurance?

As with any pet insurance, some events won't be claimable. These are called exclusions. It's best to read Trupanion's policy wording for a full list of restrictions and exclusions.

Here are some general exclusions:

Pre-existing conditions. This is any illness or condition that arose before you took out your pet's policy or up to 30 days after taking out your policy. Injuries or accidents that occur within 5 days of taking out your policy are also considered pre-existing conditions and won't be covered.
Routine and preventative care. This includes desexing, microchipping, vaccinations, flea control, deworming and exams and consults.
Unauthorised treatments. You won't be covered if you pursue treatment not recommended by your vet. You also won't be covered for complications that could arise from such treatment.
Unvaccinated pets. If you don't get vaccines recommended by your vet, you won't be covered for illnesses that could have been prevented by those vaccines. Again, this is a typical exclusion.

How to make a claim with Trupanion

If you visit a vet that's in Trupanion's network, the vet can process your claim and have the invoice paid right there on the spot. However, if you do have to make a claim yourself, there are two easy ways you can do it:

Logging in to the online member's portal
Uploading your pet's itemised invoice
Explaining what happened to your pet

Frequently asked questions

This is a condition that can happen on both sides of the body, for example a cruciate injury. If your pet developed the condition on one side of the body before you bought the policy, many insurers will consider the same problem occurring on the opposite side of the body a pre-existing condition even if it happens years later.
Trupanion has a list of such conditions in its exclusions and this list includes luxating patella, glaucoma, elbow dysplasia, cataracts and several others.

Finder writers are subject matter experts and use primary sources, in-depth research and interviews with other experts to ensure you're getting accurate, up-to-date information. Articles are fact checked in line with our editorial guidelines.

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Written by

Brad Buzzard

Writer

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Brad Buzzard was a content writer at Finder working across insurance including travel, life, health, business, car, pet and home. Brad brought with him a wealth of experience as a journalist, content writer, social media manager and researcher, being in the industry for almost 2 decades by the time he joined. Before working for Finder, Brad’s expertise could be seen across TLC Marketing, Reborn, DDB Group, We Are Social, Nielsen and Wheeling News- Register, varying across Australia and the United States. See full bio

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James Martin

Journalist

James Martin was the insurance editor at Finder. He has written on a range of insurance and finance topics for over 7 years. James often shares his insurance expertise as a media spokesperson and has appeared on Prime 7 News, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. An experienced journalist, James' work has featured in publications including The Irish Times, Companies100 and In Business. He holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, both of which meet the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

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James has written 167 Finder guides across topics including:

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Trupanion offers one simple pet insurance policy covering 90% of bills and no annual limit – a standout feature in the market.