Cheap piece of mind for those unexpected vet bills

Joining up
I joined up my, then one and a half year old, cat Mya to Woolworths pet insurance in May of 2013 after reading that I would receive a $25 gift card from joining and seeing that the costs were so low to take out insurance through them. I received my gift card about 6 weeks after joining and continued paying monthly premiums of $11.57 for the Basic Accidental Injury cover with a $0 excess.

My Bad Experience

In Oct of 2013 Mya came down with a Urinary Tract Infection and I took her straight to the vet. I put in my claim and received notification in the mail that it had been declined. I realized then that I should have taken out the Standard Accidental Injury and Illness cover and that my low level of cover meant I wouldn't be able to claim for any small illnesses like her UTI. I was disappointed and decided to call Woolworths as it would probably be best to up her to the next level of cover (her UTI cost me $180 for consultation, drugs and a crystal test, plus $85 for a month worth of prescription food!). Note Woolworths do not cover food full stop, prescription or not.

When I called they explained that I could up my level of cover, but if Mya's UTI recurred I would not be covered as it became present while I was on the lower cover! Frustrating. Now although from this review you might think I don't like them, I then had another experience and now I am shouting their praises!

My Good Experience

In Dec of 2013 Mya was bitten by a snake. I rushed her to the vet and after hospitalisation over a weekend with an emergency vet on top of my regular vet giving her the anti-venom and monitoring her progress, while they were open, I walked out of that situation $2742.37 out of pocket! Right around Christmas time and being a low income earner I was freaking out! I gave a call to Woolworths and double checked whether snake bites were covered by accidental injury and lo and behold they WERE! I sent off all my claims and the cheques are just starting to roll in (4 weeks later). So far I have received $1800 of benefit and there should be about another $300-$400 still coming!

On my low income even the $500-$600 dollars I've had to pay out was a hard slog to manage, but had I not had the insurance I would have had to make some hard decisions, i.e leaving her alone at the closed vet clinic on her first night of recovery, or bringing her home too early when the vet closed over the weekend and having her dehydrate to death as she was not drinking.

After my experience I have to say get your pets insurance! And go for the Standard Accidental Injury and Illness cover to begin with, it'll be worth it! From my quotes Standard Accidental Injury and Illness cover with a $0 excess costs around $28.78 a month ($345.36 a year). It's one of the cheapest pet insurances out there and it's a lot cheaper than our own personal health insurance, but for our furry companions. With the amount of money they've already paid out to me it will take over 15 years on Basic cover or over 6 years on Standard cover for me to start giving them more money than they've given me. Well worth it! Join today!

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