Choosing pet insurance for your furbaby can be difficult. If you’re looking for value for money and quality pet insurance, Coles offers a range of multi-award-winning policies designed to fit different people’s budgets and circumstances. 

Coles pet insurance is value-focused and helps cover veterinary costs with a 100% back on eligible bills and a 5% multi-pet discount. This is important because your pet can be injured or sick at any age. Without pet insurance, you can pay substantial veterinary bills for emergency surgeries and illnesses. 

According to Moz, Coles Pet Insurance has won awards for Most Recommended, Outstanding Customer Satisfaction, and Highly Commended in Value and Comprehensive Product.

“Coles not only took the crown for Pet Insurance Provider Of The Year, but they secured an award for each tier they offer.”Coles also provides home, car, and landlord insurance. 

Who is Coles-Direct?

Coles, the giant supermarket in Australia, offers three pet insurance plans and is a well-recognized brand. It is one of the few pet insurance companies that offers up to 100% reimbursement on all vet bills. 

The basic pet insurance plan features a $10,00 annual limit and limited illness cover, while the $15,000 yearly limit somewhat restricts the extensive coverage of its Premium coverage.

Coles Pet Insurance Cover

Coles pet insurance provides three levels of coverage for pets: Basic, Comprehensive, and Premium. You can collect 10x Flybuys points per $1 spent in the pet aisle at Coles Supermarkets and online at Coles, with a maximum of 1,000 points per policy monthly. Even if you choose a lower premium, you can get up to 80% coverage.

Coles Premium Pet Insurance

Coles’ premium pet insurance policy stands out thanks to its coverage of over 3,000 illnesses and optional routine health maintenance and dental. While the premium policy has complete illness cover, it also offers prepaid scheduled vet bills for eligible pre-approved procedures. 

Depending on your policy choice, pay your excess and gap, you can insure your cat or dog and add optional benefits to the comprehensive or premium plan. These optional extras offer the following:

• Routine Care Lite includes preventative cover for routine care, vet check-ups, and vaccinations.
• Routine Care Plus: This covers vet consultations, annual health checks, vaccinations, dental check-ups, alternative therapies, and behavioral therapy. 
• Dental Coverage: Dental coverage is available as an optional extra via Dental Accident and Illness plans.

3 Levels of Cover

Coles has three affordable tiers of cover with different annual limits and features. All accidents and injuries are covered in all three levels, and the basic plan offers limited illness coverage—Cancer, Cruciate Ligament and Joint Dysplasia, and Luxation. 

The scope of illness coverage will change per plan based on the degree of coverage offered for illness and accidents. These include:

Basic Cover

Coles’s basic pet insurance includes an annual benefit of $10,000, which covers some illnesses and accidental injuries with a $200 excess for some veterinary bills. There are some features of this fundamental policy that are worth taking note of, like the following:

• Annual Policy Limit: Up to $10,000
• Sub-Limits:$3,000 for cruciate ligament conditions
• Eligible Vet Bills: Up to 100% back
• Cured Pre-Existing Conditions: Covered
• Includes $200 Excess: For claims
• Accidents and Injury Cover: Includes torn nails, bone fractures and lacerations
• Illness Cover: Limited to cancer, cruciate ligament, joint dysplasia, and luxation.
• Essential Euthanasia: Covers up to $500 plus costs of pet burial or cremation.

Comprehensive Cover

• Annual Policy Limit: Up to $12,000
• Sub-Limits:$3,000 for cruciate ligament conditions
• Eligible Vet Bills: Up to 100% back
• Cured Pre-Existing Conditions: Covered
• Includes $200 Excess: For claims
• Accidents and Injury Cover: Includes cover for bone fractures, torn nails, and lacerations.
•  Essential Euthanasia: Covers up to $500 plus costs of pet burial or cremation.
• Optional Extras: This includes Routine Care Lite and Routine Care Plus
• No Elective Surgeries Covered: This includes desexing and Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis (JPS).

Premium Cover

• Annual Policy Limit: Up to $15,000 benefit limit- (exclusions, sub-limits, and waiting periods apply)
•  Sub-Limits:$3,000 for cruciate ligament conditions
• Eligible Vet Bills: Up to 100% back
• Cured Pre-Existing Conditions: Covered
•  Includes $200 Excess: For claims
•  Accidents and Injury Cover: Includes cover for bone fractures, torn nails, and lacerations.
•  Essential Euthanasia: Covers up to $500 plus costs of pet burial or cremation.
• Optional Extras: This includes Routine Care Lite and Routine Care Plus
•  No Elective Surgeries Covered: This includes desexing and Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis (JPS).

What to Consider

We like the optional extras, which include two levels of optional Routine Care—Lite and Plus. Cole’s Routine Care Plus provides cover for dental check-ups. Coles also has Lifetime coverage, which is guaranteed, provided a policy is purchased before your cat or dog turns nine and is renewed each year without a break in coverage. 

It’s important to understand that many conditions are not covered under the Basic and Premium Plans. Also, if your pet develops a condition during the waiting period, the condition is not covered. However, if you have a breed that is prone to specific health issues, you should consider the following:

• Eye and Ear Conditions: These are not covered under the Basic Plan; however, they are covered under the Comprehensive and Premium Plans.
• Cancer: This is covered under all policies, even the basic pet insurance policy.
• Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV): If you own a cat, you should consider that FIV is only covered under the Premium plan.
• Former Pre-Existing Conditions Covered: This is an accident or illness that occurred before taking out the policy or within the waiting period. Coles explains that it’s something that any reasonable person in that circumstance would have been aware of.
• Hernias: This is another condition only covered under the premium plan for cats and dogs.
• Hip Dysplasia: This is covered under Basic Cover, Comprehensive Cover, and Premium Care and includes hip replacement.
• Waiting Periods: Coles adds that there is a 21-day waiting period for most accidents and illnesses, with the following exceptions: There are no waiting periods for Accidental injuries arising from Anaphylactic shock, Burn or Electrocution, Motor Vehicle Accidents, or Snake Bite Toxicity.
• No Waiting periods for optional Routine Care Cover
• 6-month waiting period for Cruciate Ligament Conditions
• 6-month waiting periods for Optional Dental Cover

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Pets Are Covered?

Cats and dogs are covered under three levels of coverage. You can lodge claims online 24/7, 365 days a year, whenever convenient. In some instances, your veterinarian may be able to lodge a claim on Your behalf with your permission.

2. Is There a Healthy Pet Discount?

Coles Pet Insurance believes that healthy pets deserve recognition. Therefore, Coles Pet Insurance may adjust your premium on renewal to reflect claims made against your policy.

3. Do Premiums Increase as Pets Age?

Yes, Coles premiums increase as your cat or dog ages because senior pets tend to have more health issues and are more likely to need treatment.