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Pet Insurance
designed with the
help of vets.

Knose Pet Insurance is available to Your companion cats and dogs that reside with You in Australia.  We do not cover any other type of pets.

This Policy has been designed for companion Pets and therefore it is not possible to purchase cover for all cats and dogs.

Banned breeds

Certain breeds are considered dangerous and/or are banned in Australia. It is not possible to purchase cover for a dangerous or banned breed.  If Your Pet’s breed is categorised as dangerous and/or banned in Australia after purchase or renewal of Your Policy, then Your Pet will no longer be eligible for this Policy and We will send You notice of non-renewal prior to the expiry of Your current Period of Insurance.

Work or sporting activities

Cats and dogs participating in commercial or sporting activity such as breeding or obstetrics, working, fighting, racing, personal protection, gun sports, law enforcement or guarding are not eligible for cover.

Note that it is possible to purchase cover for pets who participate in or are show dogs/cats, search and rescue dogs, guide dogs, assistance dogs or customs sniffer dogs.

Once you have insurance there is no age limit, this is called Lifetime Cover.  There are minimum and maximum ages for starting insurance

Minimum and maximum age of Pets on entry

When purchasing a new Policy:

1. the minimum age for entry for a Pet is 6 weeks old; and
2. the maximum age for entry is 8 years and 364 days old.

You may ask us to waive the Waiting Period for some or all the Specified Conditions, and other Conditions (e.g. Dental Illness).  When you take out a policy, we will provide an Application Form to apply for a reduction of Waiting Period(s) for You and Your vet to complete. Specified Conditions are cruciate ligament damage, intervertebral disc disease, hip dysplasia, patella luxation, elbow dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), cherry eye, entropion, ectropion, and Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) and Lumps. Lumps are not considered a Specified Condition if Your Pet was under one (1) year old on the First Date of Cover or when Your cover increased.

Cover commences at 23:59 on the day you purchase cover.

Cover under Your Policy will continue into subsequent Renewal Periods and will cease on the effective date of cancellation or the end date of Your current Period of Insurance if You confirm You don’t wish to renew Your Policy.

As long as You continue to hold the cover, pay Your Premium when it falls due and meet the conditions of cover, We will not refuse to provide You with a Renewal Policy due to the number of claims You may have made or if Your Pet has developed chronic conditions.

However, please note that we may change the terms and conditions of your cover over time, and your policy renewal may reflect these changes, based on factors including, but not limited to, a pet’s age, breed, and general increase in the cost of veterinary treatment. This may lead to an increase in your premiums.

While there are numerous factors involved in determining the premium levels, a pet’s age plays an important part. Like humans, as pets age, the likelihood of them falling ill increases and the cost of veterinary procedures generally also increases. This means that the Premium is likely to increase each year to make sure we can keep helping with your pet’s veterinary costs.This is a general guide only, and future premium levels can also be impacted by other factors including, but not limited to, a pet’s breed and general increase in the cost of veterinary treatment over time. Please call us on 1300 356 642 if you would like to know more about Knose Pet Insurance.

During the application process You will be provided with various options to tailor Your coverage, You can choose:

1. Your Annual Limit.
2. What proportion of Vet Costs You would like reimbursed.
3. Whether or not you’d like to include an Annual Excess and the level of Annual Excess.
4. To include optional extra benefits.

After you’ve purchased your Policy online, you may also call to arrange to exclude cover for Vet Consultations. This may be useful if you also have a Pet Care Plan issued by your vet which includes consultations.  

There is no cover under this Policy for Vet Costs for Treatment of Pre-existing Conditions.

A Pre-existing Condition is defined as:

an Injury, Illness, Dental Illness or Behavioural Problem, (including Bilateral Condition and other conditions that are related to, secondary to, or results of) that:

a) first occurred or showed symptoms of, or

b) was identified or investigated by a Vet, or

c) You were aware of or a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to have known about,

before Your Pet’s First Date of Cover, before a change of coverage becomes effective, or during any applicable Waiting Period.

When We conduct the assessment of Your first claim under the Policy We will also arrange for a full assessment of Your Pet’s medical history. You will be required to aid in the process of obtaining Your Pet’s medical history e.g. by providing details of any Vets Your Pet has seen in the past. This assessment will establish what Pre-existing Conditions, if any, Your Pet has, and We will share the assessment outcome with You.  You may request a Pre-existing Condition assessment before Your first claim (e.g. during a cooling off period).

Where an assessment has been completed that results in the identification of Pre-existing Conditions, We will provide You with an updated Certificate of Insurance which lists them along with confirmation of the required symptom-free period for each for Us to consider exception from the Pre-existing Condition exclusion.

Knose Pet Insurance does not provide cover for the cost of preventative and routine items including health exams and tests, vaccinations, parasite protection,grooming, food and supplements. We wanted Knose Pet Insurance to cover the unexpected events, and, therefore have created Knose Essentials Pet Care Plans that focus on the wellbeing and preventative health care of your pet.

For pet owners interested in preventative health care items, Knose Essentials PetCare Plans can help you simplify your pet’s health care. These plans provide home-delivery of selected flea, tick, worm and/or heartworm treatments, an allowance for annual health checks and vaccinations, as well as a pet health hotline for advice and other member benefits, such as discounts on pet products.

Click here to find out more about Knose Essentials Pet Care Plans.

Knose Essentials Pet Care Plans are provided by Knose Care Pty Ltd, and Knose Pet Insurance is provided by Knose Financial Services Pty Ltd*

To submit a claim

1. Complete and submit the online claim form by logging in at www.knose.com.au including attaching a copy or photo of Your invoice. Alternatively, Your Vet may email a copy of the invoice and clinical notes to claims@knose.com.au.
2. Your Vet will be contacted for a copy of the clinical notes that relate to the invoice. If Your Vet has initiated the claim on Your behalf, You will be contacted to confirm the claim.
3. We will let You know if We need a full Treatment history for Your Pet from the attending Vet and any previous Vets. If so, Your Vet can easily submit these online or by email.

Alternatively You or Your vet can initiate Your claim simply be emailing Your invoice and the clinical notes to claims@knose.com.au  

What You must not do

If You are making a claim You must not give Us false or misleading information. If You or any other person makes an intentionally false or fraudulent claim under Your Policy, We may refuse to pay such claim and may also cancel Your Policy or treat the contract as though it never existed.

What We may do

Where reasonably necessary We may contact Your current or previous Vet to:

• discuss any details about Your claim
• ask for any information and/or records about Your Pet.

We may decline a claim if You or Your Vet refuse or are unable to give Us any information We need to process Your claim.

What can affect Your claim

• You don’t give Us all the information We need to process Your claim.
• You or Your Vet don’t cooperate with Us and refuse or are unable to give Us any reasonably necessary information We need to process Your claim.
• You don’t provide a copy of the original itemised invoices and receipts for the Treatment received by Your Pet.
• You don’t comply with any terms, conditions or provisions of Your Policy.

For more details or contact Knose for claim related enquiries Monday to Friday (except public holidays) 8am to 8pm (AEST) via:

Email:   claims@knose.com.au

Phone:  1300 356 642

Most claims are assessed within five (5) working days from receiving all necessary information.

We can ask to review and examine your Pet’s past and current records and any other information from any Vet who has treated your Pet.

If the Vet Costs You are charged are higher than the fees usually charged by a general or referral practice, We reserve the right to request a second opinion from a Vet that We choose. If the Vet We choose does not agree with the Vet Costs charged We may decide to pay only the Vet Costs usually charged by a general or referral practice in a similar area for the Treatment.

Calculate the Benefit?

We deduct any outstanding Annual Excess from approved Vet Costs and pay the agreed Benefit Percentage of the remainder, up to the Annual Limit. The Annual Limit of Your Policy is the maximum We will pay for each Pet in each Period of Insurance.

For example, let’s say Your approved Vet Costs come to $1,000, You have $100 Annual Excess and have a Benefit Percentage of 80%. This means a benefit of $720 ($1,000 – $100 = $900 then $900 x 80% = $720) will be payable to you, and You will still have $24,280 of Your Annual Limit available for any future claims for Vet Costs related to Treatment in the same Period of Insurance. Future claims during the same Period of Insurance will not have the Annual Excess deducted because you’ve already met this for that Period of Insurance.

Each time Your Policy is renewed, the Annual Excess and the Annual Limit for Vet Costs will be reset

In most cases We will settle Your claim directly with You. We won’t pay the Vet or other service provider unless You instruct Us otherwise and the provider is an authorised member of Our preferred network or at Our election.

We will send You correspondence which sets out how We settled Your claim. 

When We settle Your claim, We may deduct any amount You owe Us.

We’re focused on continuing to try and keep Knose Pet Insurance simple. We provide a choice of Annual Limits ($7,500 / $12,500 / $25,000), Benefit Percentage (70%/80%/90%) and Annual Excess ($200/$100/$0). There are no sub-limits.

This Policy provides cover for Treatment provided by registered veterinarian, veterinary specialist, animal hospital, animal clinic or animal surgery licensed in Australia (‘Vet’).

There is cover available under Section 5: Vet Costs – Overseas for Treatment in New Zealand or Norfolk Island whilst on a trip of not more than sixty (60) days.

During the application process you will be provided with the option to include optional extra benefits and extend cover for some conditions and treatments not otherwise covered under the Policy.

Optional extra benefits include:

• Vet Costs for Dental Illness such as dental diseases, gingivitis, periodontal disease.
• Vet Costs for Behavioural Problems such as excessive licking, fur pulling, pacing and destructive chewing.
• Vet Costs for Alternative Therapies such as acupuncture, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy.
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Please note that optional extra benefits does not include cover for general dental check-up and clean, and Alternative Therapies does not include routine or elective treatments or supplements.  Please see the PDS for details of what is covered and what is not.