Not Covered
Sometimes we don't cover claims (or parts of claims) because they fall outside the plan cover or the T&Cs of the plan haven't been met. The most common reason for not covering claims is due to pre-existing conditions, or items not covered, like doggy shampoo (see things we don’t cover).
Intro
👋
Introduction to your pet’s Plan
Welcome to your pet’s Fetch insurance plan. This is your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and your pet’s policy number is just your email address.
Your pet’s plan is monthly and you can see how renewals work here. Your pet’s plan covers up to $30K per 12 months, and you can choose your cover % and excess $.
This cover only applies to conditions covered by your pet’s plan. We can't cover your pet for any pre-existing conditions. There are some things we don't cover and some T&Cs to use this plan. Please also see the Financial Services Guide (FSG) and Target Market Determination (TMD).
We, Fetch, look after you and your pet’s plan, your claims, and help with questions or complaints. The plan is underwritten by Pacific International Insurance.
Please chat to us in your app if you have any feedback or ideas 💡
⏳
Waiting Periods
Injury: 2 days
Illness: 30 days
Cruciate Ligaments, Patellar Luxation, Hip Dysplasia, Elbow Dysplasia, BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome), Cherry Eye: 90 days
Your pet’s plan has the above waiting periods before you can access cover. Want to speed things up? Follow the in-app instructions allowing us to see your pet has no illnesses or injuries, and we’ll skip the waiting periods.
📋
Pre-existing Conditions
We don’t cover any costs related to pre-existing conditions present before cover is active, including in any waiting periods. These could be any injury, illness, behavioural problem, issue, sign or symptom you or your vet were aware of.
These could include hereditary or congenital conditions, or any bilateral or linked conditions which are related to pre-existing conditions. See here for more information.
Understanding your pet's cover
👩⚕️
Vet Consults
Fetch covers your vet's usual consultation fees as part of diagnosis and treatment.
🤕
Injury
To help your pet get back on their feet; Fetch covers costs associated with veterinary treatment for injuries. These could include consultations, tests and diagnosis, treatment and hospitalisation.
🤒
Illness
Fetch covers costs associated with veterinary treatment for illnesses. These could include consultations, tests and diagnosis, treatment and hospitalisation.
💊
Medication
We cover medication prescribed by your vet. This includes shampoo and skin treatments for diagnosed skin conditions.
🦷
Dental
Smile! We cover vet treatment for dental injury and illness that develop after you take out your pet’s plan, provided:
Your pet has no history of dental or periodontal disease before joining Fetch
A vet has checked your pet’s teeth within the last 12 months of the claim
You have undertaken any treatment or routine care recommended by your vet
We cover removal of baby (deciduous) teeth when they are misaligned (malocclusion) and causing trauma in the mouth, or if they’re retained after permanent teeth have come through. We don't cover pre-existing issues with baby teeth.
We don't cover dental health checks and any routine dental care, for example:
Descale and polish
Prophylaxis
X-rays to assess dental health
Toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash
Fetch doesn't cover the cost of vet treatment for fractured or missing teeth unless they are the direct result of a specific, known injury.
🥣
Food
Fetch covers food provided by your vet while your pet is in hospital for treatment of an illness or injury, or if your vet recommends food to treat a chronic condition. We'll cover this for up to one month.
Fetch doesn't cover food for general feeding, for treating an undiagnosed issue, for treating selective eating, or as part of a weight management program.
🚑
Home Visits and Transport
Fetch will cover the cost of transporting your pet if they need emergency treatment and you've been incapacitated in the same event. We also cover the cost of transportation or home visits if your vet advises that moving your pet by anyone other than a vet may endanger their health.
We can only pay for home visits and transport if the original issue being treated is covered by your pet’s plan.
🛏️
Emergency Boarding
If you are hospitalised for emergency treatment, Fetch will cover boarding at a licensed kennel or cattery for up to 2 weeks. We only provide this cover if it's not reasonable for someone in your family unit or household to look after your pet.
🔎
Lost Pet Support
If your pet goes missing, we're here to help. If you’d like us to, let us know, and we'll run a social media campaign targeting up to 5,000 people in your postcode to help find them.
🎓
Behavioural Cover
Fetch will cover a course of treatment for a diagnosed behavioural disorder, provided by your vet, or someone your vet refers to you, where:
Your pet has no history of behavioural issues, including aggression, before cover is active, including in any waiting periods
You fulfil your pet’s basic needs for training, socialisation, exercise, housing, nutrition and care, and the issue didn't arise from leaving the pet alone for extended periods
🦵
Physio
Fetch covers a course of physiotherapy (including hydrotherapy) if your vet recommends it for a diagnosed condition. Your vet must perform the physiotherapy or refer you to a qualified veterinary physiotherapist.
🤍
End of Life Care
We're here when you need us. Should it be necessary to euthanise your pet due to an issue which is covered by your pet’s plan, Fetch will cover the cost.
Fetch can't cover the cost of cremating your pet or the cost of a post-mortem examination.
🐍
Snake bites
Fetch covers the treatment of snake bites. For more info on snake bites, see here
🦟
Ticks & Parasites
Fetch covers parasite infections as long as you have used an appropriate product which is licensed for the prevention of that parasite, in line with the manufacturer's instructions. For more info on ticks & parasites see here
🦠
Vaccinatable Diseases
Fetch covers vaccinatable diseases, so long as you have kept up to date with your vet-recommended vaccinations, or you can provide a valid antibody test for the disease. Fetch doesn’t cover the costs of vaccinations.
💠
Complementary Therapy
We'll cover one course of acupuncture or cold laser therapy performed by your vet to treat a diagnosed condition. We don't cover homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy, or chiropractic, massage and bowen therapies.
🦿
Protheses & Devices
Fetch covers the costs associated with hip, elbow, and knee replacements for your pet, should your vet recommend them to treat a diagnosed condition. Fetch doesn't cover any other forms of prosthesis, 3D printing, or any other internal or external device.
Things we don't cover
🧸
Accessories
Fetch doesn't cover the cost of any pet accessories. For example (but not limited to), cages and crates, collars, harnesses and leads, toys, brushes, clothing, bedding, bowls, and feeding utensils.
👩💻
Administration fees
Fetch doesn't cover administration fees
🛁
Routine Care & Vaccinations
Fetch doesn't cover the costs of your pet’s routine care, for example (but not limited to) vaccinations & parasite control, bathing, grooming, clipping, de-matting, coat treatments, or shampoos.
We don't cover emptying your pet’s anal glands unless they have a specific problem like an abscess or tumour.
We don't pay for microchipping and registration costs.
🍒
Desexing
Fetch doesn't cover the cost of desexing your pet. This includes the procedure and any problems directly caused by the procedure.
🐾
Breeding
We don't cover any costs which arise as a result of using your pet for breeding. This includes health checks, tests for breeding soundness and any costs associated with pregnancy and giving birth, including caesarean surgery. We don't pay for caring for your pet’s puppies or kittens should they require additional support or treatment following birth.
🪡
Elective and Cosmetic procedures
We don't cover any elective procedures or issues relating to them. This includes cosmetic procedures.
🧬
Some treatments not covered
We don't cover health checks for travel, work, racing, breeding, or sale.
Experimental surgery or treatments are not covered
We don't cover any cost associated with open heart surgery, pacemakers, organ transplants, cancer vaccination, or stem cell therapy except for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
We don't cover any cost associated with cloning, harvesting, manipulation, or storage of genetic material, including genetic testing.
🚨
Significant Local or National Events
We don't cover claims which are caused by or a consequence of:
Epidemics and pandemics (as defined by either the Australian Government or that of your State/Territory, and including any actions which may be enabled as part of the Biosecurity Act 2015)
Notifiable diseases (as defined by the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, or your State/Territory)
Acts of war or terrorism
The effects of nuclear/radioactive materials, riots or civil unrest
Illegal acts
How to make a claim
⏳
Removing Waiting Periods
We’ll skip your Waiting Periods if you follow the in-app instructions that allow us to see your pet has no illnesses or injuries.
💨
Setting up Fast Claims
With Fast Claims, we check your pet’s medical history now so that we can give you clarity on any pre-existing conditions we can't cover. This makes claims faster, and we can often pay your vet directly.
✅
Pre-approving Treatments
Let your vet know you’re with Fetch and before or during any treatment, your vet can check your pet’s cover and your contribution with a pre-approval via our portal.
🧾
Submitting and Reviewing Claims
When you or your vet submits a claim or pre-approval, we check all information and ask if we need anything else. You can track progress in-app, and we'll keep you updated with notifications.
When we check claims, we check:
the claim isn't for, or linked to a pre-existing condition
there are no items on the invoice that we can't cover
the treatment and associated costs meet our expectations
If we think there's an issue with your claim, we may ask a vet we choose for a second opinion on costs and treatment.
💸
Paying the vet directly
If your vet enables it, we'll pay the whole invoice to the vet, after you’ve paid your contribution to us. This could include:
Your excess
Remaining cover %
Any items not covered
Any amount over your 12-month limit
If you've already paid anything to your vet, we'll work out how much to reimburse you and pay your vet.
All claims paid include GST, and your pet’s plan benefits and limits are inclusive of GST.
If we pay a claim and later find it wasn't valid, we can refuse further costs associated with the claim or condition.
Additional Information
🔄
Renewals
Your pet’s plan will renew automatically every month, and we'll take payment from your card or directly from your bank account. If we make any changes to the PDS or other plan documents, we'll let you know at least one month in advance. You can change your renewal notification settings in-app.
😢
Cancellation and Cooling-off Period
You can cancel your pet’s plan with Fetch any time by letting us know in your app through chat. We'll also refund you any remaining days for that month's plan.
You have a 14-day cooling-off period when you first take out your pet’s plan. If you decide you want to leave us during this period, you can cancel and receive a full refund as long as you've not made any claims.
🏥
Healthcare Plans
If your pet has a healthcare plan from their vet, please share the details with us. We'll cover the remainder of your pet's treatment after their healthcare plan benefits (such as consultations, some dental treatments, and discounts) have been applied.
💬
Making a Complaint
If you're not happy, we're not happy. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our product or our service, please chat to us in-app here or email at support@fetchpet.au.
You'll hear back from us within 1 working day. We'll try to resolve things quickly, but if we can't, we'll update you every 10 days. We'll do everything we can to resolve your complaint within 30 days.
If we can't resolve your complaint or if you are unhappy with the outcome, you can get an external review from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. You can contact AFCA by calling 1800 931 678, emailing info@afca.org.au or visiting www.afca.org.au.
💁
Additional Support
We're here for you if you need support due to personal circumstances. Please reach out here or email us at support@fetchpet.au. You can also read our Financial Hardship policy or Family & Domestic Violence policy.
We also follow the General Insurance Code of Practice (GICOP). If you'd like to learn more, you can find the relevant policies at GICOP.
Fetch collects, holds, uses, and discloses your personal information in several ways. To learn more, please read our Privacy Policy.
T&C's
Definitions, words with special meanings
