HCF PET INSURANCE

Yes, your dog or cat must be younger than 9 years old when you first apply to be insured with us. HCF Happy Tails Cover allows you to cover your dog or cat for life, as long as we continue to provide this product and you continue to hold the policy without a break, lapse or change in the level of coverage with cover subject to the applicable terms and conditions of the renewing policy. See details in your PDS.

Yes, you can visit any vet (other than yourself if you are a vet) that is registered to legally practice as a veterinarian in Australia.

A pre-existing condition is a condition that existed or occurred prior to the commencement date of your first policy period or within any applicable waiting period. It’s a condition that you were aware of, or a reasonable person in your circumstances would have been aware of. This is irrespective of whether the underlying or causative condition was diagnosed at the time.

Whether it’s a pre-existing condition will depend on the condition’s nature and experience. Outside of any applicable waiting period, if your pet has a temporary condition that has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality in the 18-month period immediately prior to your claim treatment date, it will no longer be excluded from your cover as a pre-existing condition. Chronic conditions and several other specified conditions can’t fall within this category.

See our Product Disclosure Statement for more information and examples of pre-existing conditions. You can apply to have any pre-existing condition reviewed by using the form here.

HCF encourages responsible pet ownership by providing Routine Care – a non-insurance benefit which provides a contribution towards certain preventative healthcare treatments for your pet. Routine Care is a $150 per policy period for contribution towards some treatments like:

• Desexing
• Vaccinations
• Health checks
• Microchipping
• Heartworm preventative
• Prescription diets
• Puppy pre-school and obedience training
• Flea, tick and worm control
• FeLV and FIV, and heartworm tests
• Wellness blood screen
• Nail clippings

HCF Pet Insurance allows you to add an optional Booster Care benefit to our Happy Tails Cover, to help cover eligible vet expenses incurred for specified dental conditions. Booster Care cover provides cover for up to $2,000 per policy period for specified dental conditions and specialised therapies.

Includes the following specified dental conditions:

• Scaling
• Polishing
• Dental x-rays

• Removal of teeth where medically necessary, due to:

  • Gingivitis
  • Abscesses
  • Dental disease arising from infection
  • Retained deciduous teeth
  • Cavities
  • Fractured teeth due to dental disease
  • Odontoclastic resorptive lesions

Includes specialised therapies:

• Physiotherapy or physical therapy
• Chiropractic manipulation
• Acupuncture
• Hydrotherapy
• Treatment of behavioural conditions
• Consultations with a veterinary behavioural specialist

Please note: A 6-month waiting period applies to specified dental conditions. The waiting period that applies for specialised therapy items is dependent on the waiting period for the covered condition. You should read your Product Disclosure Statement to understand what is covered under this optional benefit.

New policies: Your premium is calculated using a combination of factors about you and your pet. These factors can affect the premium amount up or down depending upon whether we believe it increases or decreases the risk to us, such as the cover you have chosen, the excess selected, the benefit percentage applicable to the cover you have chosen, where you and your pet permanently live, your age and the species, breed, gender of your pet, the current age of your pet, the age you first insured your pet, and other factors related to our cost of doing business.

Renewing policies and replacement policies: Factors that are taken into consideration for renewal and replacement policy premium calculation include your pet’s age, breed, location, duration for which your pet has been insured, claims history, as well as data relating to the health of pets that are a similar age and breed. Each year we review premiums based on these factors to ensure we can accommodate the costs of possible treatment up to your annual benefit limit, if your pet becomes injured or ill.

No. Pet insurance does not work like health insurance. Health insurance is ‘community rated’, which means that everyone pays the same premium for their health insurance regardless of their individual health status, age or claims history. This is not the case for pet insurance.

Health insurance providers are able to community rate health insurance because there are many other factors at play in the human health care system, such as Medicare and government rebates and subsidies, which is not the case with veterinary care and pet insurance.

Pet insurance claim reimbursements are paid for purely by the premiums received by those who insure their pets. In order for each person to pay a fair price for their pet insurance, premiums vary depending on your and your pet’s risk factors.

We'll automatically renew your policy each year after sending you a renewal notice (unless you tell us otherwise). Your renewal notice will specify any changes to your cover and the premium. You can pay your premiums by credit card or direct debit, either fortnightly, monthly or annually.

Yes, you can ask to change your level of cover at any time so long as you haven't made a claim during the policy period. If you have claimed, you can change it when you renew (or replace) your policy. Please note that you may not be able to change your level of cover if your pet is over the age of 9 years.

Each eligible dog or cat will need to have its own policy, with its own individual choice of cover and excess option. If you need pet insurance for more than one pet, you can get a discount of up to 10% on additional pet insurance policies^##. Call us on 1800 630 681 to learn more. 
 
Please note that if you’re an eligible HCF member, your 12% member discount^** will be applied first and then a 10% discount on second or subsequent policies^##. 

No. Only cats and dogs can be covered under a HCF Pet Insurance policy.

No, when you apply for HCF Pet Insurance you don’t need to submit any veterinary records. We may ask you a few simple questions about any illnesses and injuries your pet may have had before you apply. This information is important and forms part of your legal duty to not make a misrepresentation when you apply for cover.

Yes, generally your premium will increase each year. This is for two main reasons:

• Just like humans, the older our pets get, the more likely they are to have health hiccups. Cats and dogs age faster than we do, which means that their likely veterinary treatment costs go up rapidly each year too. As a result, the cost of insuring your pet will also increase as they get older.
• Advancements in veterinary treatments.

The overall cost of medical treatment for pets has increased in recent years due to the increased availability of medical treatments and technology-enabled services and ongoing demand for these services. The treatment options and advancements in technology are providing us with great opportunities to give our pets a great quality of life for longer.

While this is great news for the care of our pets, these treatments come at a significant cost. Year on year treatment costs increase, and this is factored into the cost of pet insurance.

Every year, we review the cost of everyone’s insurance with regards to a combination of factors as well as claims inflation across all our insured pets. In addition to any premium increase for the age of your pet, increases in our claims costs, whether due to advancements in medicine and veterinary procedures or an increased demand for services, impact everyone’s premiums.

Your premium takes into account the average cost of care for pets like yours. To provide an example of this, a pet parent with a 3-year-old French Bulldog will be affected by the trends we see in our data from hundreds of 3-year-old French Bulldogs that we insure, as well as the specific claims history of their own pet.

Yes, you can. If your pet has had a temporary condition that was subject to the pre-existing condition exclusion, you can apply to have it reviewed. Your vet will need to certify and provide veterinary records verifying that the condition remains a temporary condition and has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality for a period of 18 months.

This can also be automatically reviewed when you submit your first claim. The pre-existing condition exclusion(s) won’t be deemed to have been lifted unless agreed to by us in writing. You can download a copy of the Pre-existing Condition Review Form.

You can find a summary of your cover in the Pet Portal or refer to your PDS and Certificate of Insurance for all the information on your cover.

Pre-approvals aren't mandatory but can provide you with additional reassurance. To find out if an upcoming or specific treatment for your pet will be covered, please email us at claimreview@petsure.com.au with the following:

• policy number or policyholder and pet name
• name of the condition being treated and the proposed procedure
• name of your regular vet and the vet where the procedure will take place
• an itemised estimate of costs relating to the procedure (optional - if you have it).

Once we receive this information, you can expect to hear back from us within 2 business days.

Yes, provided they have not shown any noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality at any time before the commencement date of the first policy period or during any applicable waiting period. This excludes any pre-existing conditions. For more information, refer to the Product Disclosure Statement.

No. HCF Pet Insurance doesn’t include cover for Third Party Liability. Domestic contents insurance may. We suggest you contact your contents insurer (if you have one) for details of the cover.

We want to support our members who are struggling financially. We've got your back in good times and bad, so please don't hesitate to make contact and we can talk through your options. 

Here's how to get in touch with us:

• Call 1800 630 681 to speak to our team. Monday to Friday (except public holidays) 8:00am to 8:00pm (AEST).
• Send us an email at hcf@petsure.com.au

You may cancel your policy at any time. Please call our customer service team on 1800 630 681 or send us an email at hcf@petsure.com.au so we can discuss your options.

If you do decide to cancel, we'll retain the portion of the premium that relates to the period that you've been insured up to your cancellation date. Where you have paid for a period in advance (e.g., for the full fortnight, month or year), we'll refund that proportion of premium for the time remaining on the policy (less any non-refundable government or statutory charges). We may also cancel your policy where the law allows us to do so. Please refer to our Product Disclosure Statement for more information.

We hope that you never have reason to complain, but if you do, we will do our best to work with you to resolve it. Our complaints resolution process has three steps. Please let us know if you require additional assistance to lodge a complaint.

1. IMMEDIATE RESPONSE 
   If you have a complaint, we’ll take steps to resolve it as soon as possible. We’ll acknowledge your complaint within one business day of receiving it.
   
   Please contact us using on the of following means:
   Phone: 1800 630 681 (Weekdays between 8am and 8pm AEST – except public holidays)
   Writing: Customer Service Complaints, HCF Pet Insurance, Locked Bag 9021 Castle Hill NSW 1765
   
   Please supply your policy number if you have one, to enable the enquiry to be dealt with promptly and by someone with appropriate authority.
   
   
2. INTERNAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION
   If we haven’t resolved your matter to your satisfaction, at your request we’ll escalate your complaint for review by our Internal Disputes Resolution team. Please use the same contact information in step 1 to make this request. All escalated matters are acknowledged within one business day of receipt. The Internal Dispute Resolution team will review your complaint and any supporting evidence. After full consideration of the matter, a written final response will be provided to you, outlining the decision reached and the reasons for the decision. 
   
   
3. EXTERNAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION
   If your complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction, or a final response has not been provided to you within 30 days, you can refer the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), providing your matter is within the scope of the AFCA Rules. AFCA is an independent dispute resolution service provided free of charge.
   
   You may contact AFCA at:
   Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
   Mail: GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
   Phone: 1800 931 678 
   Website: www.afca.org.au 
   Email: info@afca.org.au

Select ‘Live Vet’ in the top navigation bar of your Pet Portal and you can connect to an experienced Australian registered vet to help your pet within minutes, via video call or chat. You need to log in to the portal to access, so if you haven’t already registered, head to the sign-up page⁺.

Once you’ve provided the required information, you’ll be connected to a vet within minutes. We do our best to connect to you a vet as quickly as possible, typically within 2 minutes. However, during exceptionally busy periods or unforeseen changes in demand, you should generally get a connection within 15 minutes.

When your vet consultation has ended, you’ll be sent a summary of your online consultation, including your vet advice, to the email address you’ve provided.