Did you know that 94% of cats and dogs in Australia are uninsured, which can put a big financial strain on pet-owners when the unexpected happens. In some cases, it means pets aren’t receiving the treatment they need.

Pet care can be complex, overwhelming and hard to follow for pet owners. The harder it is to do, the less it gets done.

We at Dogshare recently went on a mission to find a Pet Insurer that we aligned with. An Insurer that offers simple coverage with no hidden surprises.  We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with Knose - A provider of Pet Insurance & Wellness plans.  

What we like about Knose is that they have made Pet Insurance very clear, easy and straightforward – as it should be. No gotchas. No surprises.

• Pet Owners choose whether they want cover for 70%, 80% or 90% of Vet Cost for treatment
• They can make a claim in a matter of minutes and never pay any additional excess after an applicable waiting period.

Knose believes that

• Pet care should be simple, easy and convenient.
• Prevention is better than cure, but understand accidents and illness do happen.
• Everyone should have access to, and be able to afford great pet care.
• In the power and importance of local independent veterinary clinics.
• Every customer, vet, pet owner and supplier should be treated with care and respect.

Pet insurance is a relatively new product requiring specialised knowledge, one reason so few insurers underwrite it[1]. In fact, 80% of pet insurance products are written and administered by a single insurer. With 27 of the ~34 brands available in market issued by the same organisation[2], there is a problem.  So much so that the Productivity Commission has probed it. A recent report criticising various practice as creating an illusion of competition for consumers and noting pet insurance is one of the least competitive areas across financial services![3]

This lack of competition has contributed to policies being issued that consumer group CHOICE thinks are not even worth buying[4]. 

Knose, a pet insurance and wellness specialist is a breath of fresh air to this market.  Knose pet insurance has been built from the ground up with vets’ advice to provide clear cover that’s easy to understand and simple to use. 

Knose policies have no excess

Here is a worked example of the implication.

Assuming a customer submits a valid claim for $500 on a product with 80% benefit and a $200 excess.  The customer then needs to pay the excess, so only $300 is claimable and then gets 80% of that for a total benefit of $240.  Effectively receiving a 48% benefit rate. 

That’s $240 back on a $500 claim.

On an 80% Knose policy, all else equal, the customer would get back $400.  A true 80% benefit.

With Knose, that’s $400 back on a $500 claim.

Knose has no sub-limits

only an overall annual benefit of $25,000. This matters when specific events happened that have had a sub-limit imposed by the incumbents.  Take the case of tick toxicity.  If a pet contracts tick paralysis after a toxic tick bite, it is life-threatening, and costs could be in the thousands.  If this happened to a pet covered by a typical Hollard policy, the maximum benefit is $1,000 even if the policy had an overall benefit limit of say $15,000.  Well, with Knose if it is covered it is covered up to $25,000.  No restrictive sub-limits. 

And tick toxicity is not the only sub-limit.  Here is a list of sub limits from RSPCA pet insurance, the largest brand issued by Hollard:

Tick paralysis $1,000

Emergency boarding $1,000

Consultation fees $300

Cruciate ligament conditions $2,600

Woolworths pet insurance, another big Hollard brand have these same limits and also a $500 limit on skin conditions.

Knose does things a little differently

Comparing deals are easy. It take about 1 minute to get a quote from Knose - you can check them out here: https://knose.com.au 

You can also read more in an interview with Knose Founders Tiaan Dreyer and Nathan Harris on the Mozo blog here: https://mozo.com.au/family-finances/introducing-the-insurer-all-pet-lovers-should-knose-about 

References: 

[1] https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/pet-insurance-market-looks-to-rise-of-the-fur-baby-20190215-h1baml).

[2] https://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/226125/subdr066-financial-system.pdf

[3] https://insurancenews.com.au/analysis/commission-challenges-the-brand-illusion

[4]  https://www.choice.com.au/shonky-awards/hall-of-shame/shonkys-2019/pet-insurance

Image: Image by mohamed Hassan

The Knose Pet Insurance product is issued by Knose Financial Services Pty Ltd ABN 38 620 795 735, AR 1275755 (‘Knose’) is authorised to issue Knose Pet Insurance as an authorised representative of Blend Insurance Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 47 617 346 353, AFSL No. 500768) (‘Blend’). Blend is an underwriting agency acting under a binding authority as agent for the insurer, Australian branch of Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd (ABN 54 163 304 907) (‘Allied World’). 

Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Please refer to the Knose Product Disclosure Statement.