Affordable Pet Insurance for multiple pets: A complete guide

The more the merrier, right? The multi pet household is a home full of activity, cuddles, tummy rubs and tickles.

Unfortunately, there is one fairly significant downside to having numerous pets. Caring for multiple pets can mean frequent visits to the vet that can quickly add up.

Fortunately, pet insurance can help you save money by paying towards your eligible vet bills. What’s more, pet owners with more than one pet can save on their premiums by choosing a pet insurance provider that offers discounts for multiple pets.

Importance of pet insurance

No matter how well you look after them, most dogs and cats will require veterinary care at some stage. Vet treatment these days is highly advanced, but that means it often comes with a high price tag. Unfortunately, there is no Medicare for pets, so you will need to cover the entire cost of those vet bills… unless you have pet insurance.

While it may be quite simple to budget for the ongoing day-to-day expenses of having a pet, an unforeseen sickness or injury can quickly mount up to thousands of dollars in vet bills. That’s where pet insurance can help.

A pet insurance policy can give you some control over potential future veterinary expenses. It’s a great idea to cover your pets right from the start, before any health issues are diagnosed and become pre-existing conditions.

Understanding pet insurance

What Is pet insurance?

Pet insurance is a way to protect both you and your pets from unexpected vet bills that will arise from an accident or illness. With pet insurance, there is no need for your pets to suffer if veterinary care is too expensive.

We have heard many stories of pet owners choosing to go into debt to finance their pet’s medical bills or having to choose between money and the life of their pet.

Pet insurance provides a mechanism to level out your vet expenditure over your pet’s lifetime and reduce the risk of having to pay a huge vet bill in one lump sum.

Pet insurance helps provide peace of mind that you’ll be able to provide your pets with the best available care should they suffer an unexpected illness or injury.

Coverage for veterinary expenses

Most pet owners choose a policy that covers their pet for accidental injuries and illnesses. These types of pet insurance policies typically cover vet treatments and surgeries ranging from minor problems such as ear infections and bee stings to major conditions such as broken bones, diabetes and cancer.

Financial protection

Insurance is the one thing we pay for that we hope we never need to use. But when it is needed, pet owners are relieved to have the financial protection of pet insurance, because you can never predict when something might happen to your pet.

Pet insurance helps provide peace of mind, but It can also provide huge financial relief.  A pet owner can potentially claim thousands of dollars per year through their pet insurance, depending on the annual limit of the policy they have.

Multi-pet insurance coverage

Types of multi pet insurance plans

Multi-pet coverage varies from one insurance company to the next. While some don’t offer any discount, other providers offer a discount as high as 10% for insuring multiple pets under their brand.

Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance has a great offer for multi pet insurance. If you insure more than one pet with Bow Wow Meow. you will receive a 10% discount on the second and subsequent pets¹.

This provides you with the flexibility of an individual policy for each of your pets, allowing you to select different coverage levels and/or options for each pet, depending on their specific needs.

Benefits of multi-pet insurance

Dealing with just one pet insurance provider for all your pets usually keeps things simpler.

However, the biggest benefit is that you can save on your premiums by choosing a provider that offers a multi-pet discount.

How does insurance for multiple pets work?

• Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policyholders get a 10% discount that applies to their second and subsequent Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policies¹.
• The 10% discount is applied based on the order that pet details are entered when they obtain a quote, or on the order in which the policies are purchased.
• When two or more policies are purchased in the same transaction, the discount is applied to the premium at the time of purchasing the second or subsequent policy for an additional pet.
• For existing policyholders that wish to insure an additional pet, please call Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance on 1800 668 502 for the discount to apply.

Adding or removing pets

• To add a new pet to your Bow Wow Meow policy, please call us on 1800 668 502 (Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm AEST) or contact us and we can arrange this for you.
• You can cancel your policy with us at any time by contacting our customer service team.
• The cancellation will be effective once we provide you with a written confirmation of your request, either by email or letter.

Factors to consider when insuring multiple pets

Assessing your pets’ health

You are not usually required to undertake a health check for your pets when you first get insurance. However, it’s important to be aware that pre-existing conditions are generally excluded from your pets’ cover. This refers to conditions that pre-date the policy and conditions that arise during the waiting period.

Therefore, the best time to take out pet insurance for multiple pets is when your pets are still young, before they experience health issues that could be considered as pre-existing conditions that will be excluded from their cover.

Another important fact to consider is that as your pets age, they are more likely to experience health conditions. As dogs and cats age much faster than we do, their probable veterinary costs will rise rapidly each year.

Average cost of pet insurance for multiple pets

Naturally, not every pet will have the same monthly premiums for their insurance. In addition to the annual excess and benefit percentage you have chosen, your premium is calculated using details such as the breed and age of your pet. For example, a ten-year-old Great Dane and a one-year-old Cavoodle have very different vet expenses, so you would expect to pay a different premium for these two pets.

When it comes to age, as a pet get older, the risk of the pet requiring treatment will increase and so the premium increases.

When it comes to breed, some breeds have a higher probability of having health issues occurring than others, making them more expensive to insure.

To keep pet insurance fair for all customers, high risk breeds pay a higher premium than low risk breeds. Some breeds are prone to various health problems whereas others remain relatively healthy over their lifespan. We assess this based on years of claims and veterinary data.

Your premiums will also be affected by data relating to the health of other pets that are a similar age and breed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Multi-Pet Insurance

Which pet insurance is best for multiple pets?

Look for a comprehensive policy with flexibility so that you can customise the cover to suit your pets’ requirements – and your budget.

Find out more about our pet insurance options.

Is there pet insurance that covers multiple pets?

Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance offers a 10% discount that applies to your second and all subsequent Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policies¹.

What is the discount for multiple pet insurance?

The discount for multiple policies varies between providers. Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance offers a 10% discount for your second and subsequent Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policies¹.

What’s the cheapest pet insurance?

Mmm. We recommend that you read this article: Are cheap pet insurance policies worth it?

Conclusion

With the rising cost of vet bills, and the prevalence of accidents and illnesses affecting our pets, pet insurance has become a necessity. And, if you have more than one pet, the vet bills can quickly double or even treble.

So it’s definitely worthwhile to insure your fur babies with a provider that offers multi pet discounts.

It’s great to know that Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policyholders get a 10% discount that applies to their second and subsequent Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance policies¹.

Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance can help protect you and your pet should an unexpected trip to the vet occur.

• Find out more about our dog insurance options

• Find out more about our cat insurance options

• Get an instant online pet insurance quote