Pet Travel Insurance: What’s Actually Covered?

Quick summary for busy readers:

• Most comprehensive travel insurance policies include a pet-minding benefit that covers kennel or cattery fees if you’re delayed getting home, plus vet costs if your pet gets sick or hurt while it’s in someone else’s care.
• Cover is usually limited to cats and dogs. Birds, reptiles, rabbits and other pets typically aren’t included.
• Standard cancellation cover usually doesn’t extend to your pet falling ill or dying before you leave. A handful of insurers sell a specific pet cancellation add-on for this, but it’s the exception rather than the rule.
• Cover amounts, waiting periods and exclusions vary a lot between insurers, so it’s worth checking the Policy Wording before you assume your policy includes any of this.
• Air New Zealand, Sounds Air and Origin Air all allow pets to travel as checked baggage on domestic flights, but no airlines currently offer a cabin option.

 

Most people buy travel insurance to protect themselves: medical bills, lost luggage… you know the drill. But if you’ve got a dog or cat waiting at home (or at a kennel) while you’re away, there’s a decent chance your policy will cover them in certain circumstances. Surprised? Well, that’s because pet travel insurance is usually tucked into the fine print of the Policy Wording. But if you’re a pet owner, it pays (sometimes literally) to know what to look out for in a policy.

Below we’ve broken down everything you need to know about pets and travel insurance.

What is pet travel insurance?

Despite the name, pet travel insurance isn’t a separate policy you buy for your pet. It’s a benefit built into a lot of travel insurance policies, designed to protect you financially if something goes wrong with your trip while your dog or cat is being looked after back home.

Think of it less as ‘insurance for your pet’ and more as an extension of your own cover. So, if your flight gets delayed, if you end up in hospital overseas, or if any other insured event stretches your trip out longer than planned, this is the part of your policy that stops the flow-on costs from landing on you as well.

In practice, that usually includes:

• Extended kennel or cattery fees. If a covered delay means your pet needs extra nights in care, most comprehensive policies will pay a daily rate toward that, generally somewhere in the $20 to $30 range.
• Veterinary treatment. If your pet gets sick or injured while you’re away, the cost of treatment is often covered too, provided your pet was in proper care at the time, whether that’s a kennel, a cattery or with a trusted friend or family member.
• Home help on your return. Some policies go a step further and cover housekeeping services if you come home injured or unwell yourself and need a hand getting back on your feet, pet included.

A few things worth knowing before you assume any of this applies to you. This kind of cover almost always sits within comprehensive policies rather than the cheaper, more basic tiers, so it’s worth checking the level of whatever policy you’re looking at.

These benefits are also generally limited to cats and dogs (birds, reptiles, rabbits and other pets typically aren’t included) and only apply if your pet is being cared for within New Zealand while you’re away (whether you’re travelling domestically or heading overseas).

And like most travel insurance benefits, there are caps on how much the insurer will pay out; a routine vet visit is one thing, but major surgery or a lengthy hospital stay for your pet probably won’t be covered in full.

Can I cancel my holiday if my pet is ill?

This one catches a lot of people out because the answer is usually no.

Standard cancellation cover on most New Zealand travel insurance policies is built around events affecting you: your own sudden illness or injury, the illness or death of a travelling companion or a close (human) family member back home. If you read through a typical Policy Wording, you’ll find your pet simply isn’t on that list of insured reasons.

So, if your pet gets sick the week before you fly out and you decide to cancel the trip to be with them, that claim would likely be knocked back under a basic or mid-tier policy. And if your pet falls ill while you’re already overseas and you want to cancel the rest of your trip and fly home, the associated costs likely won’t be covered either.

Of course, there are some exceptions. A small number of insurers offer a dedicated pet cancellation option, but usually as an add-on to a comprehensive policy rather than something bundled in automatically. Typically, you’ll need a vet to confirm in writing that your pet has a life-threatening condition and the cover only kicks in if that diagnosis happens before you’ve left.

Essentially, if cancelling a trip for your pet’s sake is a real concern for you, it’s worth specifically asking an insurer whether they offer that add-on because most won’t mention it unless you ask.

Does travel insurance cover the death of a pet?

Sadly, on a standard policy, the death of a pet isn’t typically listed as a reason you can cancel or cut short a trip and claim your prepaid costs back. Insurers generally reserve that kind of cover for the death of a travelling companion or an immediate (human) family member.

That said, some of the same specialist pet cancellation add-ons that cover life-threatening illness will also cover the death of a pet before departure, provided you can show veterinary confirmation. It tends to sit alongside the illness benefit rather than as a separate product, so if an insurer offers one, they usually offer both.

Again, check the Policy Wording and ask your insurer directly if this matters to you before you buy.

Which airlines are pet friendly?

Want to bring your pet along for a trip rather than leave them behind? It’ll be hard if you’re flying somewhere as no airline currently offers a cabin option for pets (aside from certified service animals).

Air New Zealand allows dogs, cats and small caged birds to travel as checked baggage on domestic flights, provided they’re in a suitable pet carrier. There is a pet carriage fee though; it’s usually around $120.

Sounds Air and Origin Air also allow pets to travel as checked baggage on domestic flights but again fees apply.

On international routes, pets will have to travel as cargo through Air New Zealand Cargo.