Cover for a
woman’s best friend

Stella Pet Insurance is available to Your companion cats and dogs that reside with You in Australia.  We do not cover any other type of pets.

Stella Pet Insurance has been designed for companion cats and dogs but does not provide cover for all types of cats and dogs.

Banned breeds
Certain breeds are considered dangerous and/or are banned in Australia. It is not possible to purchase cover for a dangerous or banned breed.  If Your Pet’s breed is categorised as dangerous and/or banned in Australia after purchase or renewal of Your Policy, then Your Pet will no longer be eligible for this Policy and We will send You notice of non-renewal prior to the expiry of Your current Period of Insurance.

Work or sporting activities
Cats and dogs participating in commercial or sporting activity such as breeding or obstetrics, working, fighting, racing, personal protection, gun sports, law enforcement or guarding are not eligible for cover.

Note that it is possible to purchase cover for pets who participate in or are show dogs/cats, search and rescue dogs, guide dogs, assistance dogs or customs sniffer dogs.

Once you have insurance, there is no age limit. However, there are minimum and maximum ages for starting insurance.

Minimum and maximum age of Pets on entry
When purchasing a new Policy:

1. the minimum age for entry for a Pet is 6 weeks old; and
2. the maximum age for entry is 8 years and 364 days old.

Exclusion Periods apply to certain benefits available under the Policy. Cover is only available after the Exclusion Period has elapsed.

You may ask us to waive the Exclusion Period for some or all the Specified Conditions, and other Conditions (e.g. Dental Illness).  When you take out a policy, we will provide an Application Form to apply for a reduction of Exclusion Period(s) for You and Your vet to complete.

Specified Conditions include cruciate ligament damage, intervertebral disc disease, hip dysplasia, patella luxation, elbow dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), cherry eye, entropion, ectropion, and Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) and Lumps. Lumps are not considered a Specified Condition if Your Pet was under one (1) year old on the First Date of Cover or when Your cover increased.

Cover commences at 23:59 on the day you purchase cover.

Cover under Your Policy will continue into subsequent Renewal Periods and will cease on the effective date of cancellation or the end date of Your current Period of Insurance if You confirm You don’t wish to renew Your Policy.

As long as You continue to hold the cover, pay Your Premium when it falls due and meet the conditions of cover, We will not refuse to provide You with a Renewal Policy due to the number of claims You may have made or if Your Pet has developed chronic conditions.

However, please note that we may change the terms and conditions of your cover over time, and your policy renewal may reflect these changes, based on factors including, but not limited to, a pet’s age, breed, and general increase in the cost of veterinary treatment. This may lead to an increase in your premiums.

While there are numerous factors involved in determining the premium levels, a pet’s age plays an important part. Like humans, as pets age, the likelihood of them falling ill increases and the cost of veterinary procedures generally also increases. This means that the Premium is likely to increase each year to make sure we can keep helping with your pet’s veterinary costs. This is a general guide only, and future premium levels can also be impacted by other factors including, but not limited to, a pet’s breed and general increase in the cost of veterinary treatment over time. Please call us on 1300 633 811 if you would like to know more about Stella Pet Insurance.

During the application process You will be provided with various options to tailor Your coverage, You can choose:

1. Your Annual Limit.
2. What proportion of Vet Costs You would like reimbursed.
3. Whether or not you’d like to include an Annual Excess and the level of Annual Excess.
4. To include optional extra benefits or not.

After you’ve purchased your Policy online, you may also call us to arrange to exclude cover for Vet Consultations.

There is no cover under this Policy for Vet Costs for Treatment of Pre-existing Conditions.

A Pre-existing Condition is defined as:

an Injury, Illness, Dental Illness or Behavioural Problem, (including Bilateral Condition and other conditions that are related to, secondary to, or results of) that:

1. a) first occurred or showed symptoms of, or
2. b) was identified or investigated by a Vet, or
3. c) You were aware of or a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to have known about,

before Your Pet’s First Date of Cover, before a change of coverage becomes effective, or during any applicable Exclusion Period.

When We conduct the assessment of Your first claim under the Policy We will also arrange for a full assessment of Your Pet’s medical history. You will be required to aid in the process of obtaining Your Pet’s medical history (e.g. by providing details of any Vets Your Pet has seen in the past). This assessment will establish what Pre-existing Conditions, if any, Your Pet has, and We will share the assessment outcome with You. You may request a Pre-existing Condition assessment before Your first claim (e.g. during a cooling off period).

Where an assessment has been completed that results in the identification of Pre-existing Conditions, We will provide You with an updated Certificate of Insurance which lists them along with confirmation of the required symptom-free period for each, for Us to consider exception from the Pre-existing Condition exclusion.

During the application process you will have the option to include optional extra benefits and extend cover for some conditions and treatments that are otherwise not covered under the Policy.

Optional extra benefits include:

• Vet Costs for Dental Illness such as dental diseases, gingivitis, periodontal disease.
• Vet Costs for Behavioural Problems such as excessive licking, fur pulling, pacing and destructive chewing.
• Vet Costs for Specialised Therapies such as acupuncture, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy.

Please note that optional extra benefits do not include cover for general dental check-up and clean (for Dental Illness), and do not include routine or elective treatments or supplements (for Alternative Therapies). For full details about what is and isn’t covered you should always refer to the Product Disclosure Statement.

When you decide to purchase pet insurance for your pet, one of the most important things for you to consider is what conditions, injuries or illnesses they have had before the start of cover under the policy and occur during an applicable Exclusion Period.

The reason it is important to think about this is because Stella Pet Insurance, like most pet insurance policies, has an exclusion for Pre-existing Conditions, which means there is no cover for Vet Costs associated with the Treatment of a Pre-existing Condition. And unlike private health insurance for humans, conditions that arose while being covered by one pet insurance provider is generally not covered by another provider, if you switch cover.

Same common conditions, injuries and illnesses that may have occurred prior to Your Pet’s First Date of Cover include diarrhea, ear infections, swallowing a foreign object or limping. These may be considered pre-existing even though they have temporarily been treated and/or resolved.

You can request a Pre-existing Condition assessment. If your Pet has Pre-existing Conditions, we will also tell you whether any Pre-existing Conditions may be reviewed at a future date, the earliest future date you may request a review and any supporting information we will require at that time.

Note that exclusions are not automatically lifted at the review date, and it will only be lifted if we are satisfied the medical evidence confirms the Pre-existing Condition has been successfully treated and/or resolved. If a Pre-existing Condition is not reviewable, it will be permanently excluded from your cover.

Exclusion Periods apply from the time your policy starts, even if you have decided to switch to Stella Pet Insurance from another provider’s pet insurance policy, and also when you upgrade your level of cover with Stella.

We offer customers the chance to submit an additional application to request the 6-month Exclusion Period applicable for Specified Conditions (and others, e.g. Dental Illness) to be reduced or waived.

To consider whether a reduction of the Exclusion Period can be provided, we require:

• a completed request form from you, which will require you to have your pet examined by a vet at your own expense; and
• copies of your pet’s medical history & clinical notes. You will need to assist us in the process of obtaining these, for example, by providing details of any vets your pet has seen in the past.

During our assessment of the application, we will review the available information, and if sufficient, confirm whether there are any identified or suspected Specified Conditions (and others). Where we are comfortable that we there aren’t any identified or suspected Specified Conditions (and others), we may reduce or waive the Exclusion Period for those Specified Conditions (and others).

We will confirm the outcome of your application and if we decide to approve the reduction of the Exclusion Period, we will provide you with an updated Certificate of Insurance which lists the agreed Specified Conditions (and others) and the new reduced Exclusion Period applicable.

At Stella we value transparency. It is very important to us that we are as clear and upfront as possible about the cover available under your policy, and we therefore offer a pre-existing Condition assessment that can be completed after you purchase a policy for your pet to help you understand what we consider to be a Pre-existing Condition and therefore excluded from your cover.

If you decide not to get a Pre-existing Condition assessment completed straight after purchase a policy with us, we will still require one at the time of your first claim based on a full assessment of your pet’s medical history. This will also include conditions (including signs & symptoms of conditions) contained in the medical history during an applicable Exclusion Period.