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Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance Review

Sophie Venz
Editor

Updated: Apr 18, 2024, 2:35pm

Johanna Leggatt
editor

Edited By

Editorial note: Forbes Advisor Australia may earn revenue from this story in the manner disclosed here. Read our advice disclaimer here.

The Bow Wow Meow’s premium offer, Ultimate Care, is a decent choice for Australian pet owners, with a good range of reimbursement rates and many positive customer reviews. It offers cover for specified dental conditions, GapOnly payments and a $20,000 maximum benefit limit.

Note: an earlier version of this story analysed the Peace of Mind Plan of Bow Wow Meow. This updated version analyses the features of the Ultimate Care policy—its premium offer.

Related: Guide to Understanding Pet Insurance

Pros

  • Positive customer reviews
  • Choice of reimbursement rates
  • GapOnly is offered at participating vets

Cons

  • Routine care isn’t automatically included
  • No choice of excess
  • Standard annual limit of $20,000
Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance
Learn More
4.2
Our ratings take into account the card’s rewards, fees, rates along with the card’s category. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Maximum annual claim
$20,000
Choice of Excess?
No excess
GapOnly Payment
Yes

Table of Contents

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About Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance

Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance was established in 1995, initially as a business offering pet owners personalised pet ID tags. In 2008, as pet insurance took off in popularity in Australia, Bow Wow Meow began to offer its own insurance policies.

Today, pet owners can choose from four different pet insurance plans when choosing Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance. These plans are the ultimate care plan; peace of mind plan; the accident plus plan; and the indoor cat plan, with each varying in their level of coverage.

For the purpose of this review, Forbes Advisor has analysed Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy—it’s highest level of coverage and slightly superior in benefits to its most popular plan, the Peace of Mind plan. Generally speaking, the company is highly regarded by its customers, receiving an average rating of 4.3 stars from more than 2700 reviews on ProductReview.

You will note that we have not included costs of the plan because this will vary between pets and is based on their age and how long they have been insured, any discounts and whether you have claimed in the past. As consumer website Choice notes, premiums for pet insurance can vary between $180 per year up to an eye-watering $4,500.

The finer details of the plan are examined in more depth below.

What Type of Pets Does Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance Cover?

Regardless of whether you take out Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy or any of its other three pet policies, Bow Wow Meow only covers cats and dogs. Some policies, such as the indoor cat plan, are specific only to the one type of pet.

So if you are looking for pet insurance for a different kind of pet, such as a rabbit, Bow Wow Meow unfortunately doesn’t have an option for you.

Related: Dog Vaccinations in Australia: Everything You Need to Know

What’s Covered In Bow Wow Meow’s Peace of Mind Policy?

Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy aims to do exactly that for pet owners: provide ultimate care. There is no excess on the policy, which means owners can claim for small bills, such as vet consults, but be aware a sub-limit of $300 applies annually to vet consultation fees. Pet owners can choose what percentage of veterinary bills they want covered with their policy, whether that be 60%, 70% or 80%, to help lower their premiums.

The maximum you can claim each year with the Ultimate Care policy is $20,000, which is standard for this tier, but not exceptional. Meanwhile, GapOnly–where you only have to pay the excess, rather than having to pay upfront and claim the cost back–is available at participating vets.

While routine care such as vaccinations and deworming isn’t automatically included in the Ultimate Care plan, it is available as an optional add on.

Additionally, emergency boarding fees are covered up to $1,000 per year in case you are ill for a certain period and unable to care for your pet.

Is Spaying and Neutering Covered?

While spaying and neutering (also known as desexing) is not covered automatically in the policy, it can be added at an additional cost. Desexing is part of Bow Wow Meow’s Routine Care cover, which can be added to any policy.

What About Older Pets?

New policies with Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care plan are only available for pets aged between eight weeks and under nine years old. Pets older than nine can stay on the plan if it was taken out prior, however, they will not qualify to remain on the plan if there has been a break, lapse or change in the level of cover after reaching the age of nine.

Is there a Sub-Limit for Tick Paralysis?

Yes, Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care plan has a $3,000 annual sub-limit for tick paralysis, a common scourge for dogs in certain parts of Australia.

Is Dental Covered?

Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy does come with dental cover for specified dental conditions with a $1,000 annual sub-limit. Conditions apply.

Related: Is Pet Insurance Worth It?

Excess Options

Some insurers offer policyholders the option to increase their excess in order to lower their annual premium. However, this choice is not available with Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy, although of course, no excess also means smaller bills can be claimed,up to annual sub-limits. The policy comes with a choice or reimbursement—from 60%, 70% or 80%—and choosing a lower reimbursement rate may be a way for consumers to lower their monthly premium.

How Long is the Waiting Period?

There is no wait period for accidents or injuries when taking out the Bow Wow Meow Peace of Mind Plan, meaning you can make a claim from the very first day your pet is insured.

However, there is a 30-day waiting period for illnesses, and a six-month waiting period for damaged cruciate ligaments.

Discounts and Bonuses

Bow Wow Meow offers a 10% discount or multiple pets. It also routinely runs online offers, such as three months off for new customers who join during summer. To keep up with current offers, it is worth checking out the Bow Wow Meow website.

Along with discounts, Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care Policy also includes four complimentary online VetChat consults, which allow customers to chat to a vet online or over the phone.

What About Add-Ons for Alternative Therapies?

Policyholders are given the option to add on vet bill cover for circumstances such as behavioural problems or alternative therapy. The Ultimate Care policy has a $1,000 limit for alternative therapy if this add-on is selected.

What Is Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance Best For?

Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance is best for customer satisfaction, ranking an impressive 4.3 stars from more than 2700 reviews on Australia’s leading independent consumer site, ProductReview.

Frequent points of praise from Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance customers includes the customer service, with staff described as professional and compassionate. The claims process is also highly regarded as a quick, simple and straightforward process, with reviews showing that most claims are resolved within two weeks (Bow Wow Meow states that 95% of claims are resolved within five days).

The GapOnly service—in which you pay the gap between the vet bill and what your insurance will cover—has also helped with the high levels of customer satisfaction as it means customers don’t have to pay the entire cost up front and then spend lengthy time periods filling out forms and waiting to be reimbursed.

When it comes to the basic offerings—what we considered to be core pet care—Forbes Advisor rated Bow Wow Meow 15 out of a potential 50. This was after analysing its reimbursement rate (how high); how the reimbursements are paid (and if GapOnly is offered); the maximum annual claims amount, as $20,000 is the standard offering; and whether or not routine care is automatically included.

Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care policy ranked quite low for the basic offerings a pet owner would be looking for in a pet insurance policy, however, its reviews prove it is one of the leading choices in Australia for customer satisfaction and it does offer routine care as an add-on.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Bow Wow Meow Pet Insurance’s contact number?

The general contact phone number for Bow Wow Meow is 1800 668 502. This number can be called Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am to 8pm AEST.

To request a callback, customers can also submit an enquiry online via Bow Wow Meow’s contact portal and designate an ideal callback time.

Where can I find the Bow Wow Meow pet insurance PDS?

The product disclosure statement for Bow Wow Meow’s Ultimate Care plan can be found online here. This is valid for policies issued or renewed after June, 2023, and the PDS also includes the Accident Plus and Ultimate Care plans.

Does Bow Wow Meow pet insurance include desexing?

Desexing isn’t automatically included in the Peace of Mind policy, nor any of Bow Wow Meow’s other pet insurance policies. Rather, policyholders are given the option to add ‘Routine Care Cover’ for “only a few dollars a week”, the Bow Wow Meow website states.

The Routine Care Cover provides up to $50 annual benefit for one of the following:

• Desexing;

• Microchipping;

• Heartworm control;

• Teeth cleaning;

• Prescription diets;

• Cremation/burial;

• Dental illness treatment;

• Council registration fees;

• Obedience training;

• Behavioural therapy;

• Alternative therapies; or

• Dew claw removal

It also provides up to $30 annual benefit for vaccinations or health checks; $45 for flea, tick, or worm control; $10 for a heartworm test or blood screen; and $10 for FeLV/FlV Test or urinalysis.

Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
Sophie Venz Editor

Sophie Venz is an experienced editor and features reporter, and has previously worked in the small business and start-up reporting space. Previously the Associate Editor of SmartCompany, Sophie has worked closely with finance experts and columnists around Australia and internationally.

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