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GapOnly Pet Insurance Payments Explained

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.
GapOnly Pet Insurance Payments Explained

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When shopping around for pet insurance, you will likely come across the words ‘GapOnly pet insurance’ or a ‘GapOnly offering’, which may leave you wondering what this term means.

This article explains what GapOnly Pet Insurance means for Australian pet owners, including how the payments work and how they differ from the usual claims process.

Related: Value Fur Money? Pet Insurance Outlook For 2024

What Is GapOnly Pet Insurance?

GapOnly Pet Insurance means you only have to pay the gap at the vet: that being the difference between your pet’s vet bill and the claim benefit you’re entitled to under your policy. This saves you from having to pay all of the costs up-front and then making a claim to your insurer.

GapOnly is available at participating vet clinics with a policy from a GapOnly pet insurance partner, but is a simple process once you’ve found the right pairing of policy provider and vet.

As the GapOnly website explains, there are just three steps to follow when wanting to make a GapOnly claim:

  1. Let your vet know you’d like to submit a GapOnly claim for your pet’s treatment.
  2. The vet lodges the GapOnly claim, and it’s assessed in around 10 minutes.
  3. Once the claim has been assessed and approved, you simply pay the gap and go.

According to GapOnly general manager Dr Maria Neale: “GapOnly simplifies the pet insurance claims experience, so there’s no paperwork and no waiting to be reimbursed. With an average wait time of around six minutes, pet parents can save time and enjoy a more efficient claims experience.”

What Does GapOnly Pet Insurance Cover?

“Customers with a GapOnly ready pet insurance policy, can use GapOnly to pay for any eligible pet health claim at a participating vet clinic,” Neale explains.

What is and isn’t considered eligible will depend entirely on your pet insurance policy, making it paramount that you carefully review the product disclosure statement (PDS) so you are aware of situations you may be out of pocket and have to foot the bill entirely.

GapOnly Pet Insurance Payments Explained

The aim of GapOnly is to do away with time-consuming claims processes that often involve filling out claim forms post-treatment and returning to the vet, or emailing it back, for them to fill out and sign. This can mean some pet owners wait weeks for reimbursement.

Neale explains that GapOnly is integrated with the vet practice management system to reimburse the vet clinic directly. And it’s growing in popularity, too.

“Over the past year, GapOnly has seen significant growth in Australia with around 1,100 GapOnly claims, on average processed each day,” Neale says.

“It is also enabling nearly $12 million of payments each month directly to vet clinics—money that isn’t out of the pocket for customers.”

How Is The ‘Gap’ Calculated?

As explained earlier, the gap payment represents the difference between the vet’s invoice and the insurance claim benefit reimbursed to the customer.

“Many policies reimburse up to 80% of the eligible vet bill and up to the value of $10,000 or more per year, depending on the individual pet insurance policy,” Neale says.

Once again, this signifies the importance of reading your PDS so you know how much of a gap you will have to pay each vet visit, and if there is a cap on the amount you can claim for the total year.

Related: How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?

Which Companies Offer GapOnly Pet Insurance?

Across Australia, hundreds of companies and veterinary clinics offer and accept GapOnly payments. To find a GapOnly vet, it’s best to visit the GapOnly website and use their ‘GapOnly Finder Tool’.

In terms of pet insurance policies offering GapOnly options, Forbes Advisor Australia recently analysed and reviewed the comprehensive pet insurance landscape. From this analysis, we found the following companies offer GapOnly options:

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is dog insurance worth it in Australia?

Many veterinarians that Forbes Advisor Australia has spoken to all give an unequivocal yes when it comes to the importance of dog insurance—even during tough economic times, as it’s designed to cover the big-ticket costs you may not otherwise be able to afford.

Moss Siddle, veterinarian and founder of VetCheck 24/7, used an example of his own dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who is more at risk of developing heart problems as she gets older.

“Even getting the medicine at cost price (being a vet myself) the cost of the heart medications is very high,” Siddle says. “If you can afford to pay a $3000-5000 vet bill upfront then you may not need to pay for insurance, but if not then it’s definitely worth it in my opinion.”

Do all vets accept GapOnly payments?

No, not all vets accept GapOnly payments. Although, on GapOnly’s vet finder tool website, it says that “more vets are being added to the GapOnly network every day”.

You can also contact GapOnly directly to request your vet be added if it is not already.

However, there are still plenty out there: GapOnly general manager Dr Maria Neale says over 90% of GapOnly customers live within 5km of a participating vet clinic.

How do I find a GapOnly pet insurance provider?

To find a GapOnly vet, you can visit the GapOnly website and use their ‘GapOnly Finder Tool’. They also have a list of their insurance partners online, too.

In order to make a GapOnly claim, you would need to ensure that your insurer offers GapOnly, and that your local vet clinic accepts GapOnly payments.

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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.