In celebration of its second birthday, AA Pet Insurance has looked back at its most common, wacky and expensive claims.

Ranging from dogs ingesting almost everything including baby socks and teddy bears to lucky cats escaping disaster, it turns out even the smartest of pets can find themselves in risky situations.

AA Pet Insurance Marketing Manager Becky McQuoid says it is all too common to receive claims from pet owners whose pets have eaten something they shouldn’t have.

“What may look like a harmless everyday object to us could look like a scrummy snack to swallow to them, resulting in upset tummies and often costly trips to the vet,” says Becky.

“One of the more surprising claims happened on two occasions where dogs ate hair ties. While you might expect a hair tie to ‘resurface’ naturally, in both cases the poor pet needed surgery to remove the hair tie to the cost of roughly $1,500.

“With more than 2,000 claims in two years for Kiwi pets, it shows us just how important pet insurance can be” adds Becky.

One cheeky girl, Chloe gave her elderly owner a fright when she ate not only their blood pressure pills and heart medication but also their hearing aid batteries! Her snack proved costly, however fortunately the $620.00 vet bill was claimable from AA Pet Insurance.

Unsurprisingly there were a number of animals getting stuck into the chocolate, but more concerning, were those more dangerous household items being eaten.

Among the toxic items being ingested and claimed for included rat bait, chemical-based cleaners, lilies (poisonous for cats) and human medication like Panadol and Ibuprofen.

Becky says, “It really highlights the importance of finding out what can be dangerous for pets, and keeping those things in places that are out of reach for our four-legged friends. But just like kids, we can’t protect them from absolutely everything, so insurance is the safety net should your furry friend accidentally swallow something they shouldn’t.”

Aside from these more peculiar claims, Becky says there are still the more typical claims that come through often.  Plus of course, there are the regular vet check-ups which are covered under the Comprehensive Plan.

“The most common claims that we receive are for routine care. Just like humans, our fur babies need regular check-ups to make sure they are fit and healthy.

“We know how important pets are to our customers. They are members of the family and treated as such, but they never fail to surprise us with their mischief.”

Key statistics from AA Pet Insurance 2018-2020:

• AA Pet Insurance currently has more than 5,500 policy holders
• In two years, there have been more than 2,200 claims
• The most expensive claim paid out was $7,907 for a hind limb ataxia
• The most common type of cover is Comprehensive
• Keep an eye out for pets called Luna, Charlie and Frankie! These three names were the most commonly occurring among claims
• Our most frequent customer is Dex who has had 16 claims in the two-year period but because of pet insurance, the owners saved $3,700
• There were 23 individual claims for pets who suffered from bee stings alone – ouch!
  
  

Read the Policy Wordings and get a quote for AA Pet Insurance online. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply.