What actually lowers a pet insurance premium in NZ?
Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
None of the seven insurers that sell standalone pet insurance in New Zealand publish a premium table, so there is no single number to call cheap. What each does publish is the set of choices that change the premium before a quote runs: the tier, the dollar excess, the co-payment percentage, whether you pay annually or monthly, a member discount, and how many pets you insure together. Tower, for one, fixes "a mandatory co-payment of 20%" on its Accident Only plan (Accident Only Policy Wording, retrieved 17 September 2026), while Southern Cross Pet lets you pick from three co-payment rates on the same base cover. Every fact below is sourced to the insurer's own current wording, retrieved 17 September 2026 unless a different date is shown.
Accident-only tiers: less scope, not automatically less premium
Five insurers sell a narrower tier that drops illness cover and insures accidental injury only. AA Pet and SPCA Pet do not: AA sells one customisable Accident and Illness plan (AA Pet Insurance Policy Document, p.10), and all three SPCA Pet tiers cover both accident and illness (Big Stuff Cover Policy Document, p.5).
| Insurer | Accident-only tier | Annual limit | Excess | Co-pay | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cove | Accident Only | $5,000 | $500 | 10% | Cove pet insurance page |
| PD Insurance | Accident Plan | $5,000 | $100 / $150 / $200 (customer's choice) | Not published; PD pays 100% of the claim above the dollar excess | PD Insurance FAQ page; PD Pet Insurance page |
| Petcover | Safety-net (Economy / Catastrophe 1&2) | $7,000 (Economy) / $5,000-$10,000 (Catastrophe) | ~$175 example (Economy); $450 or $900 (Catastrophe) | Pet % Share, example 25% (Economy); 100% under age 8 (Catastrophe) | Economy PDS; Catastrophe PDS |
| Southern Cross Pet | AcciPet | $5,000 | $100 / $250 / $500 (customer's choice, per policy year) | 10% / 20% / 30% (customer's choice) | AcciPet Policy Document, pp.9-10 |
| Tower | Accident Only | $5,000 | No dollar excess on any Tower tier | 20% mandatory, fixed | Accident Only Policy Wording |
Petcover's Safety-net family is its lowest-cost route to cover, but unlike the other four insurers' tiers it is not pure accident-only: both Economy and Catastrophe still cover illness after a wait (21 days Economy, 30 days Catastrophe), with narrower sub-limits and, on Economy, a 12-month cap per ongoing condition (Economy PDS). See accident-only pet insurance NZ, since dropping illness cover also drops cover for what vets treat most, such as dog dental disease or a blocked bladder in a cat.
Excess: the dollar amount some insurers let you choose, others don't
A higher excess is the most direct lever a customer controls, but only four of the seven insurers publish a selectable menu; the other three fix it per tier or drop it for a co-payment instead. AA Pet's wording lists "the excess selected" among the "factors that can affect the premium" (AA Pet Insurance Policy Document, p.21).
| Insurer | Excess structure | Selectable? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Pet | $0 / $100 / $250 / $500, per condition per policy period | Yes | Dog Insurance page |
| Cove | $500 (Accident Only), $1,000 (Major), variable (Major+Minor) | Fixed per tier | Cove pet insurance page |
| PD Insurance | $100 / $150 / $200, per claim | Yes | PD Insurance FAQ page |
| Petcover | $0 / $100 / $200 (Mid-Range); one age-loaded figure (Superior/Economy); $450 or $900 (Catastrophe) | Mid-Range and Catastrophe only | Mid-Range PDS |
| SPCA Pet | $1,000 (Big Stuff); $0 (Everyday, The Works) | Fixed per tier | Big Stuff Cover Policy Document, p.5 |
| Southern Cross Pet | $100 / $250 / $500, per policy year | Yes | PetCare Policy Document, p.9 |
| Tower | No dollar excess on any tier | No | Tower Pet Insurance page |
See pet insurance excess explained NZ for worked examples of how the excess and co-pay combine on a single vet bill.
Co-payment percentage: fixed on some insurers, a customer choice on others
A co-payment is the percentage of an accepted claim you pay after the excess. Only Southern Cross Pet and Petcover's Mid-Range plans offer a selectable menu; every other insurer fixes one rate, and PD Insurance none.
| Insurer | Co-payment | Selectable? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Pet | 20% (80% reimbursed), fixed on every plan | No | AA Pet Insurance Policy Document, p.10 |
| Cove | 10% (Accident Only, Major); 20% (Major + Minor) | Fixed per tier | Cove pet insurance page |
| PD Insurance | None; PD pays 100% of the claim above the dollar excess | Not applicable | PD NZ Pet Insurance Policy Wording |
| Petcover | 10% / 20% / 30% (Mid-Range only); "Pet % Share," example 25% (Superior/Economy); 100% under age 8 (Catastrophe) | Mid-Range only | Mid-Range PDS |
| SPCA Pet | 10% (Big Stuff, 90% reimbursed); 20% (The Works, 80%); 30% (Everyday, 70%) | Fixed per tier | Big Stuff Cover Policy Document, p.7 |
| Southern Cross Pet | 10% / 20% / 30%, identical on PetCare and AcciPet base cover | Yes | PetCare Policy Document, p.10 |
| Tower | 20% mandatory, fixed on every tier | No | Comprehensive & Essentials Policy Wording |
A lower excess is not automatically the lower-cost structure once the co-pay is factored in: SPCA Pet's Everyday Cover has no excess but reimburses only 70%, while Big Stuff Cover carries a $1,000 excess and reimburses 90% (Everyday Cover Policy Document, p.5; Big Stuff Cover Policy Document, p.5). See pet insurance cost NZ for how the two combine.
Discounts that lower the premium without changing cover
Three discount types are published across the seven insurers, none changing what the policy covers: paying annually rather than monthly, holding a qualifying membership, and insuring more than one pet.
| Insurer | Annual-payment discount | Member discount | Multi-pet discount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA Pet | Not published | 5% AA Member discount, new policies | 10%, marketing page only; not in the T&Cs or Policy Document | Main pet insurance page; Terms and Conditions page |
| Cove | Up to 10%, annual vs monthly | Not published | Not published | Cove pet insurance page |
| PD Insurance | Not published (annual or monthly choice, no rate stated) | Not published | 5% for two or more pets | PD Insurance FAQ page |
| Petcover | Not published | Not published | Threshold only ("3+ eligible pets"); no rate published | Superior PDS |
| SPCA Pet | Not published | Not published | 10%, second pet and each further policy | SPCA Pet Insurance homepage |
| Southern Cross Pet | Not an annual-payment rate, but 2.5% direct debit stacks with the others | 2.5% Health Society member | 5% per additional pet | PetCare Policy Document, p.31 |
| Tower | Not published | Not published | Not published; general multi-policy discount discontinued for new customers | Tower Multi-Policy Discount page |
Southern Cross Pet's three discounts are the only stacking set found in any of the seven wordings, each a separate, combinable line item in the same policy document (PetCare Policy Document, p.31). See multi-pet insurance discounts NZ for the full detail at each insurer.
QuoteHub does not sell these policies on this page. Its licensed advisers may receive commission from an insurer if you take out cover through them.
Questions people ask
Does choosing a higher excess always lower the premium?
Every insurer with a selectable excess menu lists it as a factor that changes the premium, alongside the pet's age, breed and annual limit (AA Pet Insurance Policy Document, p.21), but none of the four with a menu (AA Pet, PD Insurance, Petcover Mid-Range, Southern Cross Pet) publishes the dollar saving between options.
Is an accident-only policy always the lower-cost option from an insurer?
An accident-only tier removes illness cover, a smaller scope than the same insurer's comprehensive plan, but none of the five insurers that sell one (Cove, PD Insurance, Petcover, Southern Cross Pet, Tower) publishes the accident-only premium against the comprehensive premium. See accident-only pet insurance NZ for what each tier does and does not pay for.
Do multi-pet discounts apply automatically?
No insurer's wording describes the multi-pet discount as automatic across every channel. AA Pet's 10% figure appears on its marketing page but not its Terms and Conditions or Policy Document (AA Pet Insurance Policy Document, p.21), and Petcover's PDS gives a threshold ("3+ eligible pets") without a rate (Superior PDS), worth confirming before you assume it applies.
A licensed NZ adviser can compare the pet insurers on your pet's details. Get pet cover quotes.
Adviser's view
QuoteHub's read is that the tier, excess and co-pay you choose move the premium more than any single insurer's name does, and only Southern Cross Pet publishes a discount stack that names three separate percentages as combinable.
Get pet cover quotes from a licensed NZ adviser · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Cheap Pet Insurance NZ: What Actually Lowers the Premium. www.quotehub.co.nz/pet-insurance/cheap-pet-insurance-nz. Updated 2026-09-17.
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