Who underwrites pet insurance in Australia?

Which brands are issued or administered by PetSure?

PetSure (Australia) Pty Ltd, ABN 95 075 949 923, AFSL 420183. Policies written before its licence took effect, and their renewals, are issued by The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd, ABN 78 090 584 473, AFSL 241436. PetSure names its partner brands on its own site.

Which brands are underwritten by someone else?

Fewer than the market's brand count suggests. These two name a different insurer in their own disclosure, and they name the same one as each other.

Is Trupanion still the independent alternative?

Not on its current policies. Trupanion is widely described as the one major brand outside the PetSure group, and that description is out of date: Trupanion's own site states that policies entered into for the first time on or after 23 March 2026, and subsequent renewals of those policies, are issued by PetSure and promoted and distributed by Trupanion as PetSure's authorised representative.

This is the kind of detail that goes stale quietly. A comparison written in 2024 can still read as current and be describing an arrangement that no longer exists, which is why every row here carries the date it was checked and points you at the current PDS.

What this changes when you compare

Brands sharing an issuer tend to share the parts of a policy that decide a claim: the wording, the waiting periods, and how pre-existing conditions are treated. Those sit in documents the issuer writes. What still differs between them is benefit percentage, annual limit, sub-limits, excess options and price, and those differences can be large.

So the underwriter does not settle which policy suits you. It tells you which columns of a comparison table are doing real work and which are decoration, and it explains why a second quote from another brand sometimes is not a second opinion at all.

Common questions

Who underwrites pet insurance in Australia?

Far fewer companies than there are brands. PetSure (Australia) Pty Ltd (ABN 95 075 949 923, AFSL 420183) issues or administers more than twenty of the pet insurance brands sold here, including cover badged by banks, health funds, retailers and motoring clubs, with older policies issued by The Hollard Insurance Company (ABN 78 090 584 473, AFSL 241436). Knose and PetsOnMe are among the exceptions: both are underwritten by Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd (ABN 83 169 311 193, AFSL 523921). Read off each company's own disclosure on 22 August 2026.

Is Trupanion underwritten by PetSure?

Yes, for current policies. Trupanion's own site states that policies entered into for the first time on or after 23 March 2026, and subsequent renewals of those policies, are issued by PetSure (Australia) Pty Ltd and promoted and distributed by Trupanion as PetSure's authorised representative. Trupanion is often described elsewhere as the independent alternative to PetSure, which is out of date. Confirm the issuer named in the current Product Disclosure Statement before you buy.

Who underwrites Knose pet insurance?

Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd (ABN 83 169 311 193, AFSL 523921). Knose distributes the product as an authorised representative of The Pet Insurance Company (ABN 38 620 795 735, AFSL 536651), which acts under a binding authority from Pacific International. Published sources frequently name Hollard, Allied World or PetSure instead; the figure here is read off Knose's own disclosure on 22 August 2026.

Does a shared underwriter mean two policies are the same?

No. Brands sharing an issuer often share wording, waiting periods and the approach to pre-existing conditions, because those sit in the policy documents the issuer writes. Benefit percentage, annual limit, sub-limits, excess options and price are set per brand and still differ, sometimes considerably. The shared underwriter tells you what is unlikely to differ, which narrows what is worth comparing rather than settling it.

Why does the underwriter matter when comparing pet insurance?

Because a comparison of ten brands can be a comparison of one product in ten wrappers. If the exclusions and waiting periods that decide a claim are written by the same issuer, lining those brands up side by side tells you less than the table suggests. Knowing who carries the risk tells you where the genuine differences can exist and where they cannot.

Does Refer Labs earn from this page?

We earn a commission if you take out a policy with Knose or PetsOnMe through our links, at no extra cost to you. Those two are also the ones this page shows share an insurer with each other, which is the fact least helpful to us and the reason it is stated plainly. We are not an insurer, broker or financial adviser, we publish no ratings of our own, and nothing here is a recommendation.