Canstar surveyed 1,797 pet insurance customers. Switzer Daily spoke to just one dog owner who, unlike his pet, has no trouble swallowing his premiums.
Pet Insurance Australia has been named the winner of Canstar’s 2026 Most Satisfied Customers Pet Insurance award, with the research pointing to a simple truth: price matters, but it’s not what keeps customers loyal. It’s how an insurer shows up when a pet is in trouble.
The award is based on independent consumer research, not an industry panel. Canstar surveyed 1,797 Australian pet insurance customers, who rated 13 leading providers on the factors that matter most to them, using statistical regression analysis to pinpoint the biggest drivers of satisfaction – rather than a single overall score.
“This award means so much because it hasn’t been decided in a boardroom or by a judging panel. It comes directly from the people who matter most, our customers,” said Pet Insurance Australia spokesperson Nadia Crighton.
Crighton’s point is that most people don’t call their insurer on a good day. “Nobody contacts their insurer because they’re having a great day,” she said. “They’re often sitting in a veterinary clinic after an accident, facing unexpected surgery or worrying about whether they can afford life-saving treatment for a beloved member of the family.”
As veterinary care becomes more advanced – and more expensive – Crighton argues the real test of an insurer isn’t the product, it’s the support behind it. “Anyone can sell a policy,” she said. “But what truly matters is how you show up when your customer needs you the most.”
Dog owner Alex Marten didn’t need convincing on paper – he needed a scare. “Our dog ate 28 hair bands and had to be cut open,” he told Switzer Daily. At the time, he didn’t have pet insurance and the vet bill landed in full.
That was enough. Marten now has a policy, and says it’s money well spent, not “dead money” most months. His claims experience has been steady rather than spectacular – he’s still being reimbursed, though he says the payout feels smaller than he’d expected going in.
Interestingly, Marten hasn’t dropped his old safety net either: alongside the policy, he still keeps savings aside for vet costs, –a belt-and-braces approach that’s hard to argue with, insurance or not.
Between the industry data and Marten’s own experience, the message lines up: pet insurance isn’t really being judged on price anymore. It’s being judged on what happens the day your dog eats 28 hair bands.
