Insu›Underwriters›Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd
Underwriter exposé
Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd
Pacific International is the new entrant in AU pet insurance — 5 brands accumulated since 2023, including the recent RSPCA win. The only meaningful counterweight to the Hollard/PetSure family.
Until 2023, the AU pet insurance underwriter market was effectively two players: Hollard (and its subsidiary PetSure) plus a handful of niche independents. Pacific International changed that. From its first acquisition (Knose) in March 2023 to the recent RSPCA Pet Insurance switch on 1 April 2026, Pacific International has been steadily building share. Here's where they sit today.
The 2023-2026 accumulation
Pacific International (the AU branch of Pacific & Orient) entered the AU pet insurance market by acquiring underwriting of Knose in March 2023. At the time, Knose was a small AU-built brand backed by Allied World — Pacific International took it over, kept the Knose Financial Services distributor in place, and repositioned.
Over the next three years, Pacific International methodically added brands: Pet Circle Insurance (uncertain date, distributed via Knose Financial Services), PetsOnMe (uncertain date, distributed via Steadfast IRS), Fetch Pet Insurance (verified current), and most recently RSPCA Pet Insurance on 1 April 2026.
The RSPCA win is significant because RSPCA is the most well-known consumer brand in AU pet insurance. Wresting that account from Hollard/PetSure (where it had been for years) is a market signal that Pacific International is committed to long-term competition, not just opportunistic acquisitions.
Transition timeline
- 1 March 2023Knose transitions Allied World → Pacific International (Pacific Intl's first AU pet acquisition)
- 2023-2025Pet Circle Insurance and PetsOnMe added (exact transition dates unverified — both currently underwritten by Pacific International)
- 2024-2025Fetch Pet Insurance joins Pacific International stable
- 1 April 2026RSPCA Pet Insurance transitions Hollard/PetSure → Pacific International — the largest brand acquisition to date
The brands
Every AU pet insurance brand currently underwritten by Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd. Click through to read the full review for any we've audited.
| Brand | Insu Score |
|---|---|
|
Issued by this underwriter since 2023-03-01
|
49 / 100 |
|
Issued by this underwriter since 2026-04-01
|
55 / 100 |
|
(transition date uncertain)
|
50 / 100 |
|
(transition date uncertain)
|
41 / 100 |
|
Fetch Pet Insurance
(transition date uncertain)
|
Review pending |
Why this matters
Knowing your underwriter answers four questions that matter when you actually need to claim:
- Who pays your claim? Not the brand — the underwriter. The brand is the marketing layer.
- Whose claims process do you deal with? Usually the underwriter's, even if it carries the brand's name.
- What's the underwriter's complaint track record? AFCA publishes per-underwriter complaint counts (the brand-level data isn't public).
- If your underwriter changes, did your product change? Almost always yes. New PDS, new exclusions, sometimes new pricing.
For more on how Insu uses underwriter data in scoring, see the methodology page.