When a beloved pet needs emergency treatment, the last thing an owner should have to worry about is how to pay the vet bill.
Yet unexpected veterinary costs can put families under serious financial pressure. From urgent consultations to emergency surgery, the expenses can mount quickly, leaving owners facing difficult decisions when their animals need help most.
South African digital insurance platform Naked is looking to ease that pressure with the launch of its new pet insurance offering. Introduced on 27 October 2026, the product provides cover for cats and dogs, with accident-only policies starting at R40 per month for cats and R55 for dogs.
Naked is also highlighting the speed of its claims process. According to the company’s early claims data, the median time from submission to payment is 1.3 days, with 60% of claims paid within 48 hours.
Its fastest payment so far took just 12 minutes.
One swallowed sock. One worried owner. One 20-minute payout.
Sometimes, the value of insurance becomes clear in the moments nobody plans for.
In one of Naked’s earliest pet insurance claims, a customer faced a late-night emergency when his dog, Max, swallowed a sock and needed urgent veterinary treatment.
The customer submitted his invoice at 22:30. The claim was assessed and approved by 22:35. He provided his bank details at 22:48, and by 22:50, the money was in his account.
The entire process took 20 minutes from submission to payment, including the 13 minutes between approval and the customer supplying his banking details.
The relief was clear in the customer’s in-app review.
“I don’t know what angel was on duty tonight. I don’t even know if it was a real person… but I just have to say THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart,” the customer wrote.
“I was so worried about my baby and you guys made sure I had one less thing to worry about.”
It is a powerful example of how a fast claims process can help reduce the financial stress that comes with a pet emergency.
However, Naked’s figures are based on early claims data, and individual claim outcomes and payment times may differ.
How Naked is speeding up pet insurance claims
Naked says its digital platform uses artificial intelligence to assess and automatically approve eligible claims, including outside normal office hours.
Claims that require additional information or human judgement are referred to a team of experts for review.
The aim is to resolve straightforward claims quickly while retaining human oversight where needed.
According to Naked’s early data, approximately 29% of claims were paid within an hour of approval. The company also reports a median payment time of 1.3 days from submission, with 60% paid within 48 hours.
These figures offer an early indication of how the platform is handling claims. They are not a guarantee that every claim will be approved or paid within the same timeframe.
For pet owners dealing with an unexpected bill, however, the promise of a simpler digital process could make a meaningful difference.
The real cost of a veterinary emergency
A visit to the vet can be expensive even before treatment begins.
Dr Erika Pienaar, a veterinarian at Prime Pet Veterinary Day Clinic in Nelspruit, says a standard consultation at her practice costs R585.
A blood smear adds another R230, bringing the total to R815 before treatment or more complex tests.
More serious emergencies can cost considerably more. Surgery to remove an object swallowed by a dog typically costs between R5,800 and R15,000, according to Pienaar.
The final bill can vary widely depending on the animal’s size, the complexity of the case and any complications. Costs may be substantially higher at specialist practices.
These expenses can arrive without warning, forcing owners to weigh their available budget against the treatment their pets need.
“Most pet owners never plan for an emergency, and when one happens they often have to make big medical decisions under intense time pressure, with a budget in mind as well,” Pienaar says.
She adds that owners can carry emotional guilt after an emergency, particularly when they worry that financial constraints influenced their decisions.
“The right pet insurance takes that pressure off, so the choice can be about what’s best for the animal rather than what’s affordable on the day.”
Insurance cannot prevent an emergency, but appropriate cover may help owners manage eligible veterinary expenses when the unexpected happens.
Pet insurance from R40 a month
Naked offers different levels of cover, allowing customers to choose an option that suits their needs and budget.
The available options include:
- Basic accident-only cover: From R40 per month for cats and R55 per month for dogs.
- Accident-and-illness cover: For customers seeking protection against covered accidents and illnesses.
- More comprehensive cover: Includes physiotherapy and routine care, such as preventative treatments, vaccinations and check-ups.
Customers can also select an annual cover limit ranging from R15,000 to R120,000 and choose an excess that suits their budget.
The available benefits and limits depend on the selected policy and its terms.
Customers can obtain a quote, purchase cover and manage their policies through the Naked app. When they need to claim, they can upload their veterinary invoice and answer a few questions through the app.
Another key feature is the freedom to use any registered veterinarian in South Africa.
No separate limits for specific treatments
One of Naked’s key product features is its approach to treatment limits.
Where a treatment is covered under the policy, it falls under the customer’s selected annual and per-claim limits rather than a separate cap for that specific treatment.
This means blood tests, scans, surgery, hospital stays, veterinary visits and prescribed medication are not subject to separate treatment-specific limits.
Customers should still check their policy wording, exclusions and selected limits to understand exactly what their cover will pay for.
Naked co-founder Sumarie Greybe says transparency is an important part of the offering.
“People need to understand and control what their cover will pay for before they’re faced with a vet bill,” Greybe says.
“Giving customers a choice of cover and clear limits is as important as making the claims process quicker.”
The approach gives customers a choice of cover levels and annual limits while making the policy structure easier to understand.
Bringing pet insurance into Naked’s digital platform
Pet insurance is the latest addition to Naked’s digital insurance platform, which already offers cover for cars, homes, household contents and standalone items.
The company says the launch forms part of its broader strategy to build a comprehensive insurance platform that simplifies quoting, policy management and claims.
Greybe says customer feedback helped shape the new product.
“We’ve been collecting feedback from customers to make sure the product works in the way pet owners and their pets need it to,” she says.
“We’re applying the technology and experience we’ve built across our other products to make pet insurance easier to understand and manage, and to help customers get their claims resolved quickly.”
How to get Naked pet insurance
South African pet owners can explore the available cover options and request a quote directly through Naked.
Visit: www.naked.insure/pet-insurance
With accident-only cover starting at R40 per month for cats and R55 for dogs, the offering gives pet owners another option to consider when planning for unexpected veterinary expenses.
The important thing is to understand the cover before an emergency happens: compare the available options, check the limits and exclusions, and choose a policy that fits your circumstances.
Because when a pet needs help, having a plan in place can mean one less thing to worry about.
