28/8/11

Local veterinarian, Geoff Freeth, has welcomed Woolworths getting into pet insurance. The supermarket giant has announced it will launch a bundle of insurance products, including life and pet insurance.

“Australia has one of the lowest rates of pet insurance in the western world and veterinary procedures are getting more complicated and expensive,” said Dr Freeth.  In England the majority of pets have health insurance, whereas in Australia only a tiny minority are covered.

“The time to get it is when your pet is young and healthy, there are many exclusions that start to come in as they get older,” said Dr Freeth. “At our clinic the bill for a spinal surgery might come to between $4000 to $6000, or a knee reconstruction $3000 and the latest treatment for arthritis, stem cell therapy, will be $2500,” he said.

The cost of insurance varies but mostly works out at about a dollar a day, the equivalent of 2 cups of coffee a week or what many people find as loose change in their pockets each day.

According to one pet insurer, two out of three pets need veterinary attention each year and 66 percent of these visits are caused by sudden illnesses.

It is estimated that up to 6000 saveable pets are put down each year because their owners can't afford the vet bills and 10 percent of all patient treatments were discontinued because of lack of money.

For a family on a tight budget, it may be easier to budget for $300 a year than to face the pain of losing a pet because of lack of funds.

Here are some examples

Pet secure

Pet insurance Australia 

Pet plan