Should you take out pet insurance? If your pet falls ill, you may face veterinary bills of thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars. Insurance may be an answer.
Policies are available as surgery-only or comprehensive. Surgery is cheaper, but your pet may be more likely to need medical treatment. One insurer says 97% of claims are for illnesses.
How much cover?
For some pets, $1500 a year might be enough, but if yours falls seriously ill, you may wish you’d paid for more. It comes down to what you’re willing to pay to keep your pet alive. Pet insurance policies are not created equal. One company has six options – simple surgery-only, to extensive policies that cover up to $9000 of veterinary bills for cats and $12,000 for dogs. Some insurance companies will also cover horses. Comprehensive policies usually cover advertising costs if your pet is lost or stolen and sometimes a replacement pet. Some also cover psychological illnesses. More extensive policies feature pet motel fees, or refunding cancelled holidays if a pet is ill. Some policies cover non-standard procedures, such as acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, osteopathy and other alternative treatments.As your pet ages, the insurer is likely to add conditions or your excess may increase.
There’s no guarantee the insurer will pay for every misfortune. Like most insurers, they will baulk at covering pre-existing conditions. Most exclude preventive and routine check-ups. Congenital and hereditary conditions – common in pure-breds – may only be included at a premium. All policies will have specific exclusions, so make sure you check them.
Tips:
• Take out insurance while your pet is healthy.
• Surgery-only cover may not be enough.
• A mixed-breed cat from the SPCA may be cheaper to insure than a select or pure breed.
• Read the policy carefully before signing up.
• Keep up to date with your pet’s jabs and make sure it has regular check-ups and dental treatment – otherwise you may invalidate the policy.
• Rather than insurance, think about setting up a bank account for your pet – at least that way you earn interest!
Sue Chetwin CEO Consumer NZ
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