Is pet insurance worth it?

A current question that was posed for my News Corp Gen Y column is whether pet insurance coverage is worth it for most households.

Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the planet, with an estimated 63 % of households obtaining at least a single pet, according to the Animal Overall health Alliance of Australia. Not surprisingly dogs are the most typical pet (yes, I am a dog individual) numbering about 4.2 million. Both dogs and cats are an integral component of our life and for most households I’d recommend that they are worth insuring.

There are different kinds of pet insurance coverage available even though and the item you pick will have an effect on the price. In broad terms, pet owners can decide on amongst accident-only cover (widespread accidents), accident and illness cover (accidents plus common non-preventable illnesses) and extensive cover (very same as just before plus some cover for routine treatments).  Other factors affecting the price are the kind, age and size of your animal. As a rule of thumb even though, recent CANSTAR research calculated that for a 3 year-old dog, accident cover will set you back about $ 230 – $ 260 per year accident and illness cover is around $ 540 to $ 700 per year and extensive cover is $ 620 – $ 870 per year. Cats are less expensive.

It’s critical to be conscious of advantage limitations on policies even though. For instance you could locate that emergency surgery expenses are covered, but only up to, say, $ 3,000. If the surgery bill ends up at $ 10,000, you’ll be in for a nasty shock. Also be conscious of exclusions. For instance, skipping a vaccination could void your cover for that situation.

So the bottom line is that yes, I believe family members pets are worth the expense of the insurance coverage – but read your policy meticulously to make certain you’ve selected a very good-quality cover. CANSTAR’s annual Pet Insurance Star Ratings are a great place to start your search!

Is pet insurance worth it?