Pet insurance: is it really worth it?

There’s no doubting it, pets are part of the family.

A decade ago, if you’d told me that pet owners would be taking out insurance to protect themselves from vet bills, I’d have thought you were mad.

But the fact is that today some pet owners are forking out more for their pet’s health insurance than they pay for their own. 

Like any insurance though, it’s important to know the ins and outs of what you’ve paid for, and what’s actually covered.

It’s not uncommon for a pet to suffer an injury or illness, and their owner to be told that the insurance won’t cover it for one reason or another.

On last Friday’s episode of A Current Affair, I shared my tips for taking out pet insurance:

Guru tip 1 – if you can’t face the thought of forking out for the eye-watering cost of full comprehensive cover, I’d suggest taking out emergency injury and illness cover as a minimum. At least this way you’re covered if something goes wrong quickly.

Guru tip 2 – whichever level of insurance you go for, opt for a higher excess. This way you’ll pay a lower premium, but you’ll only claim if your pet gets really sick or severely injured and the costs are going to blow out. In this case you’ll only pay the excess amount, rather than the full treatment cost.

Guru tip 3 – while you may not think you’ll need it while your pet is young, I’d suggest taking out pet insurance as early as possibly in your pet’s life, to ensure they’re covered for anything that might be deemed a pre-existing condition later in life.

And if you’re weighing up whether pet insurance is worth it at all, put yourself in the position of having to make a decision as to whether to pay the enormous vet bill, or sadly have to put your pet down.

For most people, the decision becomes pretty easy.