Did you know, 63% of the Australian Population owns a pet!
That’s about 3.7 million dogs, 2.2 million cats, 7.8 million birds, 20.5 million fish and 2.9 million ‘others’ including horses, rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens!
With the pet care industry only getting larger, it contributes to over 4.7 Billion to the economy and employs over 45,000 people. Of the 4.7bilion, 58% is dogs, 28% is cats and 14% is other pets as mentioned above.
The annual spend on veterinary care and services is estimated to be around $1.2 billion per year.
source: TNS, ABS, and BIS Sharpnel estimates 2007)
A whopping 1 in 3 pets will require veterinary treatment each year. Here at Whitehorse Vets, we highly recommend your pet being insured.
SOCIAL PROOF
At only 12 weeks of age, this dog was happily playing like any normal puppy , then suddenly becoming lame and screaming in pain. The owner rushed her down to us and x-rays confirmed a fractured tibia. Straight into surgery we went to place 5 pins to put the bone back together.
Luckily for the owner, she had signed up for pet insurance just three weeks prior! After an overnight stay in hospital so she could recover from the surgery, the much loved dog was sent home with her leg bandaged up and on strict cage rest for 4 weeks.
Over those 4 weeks we had to see toots 6 times to ensure everything was on track and the bandage was holding up. Problems that can occur with bandages include :
- Slipping of the dressing
- Abnormal / foul smelling odours
- Swelling of the limb
- Excessive chewing
- General illness – depression, lethargy, lack of appetite
Medications and treatments this pet needed included :
- Two diagnostic x-rays
- Intravenous fluid therapy
- orthopaedic surgery
- overnight hospitalisation
- pain relief for two weeks
- antibiotic coverage for two weeks
- crate hire
- dressing materials
- elizabethan collar
- two week post op x-rays
- sedation
- numerous nurse checks to ensure bandage was okay.
We cannot stress how important and beneficial that having pet insurance is. From just $50 a month, its is a small price to pay for peace of mind if anything was to happen to your beloved companion.
Below is a list of the most common claims from insurance companies
DERMATITIS Average claim $230 Highest claim $4,655
EAR INFECTION Average claim $234 Highest claim $8,780
ARTHRITIS Average claim $379 Highest claim $5,090
GASTRO Average claim $573 Highest claim $5,090
FRACTURES Average claim $2,564 Highest claim $11,375
CANCER Average claim $1,354 Highest claim $25,700
DIABETES Average claim $1,626 Highest claim $16,865
Our advice to you, shop around. Find which insurance company suits your needs best. It is worth ringing whichever company that you have your house and car insured with to see if they have pet insurance with the chance of getting a multi policy discount.
