all you pet owners -- pet insurance question

[Tiffani]

Hi all,

I was on the ozpetsforum a couple weeks ago but it's been down for about two weeks (almost as soon as I did my first post!) for "software upgrades" in which we're warned "this could take a while" -- I guess their definition of "a while" is less from a human perspective and more from the perspective of, say, a tree

Anyway, do any of you have pet insurance out there? In the US I have a very good plan, about $30/month which covers everything except for the annual exam and preventive meds like HeartGard et al. There's also a small deductible.

However, from what I understand, pet insurance in Oz is not quite as good as far as coverage is concerned. For instance, some owners complain that whatever ailments are common to their breed are exclusions, even if they aren't preventable. has this been your experience? If so, how do you handle emergencies with your pets?

Thanks!
Tiffani

[Spock]

I have lived in Australia for 32 years. I have never met anyone with pet insurances. It did come up on TV the other day, I think it is a very new industry here.

[Akatrin]

I think on average people are less obsessed with their pets, so they just take them the vet and pay the bill as needed. Also, US$30 a month is more than I'd pay in a year for my cat's vaccinations and all that.

Emergencies you tend to just take them to the vet, and the vet will give you an estimate and you get to decide if it's worth it.

If you find someone else's injured pet or bird etc take it to the vet and they will usually accept it without expecting anything from you. But those animals if they are wild or homeless are usually put to sleep.

There are occasional times when a vet may try to charge more than you think your pet is worth. For example a 10 year old dog my uncle adopted to use in hunting boars got in a fight, he took it to the vet and said he didn't want to spend more than $100 on it since it wasn't much use as a boar dog at that age and wasn't any good as a pet either. A week later the vet tried to charge 700 and my uncle's response was "right, you just got yourself a dog" and he was about to walk out. The vets buckled and gave him back the dog with a 100$ bill.
At any rate, the moral of this story is always get an estimate upfront. Most things are standard procedures and have a set price, so they should be easy to forecast.

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by Akatrin

I think on average people are less obsessed with their pets, so they just take them the vet and pay the bill as needed. Also, US$30 a month is more than I'd pay in a year for my cat's vaccinations and all that.

Emergencies you tend to just take them to the vet, and the vet will give you an estimate and you get to decide if it's worth it.

If you find someone else's injured pet or bird etc take it to the vet and they will usually accept it without expecting anything from you. But those animals if they are wild or homeless are usually put to sleep.

There are occasional times when a vet may try to charge more than you think your pet is worth. For example a 10 year old dog my uncle adopted to use in hunting boars got in a fight, he took it to the vet and said he didn't want to spend more than $100 on it since it wasn't much use as a boar dog at that age and wasn't any good as a pet either. A week later the vet tried to charge 700 and my uncle's response was "right, you just got yourself a dog" and he was about to walk out. The vets buckled and gave him back the dog with a 100$ bill.
At any rate, the moral of this story is always get an estimate upfront. Most things are standard procedures and have a set price, so they should be easy to forecast.

Hmm. that's very interesting. Sounds like a completely different system than here. To be fair, I'm the only person I know who has pet insurance for my dog, but a lot of people I know have wished they had taken my advice and gotten pet insurance when their cat got sick and cost them $3000 or whatever! I must admit it's nice to have that peace of mind, but I might just try to keep a little extra in my bank account for eventualities that might occur with her. It also sounds cheaper than in the US generally, if you pay less than $30/year for your pet's annual physical etc!!!

Keep in mind, I'm spending a FORTUNE to get her over there so I'm prepared to pay just about whatever it takes to keep her healthy! On that note, does anyone have a vet that they absolutely adore in the Melbourne area? or that they wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole?

[Akatrin]

Originally Posted by Tiffani

It also sounds cheaper than in the US generally, if you pay less than $30/year for your pet's annual physical etc!!!

Nono, less that $30 a month, so less than... 360 dollars a year. probably about 100 for a check up and vaccinations, and another 100 on advantage flea stuff. Of course when you first get a pet it can be quite a bit more, I think I paid around 350 to get her desexed and microchipping is about 500. Or it was 4 years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it has become more standard now.

But it's also possible to buy a puppy/kitten from a shelter who has already had all that done, usually for between 50 to 150 dollars and that's a good option for a lot of people wanting a new pet.

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by Akatrin

Nono, less that $30 a month, so less than... 360 dollars a year. probably about 100 for a check up and vaccinations, and another 100 on advantage flea stuff. Of course when you first get a pet it can be quite a bit more, I think I paid around 350 to get her desexed and microchipping is about 500. Or it was 4 years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it has become more standard now.

But it's also possible to buy a puppy/kitten from a shelter who has already had all that done, usually for between 50 to 150 dollars and that's a good option for a lot of people wanting a new pet.

Oh! hehe that makes a bit more sense THat's probably about what I pay for her annual stuff too. My main concern is something really catastrophic like bloat/torsion or a bad injury that will be costly to treat.

[Loeske17]

wow annual checkup? even I don't get one of those. haha. well it sounds like it's a good thing i've gotten everything done here in the netherlands, as microchip cost me about 80 euro's and desexing 30 euro's !! then again he is male so it's...ehm... easier...

i gotta say i've never hear of pet insurance.. in any of the countries i've lived.. and i have always had pets (dogs mostly).

does your pet really need an anual checkup though? putting aside money like you said you do is the best option i think. that way when something happens you're covered. my dog and cat haven't had a checkup or shots for ehm... 3 years... and they're perfectly healthy. they have gotten they're needed shots at an early age, been chipped and desexed, and i keep track of if the important shots need renewing. i get a reminder every 6 months to update the shots, but that's just money scamming!! if you are really into your pet like it sounds like you are you would know if something is off.

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by Loeske17

does your pet really need an anual checkup though? putting aside money like you said you do is the best option i think. that way when something happens you're covered. my dog and cat haven't had a checkup or shots for ehm... 3 years... and they're perfectly healthy. they have gotten they're needed shots at an early age, been chipped and desexed, and i keep track of if the important shots need renewing. i get a reminder every 6 months to update the shots, but that's just money scamming!! if you are really into your pet like it sounds like you are you would know if something is off.

I think a lot of it comes down to personal choice. It's about $100/year for her annual physical, vaccinations etc, so it's not exactly a bank buster. Plus, since the US is not rabies-free, we have to go every year at least to have her vaccinated against rabies. While we're at it we might as well have her looked over too!

[Loeske17]

no that doesn't sound like much of a bank buster. Rabies is one of the shots I keep track of, but the one shot alone costs me 50 euro's yearly. He gets weighed when he's there but that's about it. The costs are slightly insane here I guess!! Well i really hope you find insurance in Oz (if you do let me know), but other than that i guess we are stuck putting money aside for when the cat on the other side of the road is more interesting than us

Loes

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by Loeske17

no that doesn't sound like much of a bank buster. Rabies is one of the shots I keep track of, but the one shot alone costs me 50 euro's yearly. He gets weighed when he's there but that's about it. The costs are slightly insane here I guess!! Well i really hope you find insurance in Oz (if you do let me know), but other than that i guess we are stuck putting money aside for when the cat on the other side of the road is more interesting than us

Loes

sounds like it's a little expensive over there for animal care! Well, when I get out to Oz I'm going to look into the pet insurance carriers and see what the benefits and exclusions are, etc, and depending on what I find I may go with one. I'll definitely let y'all know.