Pet insurance: A need or a want?

Thyroid tablets: $300 a year. Special veterinary cat food: $45 per 1.5 kilogram bag. Radioactive iodine treatment: $690. The companionship and unconditional love of your fur baby: priceless?

Sprocket is a majestic Maine Coon, who in his prime weighed 8kg and was the size of a small dog.

But, at the ripe old age of 14, he’s got thyroid and gastrointestinal problems, causing weight loss and messy accidents.

His ‘‘mum’’ Debbie Darvill has spent her fair share of money on him, starting from when she hand-reared him as a kitten.

‘‘Sometimes I’ve spent $700 on one go and then followed up with certain blood tests. It can be $80 a time just for a blood test,’’ she says.

Sprocket’s expensive healthcare isn’t unique in a nation of animal lovers. The latest figures from The New Zealand Companion Animal Council show more than 60 per cent of New Zealanders own a pet, and spend more than $300 million on veterinary services and $166m on health products a year.

A survey last year for Southern Cross Pet Insurance shows vet bills up to $499 were the most common among the 2000 respondents, with half saying the highest vet bill they have ever paid was between $1 and $499.

Sixteen per cent have paid $500-$999 as their highest bill while 10 per cent have paid $1000-$1999.

Despite the frightening costs, Darvill has never thought it worthwhile to buy pet insurance.

She has five other felines in addition to Sprocket. They are like her adopted children and she has few qualms about their vet bills. But ultimately, there was a mortgage to pay off and three daughters to raise. It’s the standard situation for many people, vet Charleen Baker says. Only a small handful of her

More than 60 per cent of Kiwis own a pet

clients at Town & Country Veterinary Services in South Auckland have pet insurance.

Baker says having insurance isn’t necessarily a requisite of responsible pet ownership, but she encourages people to at least take a look at what plans are available.

Nobody really expects bad things to happen to their pets, but the reality is owners end up making tough decisions about their pets’ lives when they don’t have insurance, she says. ‘‘If you say to someone that it’s this surgery or nothing and it costs $1500 and they can’t afford it, then that’s it.’’

She says some of the highest insurance claims at the clinic include knee surgeries – around $3500, and any sort of orthopaedic surgery for dogs, – at least $1500.

The most common ailments treated are abscesses for cats, – between $200-$300, and ear infections for dogs, at $350.

With younger animals, it tends to be ingesting inedible objects, requiring surgery between $1000-$1500. Then there’s the ongoing medication for arthritis, skin conditions and diabetes.

Baker says of course it would be handy to have insurance but there are also owners who may never have to claim on their policies. So is pet insurance worth it?

For breeds with common health problems – hip dysplasia in german shepherds and breathing problems in persians, for example – it would be wise to sign up for some sort of insurance but check the fine print for limitations on inherited health conditions.

Baker says she recently had an owner who had pet insurance for her dog but it didn’t cover a diagnosis of hip dysplasia before the dog turned three.

Insurance companies may also charge higher premiums for certain ‘‘select’’ breeds.