Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr told me a salutary story about his wife’s puppy Gigi, who cost them $4000, three days after she joined the whānau.
So there is a case for pet insurance. I’ve read most of the policies. Most come with excesses, sometimes mind-boggling exclusions and quite often co-payments, where you pay a percentage of vet bills.
That might be $2000 on a $10,000 bill. There are generally three types of cover: accident only; accident and illness. Most policies don’t cover routine vet bills, but there are some add-ons for this. Policies usually have annual limits up to $20,000 and quite often, per condition or lifetime limits.
Always READ the policy. If not, you’re in for surprises. For example, your policy might have a waiting period for certain conditions, such as cruciate ligaments or hereditary conditions. They may not pay out, for example, for the first six months that you’re insured, although stand-down periods are actually better than not covering pre-existing and hereditary conditions at all. One of the Pet-n-Sur policies I read excluded hereditary conditions for the first three years.
They all have conditions and exclusions that make you stop and think. One of PD Insurance’s policies didn’t cover hereditary conditions that first showed up before the animal’s second birthday. Conditions due to obesity were also excluded. It only covered ongoing conditions during the first year they arose. You’re on your own after renewal.
Just like with human insurance, treatment related to pre-existing conditions the animal had when you took the policy out will not be covered. Avoid changing insurers once your pet has developed an illness because it will be treated as pre-existing by other companies.
Some exclusions are weird. AA Pet Insurance doesn’t cover for “toxicity (other than that resulting from a confirmed snake bite)”. It also excluded some very common conditions including patella luxations (dislocating kneecap), elbow or hip dysplasia.
One PD Insurance policy I read required you to keep your cat indoors when it has a history of fighting with or being injured by other cats in the area. There are a number of websites that allow you to compare pet insurance. Canstar.co.nz rates policyholder satisfaction. Moneyhub analyses the policies.
The decision isn’t really whether your pet is “worth” insuring. It’s whether you want to transfer the risk of a potentially large and unpredictable veterinary bill to an insurer, in exchange for ongoing premiums and the limitations of the policy.
Catch up on the debates that dominated the week by signing up to our Opinion newsletter – a weekly round-up of our best commentary.