On this morning’s episode of Sunrise on Channel 7, the team explored pet insurance.
The segment talked about how Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world with 29M pets.1.
Owning a pet is a long-term financial commitment. From food and grooming to preventative medication, people may be familiar with the regular costs of pet ownership but there are potential health costs associated with owning a pet that many people don’t think about and with pets, there is also, no Medicare to ease the financial burden.
Penetration of pet insurance in Australia is low, at about 7-10%2.. It’s a product that provides an option for pet parents looking to cover the unexpected cost of vet bills that can add up because of accidents and illnesses in their pets.
Pets might be lucky and incur minimal health expenses throughout their lifetime however 1 in 5 pets incur lifetime health expenses of over $50,000. 3
Because no two pets are the same, the segment introduced the GapOnly comparison site which provides a useful tool to help pet parents compare 33 products across 15 brands of comprehensive products administered by PetSure and understand what they might expect to pay, based on their pets breed and age, along with exploring what different policies might offer in benefits.
In addition, the segment highlighted the importance of selecting a GapOnly Ready policy which allows you to claim on the spot which reduces your upfront expenses on eligible claims.
You can catch the segment here:
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References:
- AMA – Pets in Australia (2022)
- Estimated based on PetSure Data (2023) and market share data.
- Average lifetime healthcare costs estimated using output from PetSure proprietary modelling. This modelling incorporates PetSure claims and policy data from ~c. 2016 to the present day across all insured breeds. This estimate relies on assumptions around future healthcare cost increases and represents a 15-year view of an average animal, for the mix of breeds currently insured with PetSure brand partners.
