• Each year, on average one pet in three will require veterinary treatment for illness or accident. As treatment becomes more complex and sophisticated, costs inevitably rise, and on many occasions may become a limiting factor.
• We naturally think of traumatic surgical events-such as accidents involving broken bones- as the main reason for pet insurance. However, in addition, many medical conditions, such as deep seated skin or ear infections, arthritis and diabetes, (to name but a few!) can often be equally costly to treat in the longer term.
• With pet insurance you have the peace of mind, that should your much loved pet become ill, he or she can have the treatment they require, without compromise, and without you having to worry about the cost of treatment.
• An additional benefit of pet insurance is third party cover. Should your pet cause a road traffic accident, you could be held liable. In this situation, pet insurance should cover both the treatment of your pet and any third party claims.

There are a number of important points relating to the need for the provision of such a service. Firstly, as with most areas of life in the past decade, the cost of healthcare for animals has risen steadily. The increased costs in the provision of such care for the pets of today has been responsible for some of the increases as drug prices and wages have risen, but perhaps more importantly for the animals, massive advances in the field of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery over the last number of years has resulted in higher costs for the pet owner. The downside of this is that there has been a significant increase in the overall costs of pet ownership. Some examples of the advances in the quality of healthcare will help to illustrate this.

Even ten years ago, if a dog or a cat was hit by a car and received orthopaedic injuries, the chances are that, unless it was taken to a specialist orthopaedic veterinary surgeon, any broken limb would have been placed in a cast or splint. Nowadays however, with the advances in orthopaedic surgery and the availability of specialised implants such as plates and pins, the animal could undergo surgery to stabilise the fracture internally. The advantages of this is that the animal will have a higher resolution of the problem, has less chance of developing arthritis subsequent to the injury, and will return to normal use of the limb in a much shorter period of time. Overall, the health of the animal and its quality of life will have been greatly improved by the advances in surgical techniques. The downside of this advance in care is the increase in cost. The surgical implants used are expensive, the cost of the surgical procedure must be paid, the training of veterinary surgeons in the more advanced surgeries has to be taken into account, as do the increase in peripheral costs, such as painkillers, antibiotics, nursing and hospitalisation.

Another example of the advances in Veterinary care is in the field of diagnostic testing. Internal medicine twenty years ago consisted of clinical examination of the animal and if the vet didn't know what was wrong, there was little option available to him to further investigate the problem. Nowadays however, the facilities available to the veterinary surgeon are comparable to those available to their medical counterpart. Blood analysis, radiology, ultrasound testing, urinalysis and endoscopy to name a few have greatly enhanced the ability of the vet to come to a diagnosis. The downside of this is the cost of purchasing the machinery, and the cost of maintaining, upgrading and replacing the machinery as newer diagnostic aids come on the market, and the costs involved in training personnel in the use of the equipment.

It is in the era of such phenomenal advances in the services being offered by Veterinary Surgeons and the justified and necessary increases in the fees being charged by Veterinary surgeons to finance these services, that the whole area of pet insurance has developed. Just as is the case with human health insurance the pet owner pays a premium on a monthly or yearly basis, and for that premium, the care of the animal is insured. Depending on the policy, the restrictions and excesses contained in it, the insurance company will pay for the treatment of medical and surgical bills with the exception of elective treatments such as vaccinations, worming, flea treatments neutering etc. Again depending on the policy, there may be cover for third party liability (in case your animal causes an accident or bites someone), certain boarding fees, advertising and reward fees in case of theft or loss of the animal, and even death from illness or accident.

In summary, it is important to be aware of the services your local veterinary surgeon can offer you and your pets. Many practices have brochures or web sites detailing the multitude of services available to their clients.

Please call the ISPCA Head Office for more details on what Pet Insurance is available to you at Tel: +353 (1) 497 7874