Shownotes Transcript
This story has caught my eye. So if you're a pet owner, tell me if you have pet insurance. Because there's this new research out by Budget Direct. And Budget Direct has found that over half of Aussie pet owners aren't bothering insuring their pets. If you're one of these people, give us a call. Look, I know that people are making tough decisions about where to spend their money these days. But pet insurance can be a lifesaver.
Because you can get hefty vet bills when your pet falls ill or your pet has an accident. And if you're insured, well, those bills are significantly lessened. But with costs skyrocketing, I know you look at the family budget and you go, well, okay, what can I afford? What can't I afford? And pet insurance may be seen as a luxury. I don't know. Emma Hurst is from the Animal Justice Party. She's on the line for us. Emma, g'day.
Hi, Chris. Is pet insurance important in your mind? Yeah, look, I mean, it certainly has saved lives in some circumstances and it's been a relief for many families, you know, when a beloved animal has an illness or there's a vet emergency. But I also recognise that, you know, we're currently in a cost of living crisis and that we definitely need other options.
What do you think those other options are? I've had this discussion at length on this program, and I upset a lot of people in the veterinarian industry and the pet care industry because I said that the bills, in some cases, are eye-watering for people, and it does come at quite a shock. Do you think pet insurance as a whole needs to be restructured?
Yeah, look, I think one thing that we really need to look at, and I think this actually supports the entire veterinary industry as well, and it was a recommendation from an inquiry that I was just on that looked into the veterinary shortage, is we need to have a system like Medicare in New South Wales, particularly for lower income earners and pensioners, because we know that there are significant benefits for people to have companion animals. We know that there's mental health benefits
If you think about a retiree, that might be their companionship for an entire week, for example. So we know that there are huge benefits, but we can't really have a situation where having a companion animal is a luxury for the wealthy or people having to euthanise an animal that could potentially be quite easily saved.
But of course one thing I think a lot of people don't realise is that as humans when we present for medical care that is subsidised by the government but we don't have any subsidies for vet care and that's why when people take an animal to a vet they get quite shocked at how high those prices are. Now vets don't actually take home a large amount of money themselves, that's the actual cost.
without any kind of government subsidy. And I think that the government, the New South Wales government, needs to review that. Do you think that vetting care, I don't think, would get...
Much of a, much support at all, because you can't have, you know, Medicare for pet owners. Some people might not be pet owners and say, well, why should I subsidise it through my tax? And you've got all these other competing issues that humans need addressed. However, do you think pet insurance should be a requirement for owners when they register their pets?
Look, I mean, I just don't think that, again, I think that that pushes it so that, again, only people on higher incomes can actually afford to have an animal. You know, as I said, you know, there are other options for myself. I mean, when I first, when my cat adopted me, I was on about 60 grand a year. And the problem was that my cat was already seven years old. So he had health issues. And so the health insurance companies wouldn't insure him for
for the health issues he has. Now he's nearly 19, he turns 19 in September. He still has those health issues. So every time I take him to the vet, I wouldn't have those health issues covered by that pet insurance. So what I ended up doing was I set up his own bank account
And instead of putting that monthly amount into an insurance company, I put it directly into that bank account. And so far, you know, that has actually covered his veterinary fees. But I've got full oversight of that. And I think that that's another really good option for people as well. People do that with health insurance. Can I just ask you, what did you mean by your cat adopting you, Emma?
Well, you know, this is going back some time. So this was back, you know, 12 years ago or so and I had a housemate at the time who adopted a cat whose owner was moving overseas and that cat actually just sort of moved into my room and kind of adopted me. And so then when I moved out of that apartment, I sort of said to my housemate, look, I think that the cat's adopted me and she agreed. So.
It wasn't my idea to have a cat. I was waiting for some esoteric answer, but no. Just didn't leave. Emma Hurst, thank you for coming on. I appreciate it. Wonderful. Thank you. That's Emma Hurst from the Animal Justice Party.
