Why Pet Insurance is Good for Vets

Caution: trigger warning. Please note this article that outlines why pet insurance is recommended by vets discusses details of suicide and reader discretion is required.

Pet insurance is important to the vet industry for several reasons. The primary one is of course that it allows pets to maintain their optimum health and live the quality of life they deserve. For this reason, many NZ vets recommend pet insurance to their clients from the start.

The second important reason, as many of us know firsthand, is that vets can then practice their skills to a fuller extent.

Nobody wants to painstakingly study the preservation of animal health for many years, only to have to euthanise them. There are better options available that we as a pet health industry can educate pet owners on the value of.

Between a rock and a hard place

In human health care doctors can face lawsuits for ending a patient’s life when potential life saving treatments are available. However NZ vets (and vets around the world) are routinely cornered into euthanising pets when owners can’t afford treatment options.

Euthanising pets can also be the last solution on the table when vet resources can’t accommodate more costly medical procedures.

In these situations nobody benefits. The animals aren’t afforded the end they’re deserving of. They may leave this world feeling rejected by owners who often can’t face the final hour and choices they’re forced to make. Vets can suffer extreme levels of mental stress from having to take an active role in ending these animals’ lives.

This has to stop and, as a practical step, pet insurance can help mitigate the risk. It’s the reason many NZ vets are actively advocating for pets to have health insurance.

Here’s what Dr Cath Watson from Health Pets New Zealand has to say on the matter:

Vets for pets having insurance not euthanasia

Oxford languages via Google describes euthanasia as “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma”. The emphasis here lies in the words incurable and irreversible.

Yet even when animals are in a physically unwell state that is irreversible or incurable and requires euthanasia it can still take a mental and physical toll on the person undertaking the process. Most vets enter into the practice via a love of animals, science and/or the urge to care, protect and maintain for their wellbeing.

As small animal specialist surgeon Abbie Tipler says:

“As hardworking individuals, we go in into the profession optimistic and hopeful about saving lives. In fact we pay thousands of dollars to train to do just that. Veterinary specialists (similar to a human specialist) pay even more for training, and make sacrifices you can’t imagine. What we didn’t factor in, was the fact we would get daily abuse for doing our job, because we need to charge for this service.”

Once in the practice however, time that should go toward treating animals is often spent chasing unpaid bills or negotiating treatment costs with pet owners. It may not be possible to quantify the after hours out of practice that a vet spends on processing the number of euthanasia treatments they’ve had to perform or assist.

It’s why pet insurance is being recommended by more and more vets to allow treatment over euthanasia for curable and reversible conditions in animals.

Pet insurance helps save pets’ lives

Pet medical cover gives pet owners the financial flexibility they need to pay higher bills for a broader range of diagnoses and treatments.

For many Kiwis pets are their close friends and even family. As pet owners, it’s crucial to be able to get pets the best medical attention in their hour of need. But not every pet owner knows about dog insurance or cat insurance. And not everyone who does realises its value, often until the moment they needed to already have it in place.

This is why vets who see what pain animals experience are well positioned to educate pet owners on the support pet insurance provides.

As a vet or pet professional and a PD Pet Insurance partner, you can open customers’ eyes to cost-effective, quality pet cover that will help safeguard their pet and pocket. Any pet owner new to PD will receive one or more months of free insurance. Plus, if you’ve referred them your business will be rewarded for the referral.

We don’t have enough NZ vets and we’re losing them

While New Zealand is well known for its high pet ownership there aren’t enough vets. As a country we promote vet immigration to help fortify our industry. Yet what’s even sadder is that we lose many qualified vets in the line of work.

Burnout is real

As a result of extreme work pressure many vets experience depression and burnout. The often-long hours together with witnessing the pain and anguish animals suffer take a toll on the industry.

Research from the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) shows mental well-being and staff retention are major challenges the industry faces. As many as 25% of NZ vets experience depression while just over 6% have considered suicide.

Supports are available

The situation is being addressed at both an organizational and individual level. The NZVA offers several resources including mentorship, a wellness hub and free counselling. The Vet Council also lists a directory of similar supports. 

Debriefing sessions and online platforms for sharing stories, like the Riptide Project, are more channels helping vets cope with pressure.

Pet cover can help too

As a vet, recommending pet health insurance to your clients can alleviate some of the pressure. You’ll help them into a position to say “yes, do everything you can to keep my pet alive and healthy”. Instead of having to potentially say goodbye.

In a bid to inform pet owners about veterinarian industry strain, PD’s vet mental health article lives in our consumer blog.

Watch the PD Pet Care vlog showcasing Dr Cath Watson in an exclusive interview with Dr Meg Irvine sharing vet life skills:

Also read. PD Insurance’s takeaways from the recent NZVA & NZVNA Conference.

Award winning pet insurance recommended by vets

Find out why PD is the award winning pet insurance recommended by many NZ vets. Enquire about our vet partner and breeder partner rewards program. Not a vet or a breeder? If you’re another kind of pet industry professional, take a look at our pet care partner program.

Be sure to uncover why customers rate us as the nation’s best insurance provider. The more the pet care industry helps pet owners understand and access affordable quality pet insurance, the better our animal society will thrive!