New Study Shows Families With Pets Struggling

In light of the current credit crunch many dog owners are looking through their expenditures and trying to cut costs where they can. Unfortunately this means that a lot of people are deciding to cancel their pet insurance policies.

Esure, which has just carried out a study looking at the issue, urges dog owners not to do this, as pet insurance could save them a lot of money in the long run, especially to cover the costs of veterinary treatment that was unplanned. Part of the study showed that pet owners are struggling to pay vet bills otherwise.

They polled 3,000 dog owners and discovered what dogs are the most expensive to own, with English setters coming out top, with an average cost of £6,955 during their lifetimes in vets’ bills. This was followed by Great Danes at £6,600 and poodles with Rottweilers also highly expensive. These costs cover treatments such as injections, emergency treatments, surgical procedures and other medications.

The poll also showed that only a small number of people had pet insurance (as low as 31 %) and those that did were considering cancelling it so that they can save some money.

The rest of the dog owners polled were using credit cards, avoiding mortgage payments and relying on their savings to cover the costs.

The Daily Express quotes Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at Esure Pet insurance: “It’s crucial for dog owners to either have pet insurance or enough savings to cover what can amount to thousands of pounds of vets’ bills. Sickness, injury and long-term illnesses can affect any breed or size of dog, but with some more susceptible than others, owners should plan for all eventualities when it comes to their dogs’ health.” 

So owners should be making sure they can cover the costs, either by taking out a good pet insurance policy or making sure they have enough money in the first place.

Alternatively of course, people still looking for a dog could opt for a mastiff, which only costs their owners £1,302 during their life.