Study Shows Large Amount of Pet Owners Still Without Insurance

Annual Study Shows the Habits of Pet Owners Across the Country

Pet owners are likely to be well aware of the benefits of taking out pet insurance. Like any form of insurance it could potentially save them a lot of money in the long run as unexpected costs are incurred either through an accident or unforeseen veterinary issues. But there are still a lot of pet owners deciding to go without pet insurance and cost remains a big issue in regards to the health of our nation’s pets.

The Co-Operative Insurance carried out the study and in doing so discovered that 64% (around two thirds) of pet owners are going without pet insurance. Add to this the fact that 29% of pet owners have admitted to postponing veterinary attention due to the cost and a picture begins to take shape. The figures compare to other findings in the study which show that 60% of pets will require veterinary treatment at some point during their live – even if this is just on one occasion.

This is despite regular warnings that pet insurance can in fact save pet owners money in the long run, sparing them the pain of being handed a large vet bill (the study also showed that pet owners can spend £326 a year on treatment and other means of looking after their ill pets).

“Veterinary treatment isn't cheap”, says Lee Mooney, head of Pet Insurance at The Co-Operative Insurance. “Therefore it is extremely important, especially with winter just around the corner, that pet owners put money aside every month or take out insurance to ensure that their pet doesn't suffer when it is ill because it is too expensive to obtain specialist treatment.”

The study was carried out in September 2011 and involved questioning 5,000 pet owners. In addition to the above results it also revealed that 44% of pet owners often feed their pets unhealthy treats and that some pet owners are taking time off work so that they can nurse their ills pets back to health.

Mooney adds: “Not only do owners need to take time off work to take their pets to the vets, many are also choosing to forego work by taking emergency leave and booking holidays to care for their pets”.