Hello, this is Dr. Karin. Read my bio, get to know me more, and meet his five cheerful cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
I would like to let you in on a secret. The thing I hate most about being a veterinarian is not euthanasia. We are not dealing with aggressive, overly loud, or out of control dogs. It's not like you're trying to find out about a cat with sharp teeth and razor claws who wants nothing more than to claw your eyes out and eat your innards for dinner. Five children under the age of four running screaming around the exam room, unrestrained and unnoticed by their obviously oblivious parents, trying to explain complex surgical procedures and medical conditions to their owners. not.
The thing I hate most about being a veterinarian is talking about money.
We all love animals and want to help them in any way we can, so we worked hard, studied hard and spent many hours during our university holidays doing practical work. No vet gets into this job for the money, and if they do, they've obviously been misled somewhere along the way. The average annual salary for a veterinarian is approximately USD 100,000, and veterinarians are ranked 86th in the salary rankings.1 I'm not saying $100,000 is a small amount, but I'm not saying $100,000 is a small amount, but I appreciate the amount of technical knowledge, skills, and responsibility required for the position, the approximately 8 years of study required, and the average college loan amount of $80,000. Considering the fact that it's $200,000, believe me, we're not doing this because we want to get rich, we're doing this for the love of animals.
Where does my money go?
A large part of veterinary medicine is business. We receive no government funding and, as you all know, health care costs are high. Equipment, supplies, medications, support staff, buildings, utilities, and ongoing training to keep up with the latest technology and information all cost money. And your vet should be paid too!
What has impacted veterinary pricing over the past decade or so is the rise of veterinary integrators like Mars. They are expanding their interests from snacks and chocolates to the world of pet medicine. This giant company currently owns an astonishing 3,000 veterinary clinics around the world, 37 leading pet food companies including Royal Canin, Iams, Wiskas, and Sheba, 11 veterinary diagnostic companies, and a leading online We have controlling interest in veterinary pharmacies and suppliers.
What does that mean for pet owners?
- This means your local independent veterinary practice could be acquired by a wealthy company without you even knowing it. That's because they have cleverly retained all of their original branding and signage, with corporate ownership only showing in the small details.
- This means that in addition to the normal expenses faced by veterinary practices, profits must be funneled into the pockets of shareholders and boards of directors, who now control the price of pet veterinary care. This is something that veterinarians and support staff have to deal with. Rebound from price rise.
- This means that no matter how angry or frustrated you may be when the cost of veterinary care increases, neither veterinarians nor clinic owners can control prices.
Why do veterinary practices sell to these companies? Because the competition they create in the market makes it nearly impossible for an independent business to survive.
What does this have to do with insurance?
Yes, let's go back. Like everything else, pet insurance prices are steadily rising, leading many pet owners to make the difficult decision to cancel their insurance policy or switch to a cheaper company. However, there are problems with that decision:
- Many companies offer lower premiums.
- Premiums increase each year and each time a claim is made.
- You may only be paid for certain conditions, and you may only be paid a very limited amount per condition.
- It only covers symptoms for 12 months, which is fine if it's a one-off injury or illness, but not if it's something that might recur later in life or a lifelong condition like diabetes. , covered by 12 months of insurance. Monthly policies are not very useful.
- If you change companies, conditions noted in your pet's medical history will not be covered. For example, if your cat hurt her knee when she was 2 years old, and you need surgery on that knee 5 years later, and you changed companies during that time, you won't be covered for the surgery.
- If you cancel your insurance policy due to affordability, there is little chance that you will be able to pay for treatments and surgeries that can cost thousands of dollars.
- Pet insurance companies usually have a minimum no-insurance period of 14 days, so if you think you can get insurance right away when something goes wrong with your pet, that doesn't always work.
As a veterinarian, it's clear that there are some things you can do for your pet, but it's not always easy to actually do it away from your pet. But I know the things I can't do are expensive, so all my pets have pet insurance. As you may know, I have five cats (and five dogs), so pet insurance costs me a lot of money each month, but I am committed to paying for them by adopting these pets. Masu. We choose not to do any major TV deals, are very frugal when it comes to grocery shopping, and regularly buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace (which is sustainable That's great from that point of view). I am fully aware that we are in a much better financial situation than many others, but my point is: how much are pet owners willing to sacrifice in their monthly expenses? We strongly recommend that you consider . There is room for pet insurance.
Our cats depend on us to care for them, and by adopting them we are saying that we can provide them with the best care possible, but unfortunately that care is not possible. is becoming expensive. Trust me, I know how frustrating it is to see pet insurance premiums taken out of your bank account every month, even though you (hopefully) will never use them. I believe he has spent over $15,000 on insurance for his current group of cats and has never filed a claim. But if something happens to your beloved cat and the vet bills end up costing her more than $3,000, she'll be very grateful to have found insurance for $15-20 per month. .
A few years ago, when Sparky ran away and was hit by a car and brought to our clinic, we didn't know if he would survive. He required major surgery to repair his broken pelvis and jaw, with an estimated cost of about $4,000. Luckily, Sparky had a microchip, so he was able to contact his owner right away. And they said the words every veterinarian wants to hear in this situation: “We have insurance, so it's okay.”
As veterinarians, we don't make money from insurance. The only reason we highly recommend this insurance to our clients is because if the worst happens, we want to do everything we can to get your cat home healthy. to you. We know prices are rising and we know how much stress that can add to an already difficult situation. Trust me, your vet hates talking about money when your cat is in trouble, but you know what we want to hear?
Don't worry, we also have pet insurance.
We hope you never need it, but if something goes wrong you'll be glad you did.
