AUSTRALIANS are spending millions of dollars each year on health insurance for their pets, as MRI scans for cats and dogs and sophisticated new surgeries are costing owners thousands.
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An Australian Veterinary Association spokesman said, ''The procedures available now are pretty much on par with humans.
''There's been significant growth in the complexity of treatments that can be offered for pets.
''Sometimes people are shocked by the high bills, but the fact of the matter is there's no medicare for animals and insurance can be a good mitigating factor.''
The insurance industry has rushed to meet the demand from nervous owners, with new players entering the market to offer many different levels of coverage.
Supermarket giant Woolworths has introduced its own brand of pet insurance, paying out up to $12,000 for veterinary bills each year, depending on the level of cover people buy.
The Australian Companion Animal Council estimated that 20,000 policies had been taken out by the nation's pet owners in 2009, worth about $7million per year.
Those figures are likely to have risen and president of the council, veterinary behavioural specialist Kersti Seksel, said pet owners would do well to read the fine print.
''Pet insurance has been around for a long time overseas and it's very much expected when you go to the UK or the US that you would have it,'' she said.
''Pet insurance sort of made a comeback in Australia about 10 years ago and has been growing. But there can still be restrictions, for example one out of five dogs have a behavioural issue.
''It can be things like depression or anxiety. And some of the pet insurers do not cover behaviour medication for dogs.''
Dr Seksel said things like hip replacements, heart surgeries and kidney transplants for animals could cost $10,000 and sometimes more.
''Vets have to buy their own equipment and those costs have to be passed on,'' she said.
''Make sure you compare policies and read the exclusions. With more companies offering insurance there's more competition and that's good for the consumer.'' Consumer group Choice has held a review of pet insurance and is due to publish its findings next week.
Spokeswoman Ingrid Just said having pet insurance was probably a consideration for many people.
''It's a growing industry, there's more and more treatments available and people are willing to spend on their pets,'' she said.
A review in 2009 by Choice examined 63 pet insurance policies with premiums ranging from $100 to $619 per year per pet and different excess options.
It found that pet insurance was ''not a straightforward product'' and some products had complicated exclusions and cover conditions, as well as big differences in price.
