Understanding vet costs

Each year, veterinary treatments become more sophisticated – and more expensive – making pet insurance more important than ever.

Your vet is a highly qualified professional, with years of study and practical experience. To qualify, they completed five or six years of study for a veterinary science degree, including hundreds of hours of hands-on clinical experience. Your vet is both a GP and a specialist, with skills covering surgery, radiology, neurology, oncology and pharmacy. So when you consult a registered vet, you can be confident that your pet is in good hands.

Like human medicine, veterinary science is improving all the time to help create a longer, happier life for your pet. But unlike human doctors, vets are not subsidised by the government through Medicare. That means vet fees can sometimes seem costly compared to doctor’s bills – even when they cover a similar treatment at a lower overall cost.

Vets are responsible for setting their own fees, so the amount you pay will vary depending on the size of the practice, its location, its opening hours and a range of other factors. The fee for each treatment will take into account the costs of the treatment itself, the expertise of the vet and other staff, and service costs such as medication, X-rays and blood tests. The fees also cover the costs of running the vet’s practice, such as wages, rent and equipment.

Together, it can all add up. Which is why Real Pet Insurance can be a good way to protect your pet’s health.