Pet insurance has been growing in popularity but is it worth it for most households?

My mum was allergic to animals, following a nasty incident with a cat when she was pregnant. Consequently, animals weren’t part of my early childhood.

My parents eventually relented and got us two cats, Steak and Kidney. Kidney Kitten got his name because his first feeding bowl was an old kidney specimen vase, a relic from mum’s occupation as nurse. And one of my dad’s signature dishes was steak and kidney pie.

Odd names were good. The fluffballs didn’t know any better. And it was a funny story to tell.

It was Canberra in the 80s and they were outside-at-night cats, like The Flintstones’ pet dinosaurs. As much as we loved them, it was understood that the family couldn’t afford thousand dollar vet bills. I understood what the “green dream” was.

Luckily, my lapwarmers were healthy. Kidney ran away from home to live with some neighbours who would let them in the house. Steak was a little more loyal, but eventually got so sick at age 13 that he was put down. I cried for days.

I’m insured to the eyeballs. Insurance is about making sure the big financial risks in life are transferred to someone else.

If you’re prepared to pay whatever to keep your furry friends alive, then consider pet insurance, as vet bills can get into the thousands for truly sick animals. Only you can weigh that up.

Pity my DebtKids, Mrs DebtMan fears all but zoo animals. Needing pet insurance isn’t the main hurdle to my kids getting an animal to look after and care for.

Bruce Brammall is the principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting (www.castellanfinancial.com.au) and author of Debt Man Walking.