Dogs…. just fluffy balls of awesomeness right ?

Just like we have health insurance, i got pet insurance for our first Golden Retriever – who turned 11 a last month, through Pet Insurance Australia… as they seemed to be ok-ish based on the online reviews… acknowledging that its incredibly difficult to discern a real review from a bot-farm review anymore.

He’s had a full life of playing with other dogs (his favourite), his little human, his therapy dog work and the rest of our family… like most goldens, he’s pretty much universally loved… because he’s fucking awesome and might well be the nicest creature on the planet – ever.

All the way back in 2016, i got pet insurance for him because – risk and risk mitigation. At the time it was around the $500 a year mark.

Fast forward to yesterday (July 2024) – the premiums are now approx $2200 for the upcoming renewal. One one hand, i understand inflation and that his risk profile has changed now he’s older… on the other – isn’t that what i paid premiums for the last 8 years to help cover ?

When i rang to cancel the policy, i got the same old bullshit, including an offer to give us 3 months free… which really sealed the deal for me. If you can offer 3 months for free, then you’re just price gouging (like most corporates at the moment, i’m not saying this is isolated) rather than increasing prices in line with inflation.

Fuck you Pet Insurance Australia…. there aren’t many sacred things left in the world – but the health of doggies everywhere is one of them – you don’t fuck with that…. may you all get bowel cancer and die a long, incredibly painful death.