Dr Chris Brown’s past partnership with a major Australian pet insurance company had resurfaced after the celebrity vet encouraged animal owners to avoid the coverage.
Earlier this week, the 45-year-old Bondi vet shared the unlikely advice that people who own fur babies should eschew buying pet insurance, and put that money into a separate bank account instead.
But Dr Brown previously partnered with Medibank’s pet insurance as an ambassador back in 2011, where he said the plan helps pet owners have ‘a little control over the financial side of owning a best friend’.
‘There’s no doubt that pet insurance saves lives,’ he said at the time.
On Tuesday, Dr Brown told the Daily Telegraph shared the money-saving tip of setting up a separate bank account for pets to cover things like vet bills for general check-ups, but also treatment for an injury or illness that impacts a pet.
‘It comes down to trying to ration your money in the best possible way,’ the Dream Home host told the publication.
‘It is about staying on top of their health so smaller things don’t become bigger because that often leads to that impossible decision people have to make, which is a reality – the pet or the finances – and you never want to see people in that situation.’
He went on to say Australia has very poor options for pet insurance ‘because so many things are excluded’, and advised pet owners to put the money they would have spent on a policy into a separate bank account instead.
Dr Chris Brown’s past partnership with a major Australian pett insurance company had resurfaced after the celebrity vet encouraged animal owners to avoid the coverage
But pet bank accounts aren’t the only target the former I’m A Celebrity host has his eye on, as the hunky TV personality has also continued to back demands for pet care subsidies, including an animal Medicare.
Chris said his third Drooly Important Pet Census, which he is launching on Wednesday, will help provide insights into how the government can better help with the rising cost of owning a pet.
‘That is where the pet census is going to be really interesting because if we can really identify the significant role that pets play in our everyday lives, and the benefit that they have for our communities, then why shouldn’t we look at subsidising pet care if it is having such a positive effect on our healthcare system, and saving us money in the long run.’ he explained.
Chris developed his own ‘pet census’ in 2016 when he discovered the compulsory Census of Population and Housing, which Australians must fill in every five years, had removed all questions relating to pets in the household.
The 45-year-old celebrity vet previously partnered with Medibank’s pet insurance back in 2011, where he said: ‘There’s no doubt that pet insurance saves lives’
Refusing to take part in the survey, Chris instead created his own version which was dedicated to gathering date about Aussie pet ownership.
‘I didn’t fill out the Census. I haven’t touched it,’ he told Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa at the time.
‘I heard rumours that some members of the family were ignored by the Census – the hairiest members of the family.
‘Unlike other years, there is not a single question about whether you have pets and the type of pets you have. This year it has been ignored.’
The Survey Monkey form asks participants, how many pets do you have, what type of pet do you own, where does your pet sleep and what does your pet eat.
