Pet Insurance companies are coming after your customers
At our recent APL workshops, some concerning news came to light during discussions with 3 separate groups of veterinary practice owners and managers. A number of practice clients and even their staff members (who had insured pets) had been directly SMS messaged by pet insurance companies for 2 reasons:
Firstly to encourage a telehealth consultation for pets prior to them seeing their regular vet,
and secondly to encourage them to purchase their prescriptions from an online pet pharmacy because it was cheaper – with a link provided to a particular online pharmacy.
With vet pratices having promoted pet insurers for decades, its a bitter pill to swallow when suddenly they turn the tables and become competitors and go as far as sending text messages to divert business away from you.
Of course this encouraged us to do some research.
Seeing is believing, so here are the screenshots from some of the websites that we found related to Petsure:
The MyPetPass website clearly shows its relationship to Petsure and undoubtedly in competition with the bread and butter services offered by bricks and mortar veterinary practices.
Furthermore, the footer of the site removes any doubt by clearly showing the ABN’s of the related parties:
myPetPass® members are entitled to a 30% discount off the lowest online displayed price (excluding any items marked ‘on sale’ or ‘on clearance’) listed on www.petscripts.com.au off your pet prescription medication purchased from PetScripts Pty Ltd ABN 73 610 444 427 (PetScripts), which is a related company of PetSure.
Here they clearly indicate their bundling of telehealth consultations with their pet insurance policies. And again in the footer of this website, a clear statement of the business relationship: VetChat is a related company of PetSure (Australia) Pty Ltd.
So it seems with a changing veterinary landscape caused by investors becoming enamoured with the pet economy, we have to look further than just corporate practice competitors – it seems everyone wants a slice of the veterinary pie. PetSure, which administers over 80% of Australian pet insurance policies across brands such as Woolworths, RSPCA, Bow Wow Meow, and Pet Insurance Australia, has quietly built a vertically integrated ecosystem spanning telehealth triage and online pharmacy fulfillment. It won’t be long before they start opening or acquiring real world vet practices, this has already happened in the USA.
For independent clinic owners and practice managers, understanding these corporate linkages is critical to safeguarding client relationships, practice revenue, and patient continuity of care.
This level of vertical integration creates structural friction between the insurer’s business model and the financial health of local veterinary clinics. There are risks to veterinary practices and pet owners:
1. Circumventing the Client-Clinic Relationship
By positioning virtual teleconsults as a free, 24/7 “first port of call,” insurers interpose a third-party telehealth vet between you and your patient before a visit or consultation occurs. This risks:
Loss of Revenue: Consultations that would typically be in your clinic are absorbed virtually.
Fragmented Care Records: Teleconsultation notes do not always integrate seamlessly into standard practice management software (PMS), creating gaps in long-term medical histories.
2. Erosion of In-House Pharmacy Margins
In-clinic dispensing of medications is lost.
Targeted Steering: Insurers send direct SMS and email marketing to policyholders urging them to request written scripts from their local vet and redeem them online via PetScripts for a 30% discount.
Uncompensated Administrative Overhead: Veterinary clinics bear the time, liability, and administrative cost of reviewing, writing, and signing paper prescriptions while losing the product sale.
3. Data Capture & Ecosystem Dominance
When an entity controls the insurance coverage, the virtual triage point, and the medication fulfillment, it gains end-to-end data on local clinic pricing, prescribing habits, and client behavior. This data asymmetry can be leveraged to negotiate lower fee structures or influence treatment protocols over time.
4. Conflict of Interest
This is probably the most important point and is to the detriment of the patient. With pet insurance companies recently having become very vocal about veterinary practices taking advantage of pet insurance by charging more, their obvious strategy would be to try to save money and triage cases in a manner that would cost them the least – after all, they would be footing the bill for a very sick pet.
So what should vet practices now do to protect their market?
Firstly, the uptake of pet insurance is not as high in Australia as it is in some European countries. Once thought of as a negative, this may be a blessing in disguise. Your practices have survived and been profitable with pet insurance uptake sitting in between 10-15%, so maybe we should just make sure it stays there and goes no higher.
Furthermore, should vet practices reconsider the arduous work they face dealing with all the insurance claims on behalf of insurers? Perhaps its time to push this back on them instead of paying a practice manager to trawl through all the claims, a significant human resource cost.
And lastly, why not give Petsure a call and ask them directly what their intentions are – the answers would be interesting to hear.
“Dr. AI”, SEO Shifts, & Marketing Strategy (part 3 of our AI series)
Welcome to the final part of our AI overview series. So far, we’ve covered internal clinic operations. Now, let’s look outward: How is AI changing the way clients find and interact with your practice?
The Shift from “Dr. Google” to “Dr. AI”
Clients are increasingly consulting tools like ChatGPT and Gemini before calling the clinic. The silver lining? When a pet owner phones with a complex question, they have often already researched the topic. If they are calling, it means they need hands-on care, giving your reception team a clear opportunity to convert the call into a booked consultation.
The Death of Traditional Keyword SEO
Google controls around 95% of global search traffic, but traditional keyword search is shifting rapidly. Google now displays AI-generated summaries at the top of results before showing standard links.
Because AI understands intent rather than just matching exact keywords, old-school Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics are losing relevance. While no one can predict exact future algorithms, two factors will likely keep your clinic visible:
Rich, Authoritative Website Content: Detailed FAQs and clear service pages help AI algorithms identify your business as a reliable source.
Recent Online Reviews: A high volume of recent Google reviews signals to AI search engines that your practice is active and trusted by local clients.
The Monetization Trap & Protecting Your Spend
As major search engines shift toward AI overviews, standard advertising revenues are impacted. Google has already indicated that future AI recommendations on free platforms may be influenced by sponsored placements. In short: AI search outputs may increasingly favour businesses that pay for placement.
To safeguard your practice against unpredictable algorithm shifts, focus marketing resources on channels you directly control:
Direct Client Engagement: Reach out directly to your existing client database.
Lapsed Client Re-engagement: Run targeted campaigns to bring past clients back.
Preventative Care Awareness: Promote specific health checks (e.g., senior wellness screenings or ongoing parasite prevention) directly via SMS or email newsletters.
Final Thoughts
AI cannot think for itself, make complex clinical judgments, or establish clinic culture. What it can do is handle repetitive tasks, allowing veterinary teams to focus on diagnosing, treating, and building client relationships.
By adopting AI as an efficiency tool while maintaining direct control over client communications, your practice will stay ahead of the curve.
Thank you for following along with this series!
Capital Gains Tax Changes are Now Law – What does this mean for your business?
Capital Gains Tax reforms proposed in the most recent Budget are now law. From 1 July 2027, tax rules are changing so that assets you hold will be treated as if sold and immediately bought back at their market value just before that date (1 July 2027). This sets a new starting point for future tax calculations.
So do you need to get a valuation done by 1 July 2027? No you don’t. There is no deadline, and you won’t need to lock anything in until you actually sell the asset down the track. You may hear pressure to get an “advance valuation” now. We’d suggest against this. The ATO won’t accept a valuation done before the date as proof of value on the day.
So we say, don’t rush. But don’t forget either. Getting a valuation done reasonably soon after 1 July 2027 will give cleaner, more reliable records than waiting years. When you do, use a properly qualified valuer, not an app or a quick online estimate. The ATO will need to be satisfied that it a true comemrcial valuation.
Remeber this includes all saleable assets including properties (except your home) and businesses!
Dog Tales! – Strudel’s Soapbox and the Corporate Squeeze
As you all know I’m Strudel and I’m a cheeky, notoriously loud Dachshund, which means if I don’t like what I see on my human’s desk, the entire building hears about it. And lately I’ve had plenty to bark about.
I get a front-row seat to the business reality facing independent practice owners like you. The data coming across the desk tells a stark story:
AI Search Interception: When pet parents search online for local care, AI search overviews now answer directly at the top of the screen. They routinely bypass your practice website and local map listings, funneling prospective clients toward entities with massive digital budgets.
Vertical Integration: Corporate conglomerates are rapidly closing the loop. They underwrite the pet insurance policy, own the telehealth portal and online pharmacy, and feed the digital search ecosystem that routes insured patients directly into their own facilities.
Independent practices are gradually getting squeezed on both visibility and patient retention. Delivering outstanding clinical care isn’t enough if an algorithm intercepts your local clients before they ever find your front door.
My human spends every day looking at the numbers and strategies that help independent veterinary businesses fight back, claim their digital space, and protect their clinical freedom. Take it from a low-rider who is never afraid to make some noise – now is the time to stand up, get loud about your independence, and ensure your practice stays visible in a shifting market. Because from where I’m sitting, seven inches off the floor, veterinary medicine is always at its best when doctors, not corporate algorithms, control the care.
APL Accountants, Suite 9 Level 1, 23 Middle Street, Cleveland,Qld,4163,Australia,Liability Limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
