One day in the mid-1980s, while living in an apartment complex in Philadelphia, West Virginia native Harold Moore had to make a run for it because of a sudden fire in a garbage chute. When the crisis was over, he found that his pet cat had suffered from smoke inhalation. The trip to the veterinarian was expensive.
“The cat got put right again, but afterward the vet recommended that for the future, I should look into pet health insurance,” said Moore, now living in Greenville, South Carolina. “And I had never heard of it before – the fire-in-the-garbage-chute incident was the first time I even knew it existed.” Moore wasn’t alone; the first pet health insurance wasn’t offered in the United States until 1982 – fittingly enough to TV’s Lassie.
In the 43 years since then, pet health insurance has grown by staggering proportions – with nearly 1-in-4 pets insured in North America – and as people keep living longer and craving the kind of companionship that dogs, cats, goldfish and, in some cases, even iguanas, can offer, pet health insurance is now anticipated to become for many people just as important as human insurance.
“Last year, for the fifth year in a row, the North American market grew by over 20%,” said Rick Faucher, president of the North American Pet Health Insurance Industry in a state-of-the-industry report in April 2024. “When we look at our sustained growth across North America, we see a tremendous upside for the industry and are very encouraged about the future.”
That future has been widening significantly in the past 20 years. For example, the first pet health insurance company, “Pets Best,” was founded in 2005 by Dr. Jack Stephens. Now the number stands at around 30, among them Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Spot and Lemonade, with more expected in the coming years. The industry’s global market increased from $5.6 million to $13.2 million from 2018 to 2024, and it’s expected to expand by another $2 million this year and to reach $33.57 billion by 2030, more than a third of it in the United States.
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association says there are currently 6.25 million pets insured throughout North America – a 16.7% increase compared with 2022.
“The global U.S. pet insurance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% from 2024 to 2030 to reach an estimated $10 billion market size by 2030,” said staff member Kelly Smith with the American Animal Hospital Association in Lakewood, Colorado, in a December 2024 report. “Factors such as the rise in pet ownership, introduction of pet insurance in markets that are yet to be fully explored, escalating costs of veterinary care and the continuing trend of treating pets like family members are leading causes for that continued growth.”
The insurance itself, not unlike that for humans, covers a wide range of illnesses and treatments that include:
• Comprehensive (accident and illness) – covers veterinarian care for most accidents, medical problems and breed-specific conditions.
• Accident-only pet insurance – Utilized if your dog or cat is injured or in an accident.
• Wellness and preventive care – an add-on benefit covering well-pet exams, vaccinations and other types of routine care.
Some companies will not cover pets after a certain age, and many companies have waiting periods before benefits begin. The cost of premiums vary depending on the policy and the pet. Based on numbers provided by Bankrate.com, unlimited annual coverage for dogs can run between $36 and $101 per month. Dog generally cost more to insure than cats because they present a higher risk for certain health issues and for accidents.
Moore pays more than $60 a month to insure his longtime pet dachshund Super-Jack, who will soon need cataract surgery soon.
“And to me, it’s worth the money,” said Moore, who began insuring two of his family dogs in 2010. “Because otherwise, I would have to pay $5,800 initially for just the surgery and then for all the follow-up care.”
But besides the continued health of Super-Jack, he added there is a hidden benefit that doesn’t show up in a report but always in a household: family peace of mind.
“My wife is OK knowing that Jack is going to be taken care of,” he said. “And I am, too.”
By L. C. Leach III
