Penn Veterinary Supply, Inc. - Since 1981

If you feel like there’s been a lot of talk lately about pet health insurance, there’s a reason why.
In June (2019), the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) released their 2019 State of the Industry report. The key takeaways were:

• 2.43 million pets were insured in North America during 2018 - an increase of 17.1% from 2017.
• By the end of 2018, the total premiums hit 1.42 billion in North America - this number was only at 676.5 million in 2014, just four years ago.
• 93% of pet insurance policies in the US are for accident and illness coverage.
• In the US, the average accident and illness premium for dogs was $566 ($47/month) and for cats was $354 ($29.50/month).

September is National Pet Health Insurance Month, so we figured this would be a great time to dive into this topic and discuss why the above numbers should be important to you. Here are 3 things you should know about pet health insurance.

1. Pet Health Insurance is a Growing Industry
It’s clear to see from the NAPHIA report mentioned above that more and more pets are getting insured and more and more premiums are being paid to insurance companies. This is great news for you! How many times has a customer declined treatment that their pet needs because they can’t afford it? When customers have pet health insurance, they are more likely to bring their pets in to receive treatment for illness or injury quicker and are more likely to pay for the full range of treatment.

Why is this happening? The trend of owners referring to their pets as their “children” isn’t stopping anytime soon. People are spending more and more on their pets. Total US pet industry expenditure reached $72.56 Billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $75.38 Billion in 2019. This is an increase from $60.28 Billion in just 2015 and from just $28.5 Billion in 2001. As we continue to treat our pets more like family, doesn’t it make sense to insure their health as we would insure our children?

2. Your Customers Want to Know About Pet Health Insurance
A 2016 NAPHIA study called Driving Growth of Pet Health Insurance found that there is a disconnect between why veterinarians think pet owners do not enroll in pet health insurance and why they actually don’t enroll. While the biggest reason for both is financial (don’t want another monthly expense, too expensive, etc.), 62% of vets think pet owners don’t enroll because pet health insurance is too complicated and the information isn’t easy to understand - only 19% of pet owners really feel this way. Along those lines, 75% of vets find coverage (not comprehensive enough, issues with pre-existing conditions) to be a barrier, but only 22% of pet owners feel that way.

It’s obvious that pet owners are interested in pet health insurance - the numbers already talked about speak for themselves! The reasons why your customers aren’t enrolled may not be what you think. Open the discussion, provide information, and allow your customers to explore their options and make their own decision.

3. You’re Encouraged to Proactively Educate Your Customers
On August 2, 2019, the AVMA House of Delegates approved a policy change on pet health insurance. Below is the first paragraph of the policy with the changes underlined.

The AVMA endorses the concept of pet health insurance that provides coverage to help defray the cost of veterinary medical care and encourages veterinary healthcare teams to proactively educate their clients about the existence of such resources. The AVMA recognizes that viable pet health insurance programs may be an important approach for the veterinary profession to continue to provide high-quality veterinary services.

While you’re not expected to be a pet health insurance expert, it’s important that you are able to provide your customers with the resources they need to make an informed decision on the type of coverage that is best for their pet. According to the NAPHIA 2016 study mentioned above, only 24% of veterinarians completely agree that they feel comfortable talking to clients about pet health insurance because they're not familiar enough with coverage and policies - that’s okay! NAPHIA has a lot of great resources for you to get informed and for your customers to get informed.

Here are a few ways that you can open up the discussion on pet health insurance:
 

• Ask on your new client form if they have pet health insurance. If not, ask if they would be interested in learning more about their options.
• Incorporate pet health insurance as a standard talking point during puppy and kitten visits as well as routine wellness visits, just like you would vaccines.
• Hand out flyers or brochures to clients after their wellness visits - encourage them to be prepared if an accident or illness were to strike.
• Do a social media campaign on the topic of pet health insurance - encourage your clients to explore their options and provide online resources for them to check out. (We have some social media posts and a client handout you can download to use!)

The goal is always to provide your customers with the care their pets need so they can live happy lives. If pet health insurance would allow them to get the full range of treatment they need when they need it, it’s a no brainer that educating them on their options benefits everyone.