During the past five years, the average annual growth rate for pet insurance was 23.4%, according to the 2021 State of the Industry by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). At the end of 2020, more than 3 million pets were insured in North America.
Total premiums written in the U.S. reached nearly $2 billion during 2020, NAPHIA reported, noting average annual growth was 24.2% from 2016-2020. A strong majority (93.4%) of policies written in the U.S. were combined coverages that included accident and illness coverage as well as "embedded wellness," which might include early screening diagnostics, nutrition consultations and vaccinations.
"Last year, we saw the stay-at-home and work-from-home measures introduced during the pandemic create even closer bonds between pet owners and their pets," Kristen Lynch, executive director of NAPHIA, said in a release. "We believe these strong human-animal relationships are driving pet owners' desire to address financial uncertainty by mitigating unexpected veterinary costs, contributing to our record 2020 results, in a year that also saw new pet purchases and adoptions reach record levels."
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Steve Hallo
Steve Hallo is managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. He can be reached at [email protected]
