Pet health insurance may be less common than health insurance for humans, but it’s often every bit as complicated. It shares much of the same jargon, including pre-existing conditions, copays, deductibles, coverage limits, and more.
While human hospitals and doctors’ practices often have a staff member dedicated to helping patients navigate the insurance claims process, pet insurance policyholders usually have fewer resources.
But a handful of U.S. veterinary hospitals have begun offering help — dedicated pet insurance coordinators — the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) reports.
Pioneering pet insurance policy support
Angell Animal Medical Center, a non-profit animal hospital in Boston; Schwarzman Animal Medical Center of New York, also a non-profit; and Chelsea Veterinary Group in New York City all added full-time pet insurance coordinators to their staffs in 2023, VIN said. And while it’s not unusual for veterinary practices to have a staff member act as the point person for insurance questions, it’s uncommon for offices to have someone doing pet insurance advising full-time, according to the report.
Pet insurance advisors working for a veterinary clinic may file claims or appeal denials on behalf of clients, help pet owners understand how insurance works, and even help them compare pet insurance options.
An Experian survey found that pet owners who have pet insurance are more likely to take their pets to the veterinarian — 50% of respondents with coverage take their pets more than once a year, compared to 44% of uninsured pet owners who go just once a year.
“It’s not just the finances of it,” Jennifer Abitino, Heart of Chelsea’s pet insurance specialist, told VIN. “It’s, when your pet gets sick, you’re not waiting three days to see if they get better before bringing them in.”
What’s next: Improving pet parent understanding
The average annual growth rate for the pet insurance industry in North America has been nearly 17% since 2022, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Still, far more American pets are uninsured. In fact, less than 2% of the 69 million dogs living in U.S. households are insured.
Approximately 100 million American households have a dog, cat, bird, or other small companion animal, according to the American Pet Products Association. Yet pet insurance covers just 6.25 million American pets, NAPHIA reports.
Pet insurance can be especially confusing for consumers. Although it shares terminology with human health insurance, states generally regulate it as a type of property and casualty insurance — namely under the inland marine category.
Because of this, pet insurance works differently than human health insurance. Insurers may refuse to cover pre-existing conditions, may require waiting periods before policies take effect, and may exclude breed-specific congenital conditions (such as hip dysplasia) from coverage.
“The vast majority of people are happy to get help because [pet insurance] is super confusing,” Harrison Stenson, Angell’s pet insurance coordinator, said in VIN’s report.
Veterinary practices that offer pet health insurance coordinators aren’t just trying to sell insurance policies.
“We’re not pressuring [people] to buy insurance, and there’s no monetary benefit to our hospital if somebody purchases insurance,” Dr. Ann Marie Greenleaf, Angell’s chief of staff, told VIN. “We want to position pet owners so they don’t have to make life-and-death decisions [simply] because they can’t afford it.”
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