Pet Health Insurance Market Reaches $1.717 Billion in 2019

Another year of strong growth, according to the NAPHIA State of the Industry Report.

Things are looking up when it comes to pet health insurance, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), which reported that North America’s pet health insurance sector reached $1.717 billion (USD) in 2019.

The 2019 results, included in NAPHIA’s 2020 State of the Industry Report, mark another “milestone year” for the industry that saw a 21% improvement over its 2018 performance of $1.42 billion (USD), the association
said in a release.

“Last year, over 2.81 million pets were insured across North America, which represents a 16% increase over 2018,” said Kristen Lynch, Executive Director of NAPHIA. “These results show another year of strong growth in the pet insurance marketplace, and further evidence that an increasing number of pet owners are recognizing the value of insuring their pets.”

This year’s findings show total premium volume in the U.S. amounted to $1.56 billion (USD) in 2019, a 24.3% annual increase over 2018, according to a release. In Canada, total premium volume* totaled $159 million USD ($208.6 million CAD), an increase of 16.4% over the previous year.

“Over the past five years, our industry has experienced double-digit increases, with the U.S. average annual growth rate coming in at 22.6%, while Canada’s annual growth rate was 15.4%,” said Rick Faucher, President of NAPHIA’s Board of Directors. “All indicators point to continued growth in our sector even in 2020, despite some of the COVID-related challenges our market and others continue to face.”

NAPHIA’s State of the Industry Report has been published annually since 2011, using data compiled, aggregated and validated by the global multinational risk management and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.

U.S. highlights

$1.56 billion USD – total premium volume

2,517,122 – total number of pets insured

83% of insured pets were dogs versus 17% cats

The average accident and illness premium for dogs was $585.40/year or $48.78/month (figures in USD)

The average accident and illness premium for cats was $349.93/year or $29.16/month (figures in USD)