Obesity-related conditions continue to rise in Nationwide’s insurance claims

New data from pet insurer Nationwide shows claims for obesity-related conditions continued to rise in 2020.

The company, which bills itself as the nation’s largest pet health insurance provider, found that claims for conditions linked to or made worse by obesity increased for the ninth straight year. Over a recent 12-month period, obesity-related claims accounted for 20% of Nationwide members’ pet insurance claims, totaling more than $90 million in veterinary expenses.

Nationwide analyzed its data to determine the top 10 dog and cat conditions related to or made worse by obesity.

Topping the list for dogs was arthritis, which represented more than 85,000 claims and carried an average treatment fee of $349. For cats, bladder or urinary tract disease was the most common obesity-related condition, accounting for nearly 14,000 claims with an average claim amount of $529 per pet.

“Veterinarians have been sounding the alarm about overweight pets for years now,” said Jules Benson, Nationwide’s chief veterinary officer. “Part of the problem is that pet parents often don’t realize when an animal is overweight, or if they’re aware, they struggle with helping their pet lose weight.

“The silver lining of the prevalence of pet obesity is that your veterinary teams have lots of experience assessing pets and helping pet parents with effective weight loss plans.”

According to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, keeping a pet lean and active can help humans stay in shape and collectively avoid millions of dollars in obesity-related medical costs.