Pet health insurance market sets new record in North America

The pet health insurance industry in the US and Canada surpassed the $4 billion (€3.7B) mark for the first time. 

In its State of the Industry 2024 Report, NAPHIA highlighted that more than 6.25 million pets were insured across the region last year. The US accounted for 90% of the pets insured. 

The total premiums sold accounted for $4.27 billion (€3.9B), which is a new record for the industry.

According to the report, North America’s pet insurance market currently consists of around 30 companies, of which a number also market or underwrite various white-label or co-branded products, representing more than 20 additional pet insurance products. 

Slight changing trend

Dogs made up the majority of insured pets in the US (78.6%), while the remaining 21.4% were cats. This represented a change from 2022, when dogs comprised 80.1% of the total insured pets, while cats were 19.9%. 

Similarly, dogs took the top spot in Canada again, representing 75.5% of the total insured pets, while cats stood at 24.5%. 

However, the report stated that Canada has historically insured more cats than the US. 

Premium volumes

The total premium volume in the US, as reported by NAPHIA members, amounted to about $3.9 billion (€3.6B) at year-end 2023. 

The report added that while the US market continued to experience double-digit increases, its growth slowed slightly in 2023 with a year-over-year (YoY) variance of 21.6%, compared to the 24.2% YoY increase seen in 2021–2022. 

The total premium volume in Canada amounted to C$485.5 million ($355M/€330.2M) at year-end 2023, an increase of 29.8% from C$374 million ($273.5M/€254.3M) in the previous year. 

Regional breakdown

In the US, the most insured pets in 2023 reside in California (18.3%), followed by New York (7.5%) and Florida (6.2%), remaining more or less constant from last year. 

In Canada, the most insured pets stay in the province of Ontario (37.9%), followed by British Columbia (18.7%) and Alberta (16.4%). The figures are slightly lower than those recorded in 2022. 

Continued optimism

The report estimated a total of over 170.4 million pets in North America, with an average penetration rate of 3.69% in the US and 3.52% in Canada. 

“Last year, for the fifth year in a row, the North American market grew by over 20 percent,” says NAPHIA President Rick Faucher.

 “When we look at our sustained growth across North America, we see a tremendous upside for the industry and are very encouraged about the future.”