Pet insurance market hits record all-time highs in North America, doubles in four years

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) State of the Industry Report concluded that 8 out of 10 insured animals in the region were dogs in 2021. The remaining insurance policies were allocated to cats.

There are now over 4.41 million insured pets across the region, against 3.45 million in 2020. Since 2018, pet insurance saw an increase in pet policies of 113% in cats and 86.2% in dogs.

For Kristen Lynch, executive director of NAPHIA, this “unprecedented period of growth” is primarily due to the behavioral changes regarding our relationships with pets following the pandemic. Pet adoptions have hit record highs, and parents are “willing to mitigate unexpected veterinary costs, contributing to even higher growth rates in the past several years”, she added.

Last year marked the seventh consecutive year where the pet insurance industry experienced double-digit growth.

The market annual increase over 2020 is remarkably similar in the United States (30.4%) and Canada (28.1%). The US alone is responsible for $2.6 billion (€2.48B) of the insurance volume, with Canada accounting for $313.4 million CAD (US$243.8M / €232.4M).

NAPHIA believes that there is still “considerable room” for continued industry growth in the coming years.