Being a pet parent brings companionship and joy, along with the rewarding responsibility of caring for your furry friend’s health and happiness. Pet parents are becoming concerned regarding their pet health, which offers promising growth avenues for insurers to design customized policies. Pet insurance lowers the expenses of vets for insured animals. Some policies even deliver benefits in case of pet’s theft, loss, and death. The integration of expensive medications and procedures contributes to the growth of the pet insurance industry.
Multiple insurance organizations offer coverage for any physical damage caused by pets to third parties or their assets. Also, these policies are beneficial if a pet gets lost. Some plans offer free annual check-ups to maintain health to lower the cost of frequent vet visits. As per the report published by Allied Market Research, the pet insurance market is estimated to register a notable CAGR of 14.5% by 2033.
How has the pet insurance industry gained momentum?
The need for financial coverage via insurance policies has increased rapidly due to the heightened adoption of pets. Pet insurance minimizes veterinary expenses and enables owners to focus on their health. Also, the introduction of new policies by new entrants and top entities contributes to the growth of the industry.
The rising costs of veterinary care highlight the importance of pet insurance in effective financial management. The coverage differentiates on the basis of the pet’s age, health condition, reimbursement levels, and deductibles. It also gives flexibility to owners to choose suitable policy plans.
Dynamic technologies integrated by insurers
Digital platforms offer personalized coverage policies and pricing transparency, that allows pet owners to compare the range of premiums, coverage options, and pricing transparency to formulate plans. On the other hand, insurance integrate all data into mobile applications that help users manage healthcare bills, track expenses, set budgets, and receive preventive care alerts. At the same time, facilitating claims management minimizes administrative costs and enhances efficiency, for instance, cognitive claims processing can ease the reimbursement process for policyholders in making claims.
AI has transformed the overall pet insurance sector. It also streamlines operations like quote generation, IT systems, claim settlement, and risk assessment. For instance, AI-driven process automation enables the immediate issuance of low-risk, low-value policies and streamlines the handling of minor claims. It also enables insurers to lower risks as it enables them to draw claim data and cases and detect security risks and fraud in real time.
Role of IoT in assessing risk profile
Pet insurers are increasingly adopting IoT technology to perform operations with high precision and fast speed. Devices including implantable tech, accelerometer sensors, location or activity trackers, and pet cameras gather essential health records regarding pets’ health, activity levels, behavior patterns, and others. This information is also used to create personalized plans based on individual needs and assess the risk profile.
These devices can also support preventive treatment when incorporated into insurance platforms. Service providers can lower the financial burden by reducing claim severity and frequency. However, IoT devices boost routine operations when combined with insurance software. Insurers can improve their customer focus and build more sustainable models by using those abilities to streamline claims processing and review. The prominent devices used in insurance processing are:
Location trackers: These devices are wearables that track the pet’s location anytime and anywhere in real time. Location trackers are connected to collars and utilize GPS technology to offer precise data. These trackers offer geofencing capabilities, allowing users to create personalized boundaries. The owner gets notified if the pet escapes the determined safe zone to take quick action.
Activity trackers: These wearables are developed to observe the pet’s health-related metrics and activities. These gadgets are available in the form of tags or collars. These trackers are equipped with sensors that map multiple parameters such as heart rate, sleep, calories, distance, and steps. This data is transferred to the connected digital platform or application, where owners can analyze and access the data.
APOLLO teamed up with Petsecure to launch a pet insurance offering
In August 2024, a leading Canadian insurance broker, APOLLO Insurance, launched its latest pet insurance policy. This offering is developed in partnership with one of Canada’s top pet health insurers, Petsecure. The newly launched policy assists pet parents to cover the expenses of treatments in case of any illness or injury. APOLLO ensures pet owners can provide full, worry-free care for their pets without the burden of costly medical bills.
Nationwide and Petco launched pet insurance on petco.com
Petco Health and Wellness Company and Nationwide collaborated in January 2024 to deliver integrated and affordable pet wellness and protection solutions. They launched a new personalized pet health insurance product on their official site petco.com. This policy uses the customized pet insurance offerings from Nationwide with Petco’s fully integrated and unique pet care ecosystem. It also offers coverage for unforeseen medical expenses resulting from injuries such as poisoning, lacerations, broken bones, and other accidents. Pet parents can select optional coverage for expenses associated with the diagnosis and therapy of the disease.
Final words
Pet insurance offers complete coverage for any unexpected illness or injury to the pet. Advanced technologies like AI and IoT streamline the claiming and risk profiling processes with high precision and speed. Also, leading insurance platforms deliver customized plans as per the policyholder’s demands. However, advanced software and platforms discovered by top players are anticipated to offer new opportunities for sectoral growth in the future.
** “Given the rise of AI and robotics, do you think pet insurance should also cover damages caused by pets to expensive tech gadgets, or is that a step too far in pampering our pets?