Industry surpassed $2.17B USD and continued its growth trajectory despite the pandemic
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) today reported that North America’s pet health insurance sector exceeded $2.174 billion USD in 2020, as the industry recorded its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
Today’s release of NAPHIA’s 2021 State of the Industry Report highlighted a number of industry milestones, including a record $2.174 billion USD in total premiums sold in 2020 (up over 26% from $1.717 billion USD in 2019) and over 3.45 million pets insured across North America (up 22.5% from over 2.81 million pets insured in 2019).
“Last year, we saw the stay-at-home and work-from-home measures introduced during the pandemic create even closer bonds between pet owners and their pets,” said Kristen Lynch, Executive Director of NAPHIA. “We believe these strong human-animal relationships are driving pet owners’ desire to address financial uncertainty by mitigating unexpected veterinary costs, contributing to our record 2020 results, in a year that also saw new pet purchases and adoptions reach record levels.”
As reported by NAPHIA members, the 2020 results show total premium volume in the U.S. amounted to $1.99 billion USD, a 27.5% annual increase over 2019. In Canada, total premium volume totalled $188.3 million USD ($244.6 million CAD), an increase of 17.2% over the previous year.
“2020 was another year of double-digit growth for our industry, with the U.S. experiencing an average annual growth rate of 24.2% over the past five years (2016-20), while Canada’s annual growth rate was 15.2% over the same period,” said Rick Faucher, President of NAPHIA’s Board of Directors and CEO of The Connected Pet Company. “With only a fraction of the potential market realized, we are confident the North American pet health insurance market can continue on this steady pace of growth for the foreseeable future.”
Faucher noted that 2020 also provided further evidence that the North American pet insurance industry was maturing, including: the introduction of new products from large companies entering the market; ongoing discussions with government regulators to create a stronger regulatory framework for the industry in the U.S.; and a significant increase in the volume of claims being processed, in association with the increased numbers of insured pets.
“While 2020 presented growth-related challenges for our members in areas such as hiring and training new staff to process the increased volume of enrollment and claims, it also provided validation that our industry is strong, resilient and poised for sustained growth,” added Faucher.
2021 State of the Industry Highlights:
NAPHIA’s State of the Industry Report has been published using data compiled, aggregated and validated by the global multinational risk management and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.
NAPHIA members and participants represent approximately 99% of all pet health insurance coverage in effect in North America.
To view a more comprehensive overview visit: http: naphia.org/about-the-industry
United States
- $1.99 billion USD – total premium volume
- 3,101,956 – total number of pets insured
- Majority of insured pets reside in California (19.2%), New York (8.7%) and Florida (5.8%)
- 82.9% of insured pets were dogs versus 17.1% cats
- The average accident and illness premium for dogs was $599.03/year or $49.92/month (figures in USD)
- The average accident and illness premium for cats was $341.35/year or $28.44/month (figures in USD)
Canada
- $188 million USD – total premium volume ($244.6 million CAD)
- 352,631 – total number of pets insured
- Majority of insured pets reside in Ontario (38.9%), British Columbia (21.7%) and Alberta (21.6%)
- 75.2% of insured pets were dogs versus 24.8% cats
- The average accident and illness premium for dogs was $767.45/year or $63.95/month (figures in CAD)
- The average accident and illness premium for cats was $369.14/year or $30.76/month (figures in CAD)