Pet Health Insurance, a Growing Market


 

Health of dog breeds

The United States of America is one of the most pet-crazy countries in the world. While dogs may seem to be the national pet, the United States is home to more pet cats — more than 75 million — than any other country in the world. But just like humans, cats get sick. So why is it that we have human health insurance but most of us don’t have cat health insurance? The likely answer is that we just didn’t know it was an option.

Pets are simply part of life these days. According to the ASPCA, about 44% of households have a dog and about 35% of households have a cat. However, since cats are easier to care for, there are actually more pet cats in our country than dogs. This means big money for animal-adjacent businesses.

How much money?

With hundreds of millions of pets, Americans are spending billions upon billions of dollars on animal care. As a country, Americans spend over $20 billion on pet food every year, over $12 billion on supplies and medicines for pets every year, and almost $15 billion on veterinary care every year. Without accounting for grooming, training, or booking pet-friendly hotels, that’s already almost $50 billion on just making sure your pet stays alive.

So why is it relatively uncommon to think that getting cat health insurance (or dog health insurance, for that matter) is a good idea? Caring for pets, as we saw in the above paragraph, is a huge industry. If your cat goes to the vet for an annual checkup, you can expect over $100 in costs. If your cat gets sick during the year, procedures can run into the thousands of dollars.

As humans, we gamble on the future cost of healthcare procedures by paying smaller monthly costs for insurance. Pet health insurance works essentially the same way. Having a cat health insurance policy might seem like a waste of money if your cat lives a long, healthy life. But having a cat health insurance policy when your cat comes down with heartworm can be a huge relief on your checking account. It’s as simple as that.

A huge number of pet owners treat their cats and dogs as if they’re sons and daughters. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, as the companionship of an animal is something that can scarcely be duplicated. Why shouldn’t you do everything within your power to keep that animal happy and healthy? As such, consider pet health insurance. Plans start as low as under $10 per month, depending on the extent of the coverage desired.

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