Market research firm Mintel forecasts
pet insurance premiums in the UK to grow from £976 million in 2015 to £1.6 billion by 2021. A report by the
Financial Times said there are about 80 brands selling pet insurance now, roughly 15% more compared to half a decade ago.
“According to the Association of British Insurers, pet insurers paid out £706 million last year, up 7% on the figure for 2015. That included £1,600 to treat a cocker spaniel who swallowed a turkey baster on Christmas Day and £468 for a white cockatoo with respiratory problems,” said the report.
Factors affecting premiums include age and the fact that surgeries or treatment not previously done on animals are now available… but aren’t cheap.
Rob Flynn, managing director at pet insurance provider More Th>n, said modern human medicine is transferring rapidly to veterinary medicine.
“Things are being done to dogs and cats now that were inconceivable five or 10 years ago,” he pointed out.
MRI scans, for instance, “are far more common than they used to be for pets and they are costly,” noted the
Financial Times. “Steven Mendel, who runs Bought by Many, a start-up whose biggest market is pet insurance, says an MRI scan for a pet is twice as expensive as it would be for a human, partly because the animal has to be sedated,” it reported.
Meanwhile, the British Veterinary Association said 60% of vets cite obesity as the biggest health and welfare concern for UK pets.
About three-fifths of dog owners and two-fifths of cat owners have pet insurance, according to Mintel.
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