No growth in pet health insurance claims for respiratory issues

Pet health insurance - Dog and Cat

Trupanion has been monitoring the nature of claims for cats and dogs through the pandemic.

Trupanion, the pet health insurance company based in Seattle, has stated that it is monitoring the types of claims it is receiving. As of yet, it has not noticed an increase in claims relating to respiratory issues in cats and dogs.

The insurer has been watching for changes in claims of that nature since the start of the pandemic.

Back in March, the company released a statement that there were “no unusual increases or changes in the frequency of illnesses in its pet health database over the past 45 days.” It updated this data as of the end of April, stating that in terms of respiratory issues, there continues to be no change in the normal number of pet health insurance claims being made. This is the case across the country, including in New York and other areas suffering from large coronavirus outbreaks.

A recent COVID Council webinar included the participation of Steve Weinrauch, BVMS, MRCVS, the chief veterinary officer at Trupanion. There, Weinrauch said that “SARS-CoV-2 infections have been reported in very few animals worldwide, mostly in those that had known close contact with a person with COVID-19 and the current evidence is overwhelming that COVID-19 is primarily a people problem.” The COVID Council is an animal health advocacy group working together to keep veterinarians informed about any COVID-19 risks in the veterinary industry as the understanding of the disease continues to evolve.

Cats in New York testing positive caused some to be concerned about pet health insurance claims rising.

A few cats tested positive for the disease in New York City. This aligned with what was discussed in the webinar. There, they stated that “There is no evidence that this is a serious illness in pets, there is no evidence that pets can give this to people and the best advice is still to socially distance with your pet.”

Though it continues to appear that social distancing along with pets in the household is the best move, it’s still advised that owners keep up to date with any Pet health insurance - Dog and Catrecommendations made by recommendations from state and national health agencies.

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