As an acknowledgement to the importance of the role pets play in the lives of their owners, employers seeking an affordable way to please their workers are increasingly offering pet insurance, which helps those employees with the rising cost of animal health care.
Newly released research from John Lewis Pet Insurance has shown that among pet owners of cats and dogs, 6 percent have created social networking profiles for their companion animals. The survey included 2,003 pet owners in the United Kingdom, who revealed that their pets had profiles on Facebook or Twitter.
The general population aren’t the only ones taking part in this practice. Celebrity pets also have social networking profiles, for example, Ping Pong the parrot is Elizabeth Hurley’s pet and has a Twitter account (with 4,680 followers), while Beast, Mark Zuckerberg’s dog, has a Facebook profile (with 106,000 likes).
This is a clear reflection of the way that people are thinking about their animal companions. According to the head of commercial at John Lewis Insurance, John Brady, “pet owners are thinking of their cat or dog as another member of the family, rather than just a pet.”
Companies such as The Liberty Hotel are observing this fact and are now beginning to offer pet insurance as a voluntary benefit to their employees so that they may enjoy a group discount. While the cost is paid entirely by the employees who wish to take part, they are able to save a notable amount when compared to obtaining the insurance on their own.
According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, this savings can make an important difference in the current economy.
