A growing number of businesses are now subsidizing and discounting the cost of the coverage for their employees.
The trend for companies to offer their workers pet insurance as a part of their benefits packages is a growing one, as people increasingly feel that their animal companions are members of the family.
Businesses across the country are working to make themselves more attractive to talented workers.
One in three Fortune 500 companies offers plans from Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the oldest and largest animal health insurer in the United States. Moreover, there are about 3,400 other companies and organizations across the country who are doing the same, said the president of the insurer, Scott Liles.
Other types of organizations are also offering pet insurance through employers, though registration remains low.
For example, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals offers employers a way to provide pet insurance to their workers, though there aren’t yet many people who are signing up for this coverage.
VPI is a pet insurance company that is based in California and that holds 61 percent of the market in this sector. That said, it still covers only half a million animals across the United States. When the estimated number of animal companions in the country is 165 million, it is clear that coverage has been purchased for only the tiniest fraction of the overall number and that there is a massive amount of growth potential.
The affection that Americans have for their animals is continually fuelling the creation of new products designed to make their lives easier, more comfortable, and healthier. Yet pet insurance, which can help pay for very expensive health care costs, hasn’t yet taken on as quickly as others. At the same time, though, employers are seeing it as a perfect opportunity to boost their appeal to a talented workforce and the strategy appears to be working.
According to BMO Capital Markets insurance analyst in New York, Charles J. Sebaski, “Like any kind of health care offering, (pet insurance) is viewed as an employee enticement and retention tool.”
