Pet insurance is extremely unpopular in India

pet insurance

According to recent figures, there are very few animal owners in the country who have purchased coverage.

Pet insurance is a very unique type of coverage in that there are parts of the world where it has become exceptionally commonplace, and there are others where it has remained virtually nonexistent.

India has fallen into that second category, as few owners have chosen to buy health insurance for their pets.

This type of coverage helps to cover bills such as those for veterinary visits, medical treatments, surgeries, and even certain medications, depending on the specific pet insurance policy. There are even some plans that cover the loss or theft of a pet. Though much of Europe and the United Kingdom has started to see this as an important way to ensure that their dogs, cats and other animals will receive the care they need in an affordable way, in India, this coverage is still viewed as an expensive luxury that has not become a common purchase for animal owners.

Among the challenges in the pet insurance marketplace in India, at the moment, is the coverage limitations.

pet insuranceWhile there have previously been many companies that have sold insurance policies for animals, most of those insurers had restricted their coverage to livestock – primarily cattle. Moreover, among the insurance companies that are selling pet policies at the moment, most will provide coverage exclusively for dogs and will not pay for the medical treatments for other domesticated animals such as cats or birds.

Furthermore, the dog owners in India who might have considered buying a pet health insurance policy are often turned off by the tedious process that they must endure in order to enroll. Despite the fact that there are insurers that sell these policies online, there are a range of different formalities which must be satisfied that prove to be too great an effort for most pet owners to feel is worthwhile.

For instance, many pet insurance companies currently require a dog owner to actually take their animal to an insurer’s office in order to present it to a representative who can verify it. For many dog owners, this is very inconvenient and it is stressful to their pets, creating an obstacle that they simply don’t want to have to face in order to obtain coverage.

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