In 2007, Progressive became the first insurance company to offer consumers a supplemental auto insurance plan that would provide some coverage in the case of an injury occurring as a result of an auto collision.
They provided their customers with liability claims as high as $1,000 for bodily injuries experienced by pets that were involved in a car crash while travelling with their owners.
That said, as of February 2011, the bar was raised when Chubb Group of Insurance Companies started to offer up to $2000 in coverage for animals traveling with their owners and who are injured or killed in an accident.
Only some states have made this type of supplemental coverage available from Chubb, but in those states, various types of protection are included, such as replacement of pets, veterinary treatments or even protection for animals traveling within commercial vehicles such as trailers.
Raymond Crisci, the vice president and worldwide automobile product manager for Chubb Personal Insurance, stated that with this supplemental policy, “Drivers with adequate health insurance know they’ll be protected in case of an auto accident, but pets are often overlooked members of the family.” He went on to say that the pet injury coverage offered at Chubb was created in order to make sure that the pets of policyholders will be able to obtain the treatments that they will require after an auto collision.
Chubb and Progressive are far from the only insurers offering protection for pets as supplemental auto insurance coverage. There are now several that offer it either in that form, or even as a free add-on to collision coverage or personal injury protection.