Pet owners in the US will spend an estimated $15.73 billion on veterinary care by the end of 2015, according to the American Pet Products Association, and the number of pet insurance companies in the sector is on the rise.
Pet coverage is also one of the fastest growing voluntary employee benefits, now offered by one in three Fortune 500 companies, according to Consumer Reports. More than 3,800 companies and organizations have added veterinary pet insurance to their benefits portfolio, including Chipotle, Deloitte, Delta, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, T-Mobile, UPS and Xerox.
While some companies are subsidizing a percentage of the employee's cost, several companies are paying as much as 100% of the pet insurance premium.
And for consumers it could be well worth it. Pet owners will probably incur at least one US$2,000 to US$4,000 bill for emergency pet care at some point during their pet’s lifetime, according to Louise Murray, DVM, a veterinarian and vice president of the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in New York City.
Consumer Reports said that unexpected bills are the budget-busters, with surgical costs for dogs averaging around US$550 annually and those for cats t US$400. Serious accidents or illnesses can be many times that amount.
The research agency recently profiled a couple who paid US$6,500 to repair their cat's leg. Definitely not a paw for the poor.
