2 pet insurers listed on Inc 500

By mdh, on October 10th, 2011

Demonstrating that the pet insurance market continues to grow in the down economy, two US based pet insurers were named to the 2011 Inc 500 list of fastest growing companies.

PetPlan listed 2010 revenue of $18.7 million with 40 employees. PetFirst Healthcare listed revenue of $3.3 million and 32 employees.

We are assuming that PetFirst is using its commission amount as revenue, while PetPlan is using its gross premium amount as revenue. For an apples to apples comparison, PetFirst should have about $11 million in gross premiums (using a 30% commission rate.)

If we further assume an average annual premium of $300 for each company, we would estimate that PetPlan has approximately 62,000 active policies, while PetFirst has approximately 37,000 . . . → Read More: 2 pet insurers listed on Inc 500

Comments are closed   industry, media

Note to Fido: Just Stay Healthy

By mdh, on October 15th, 2010

An author from New Zealand claims that “pet insurance [is] not worthwhile for healthy pets.” He notes that “if pets are healthy and do not require any major treatment or operation, then it is not worth going for an insurance plan.”

Hard to argue with that logic. Similarly, if you are never going to get into a car accident, auto insurance is not worth it. Same goes with human health insurance: if you are healthy and won’t be requiring any serious medical treatment during your life, you may want to just skip on insurance altogether.

Not sure why many people don’t grasp that insurance is primarily a hedge against an unexpected occurrence. And pet insurance is best used by owners to avoid economic euthanasia – putting down a beloved pet because they can’t afford the vet costs.

But the author is certainly correct – pet insurance is not worth it if your pet is never going to . . . → Read More: Note to Fido: Just Stay Healthy

Comments are closed   media    

VPI’s PR department is crazy good

By mdh, on September 2nd, 2010

Google news is showing 102 articles about Ellie, the beehive eating Lab who won the Hambone award – VPI’s contest to find the most unusual pet insurance claim.

The media cannot get enough of these pet related stories. Whether they involve kooky pet name contests, top reasons pets visit the vet on Christmas day or articles about dogs named after the SuperBowl teams, VPI has found a way to consistently keep its name in the press.

Someone at VPI deserves a bonus . . . → Read More: VPI’s PR department is crazy good

Comments are closed   industry, media