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The pet insurance industry got its start almost a century ago in Sweden where about half that country’s pets are now insured. In North America, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Nationwide, sold its first pet insurance policy in 1982 to cover the dog playing Lassie on television.

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) reported that the pet health insurance sector for the U.S. and Canada posted a combined gross written premium of $1.42 billion in 2018, up from $1.15 billion in 2017. The total number of pets insured reached 2.43 million at year-end 2018, up by over 17 percent from 2017.

Dogs represented approximately 88.9 percent of in-force gross written premium in 2018. According to NAPHIA, there are 12 major pet insurance companies in North America.













Pet ownership in the United States

Sixty-seven percent of U.S. households, or about 85 million families, own a pet, according to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA). This is up from 56 percent of U.S. households in 1988, the first year the survey was conducted.











Number of U.S. Households That Own a Pet, by Type of Animal (millions) Pet Number Bird 5.7 Cat 42.7 Dog 63.4 Horse 1.6 Freshwater fish 11.5 Saltwater fish 1.6 Reptile 4.5 Small animal 5.4 Source: American Pet Products Association's 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey. View Archived Tables











Total Number Of Pets Owned In The United States, By Type Of Animal (millions) Pet Number Freshwater fish 139.3 Cat 94.2 Dog 89.7 Bird 20.3 Saltwater fish 18.8 Small animal 14.0 Reptile 9.4 Horse 7.6 Source: American Pet Products Association's 2017-2018 National Pet Owners Survey. View Archived Tables











Total U.S. Pet Industry Expenditures, 2010-2019 (1) ($ billions) Year Expenditure 2010 $48.35 2011 50.96 2012 53.33 2013 55.72 2014 58.04 2015 60.28 2016 66.75 2017 69.51 2018 72.56 2019 75.38 (2) (1) Includes food, supplies and over-the-counter medicine, veterinary care, live animal purchases and grooming and boarding.

(2) Estimate. Source: American Pet Products Association's 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey. View Archived Tables