Verisk Offers New Pet Insurance Program
Americans adore their pets. However, many struggle to pay the rising cost of veterinary care. According to MSN, one in five U.S. pet owners hold at least $2,000 in pet debt, and one in seven are in “pet poverty.” There’s a new pet coverage form in town — Verisk. Read more to learn about their new pet program offerings.
Did you know that Verisk launched its first health insurance product on October 14, 2025? Part of Verisk’s Core Lines business, it’s the first pet coverage offered by an advisory organization designed to aid insurers and agents to expand their pet insurance offerings. An August 2022, NAIC set model law for sale of pet insurance provided a sales framework.
Primary Drivers of Rising Veterinarian Bills
Here are some of the reasons behind rising vet bills, according to several sources.
Primary Drivers of Rising Vet Costs
Like every other business in America, outside factors now drive veterinary costs. These include the following.
- Operational – Overall inflation has increased the vet practice’s rental costs, utilities, and medical equipment costs, according to PetVet Magazine.
- Advanced Technology – Additionally, PetVet reports that pet clinics now offer a higher standard of care more akin to hospitals, which increases the use of higher-priced diagnostics such as MRIs and CT scans (don’t you love the irony of a CaT scan?).
- Labor Availability – As practices offer more specialized testing, labor costs increase because the practice then must hire more specialized technicians. There is greater demand for care, yet a shortage of trained veterinary technicians and veterinarians. Add in the short career working life of the average vet. Burnout is high, and according to the National Institutes of Health, the average full-time working life of a veterinarian is 24 years for men and 16 years for women. These factors have led to wage inflation.
- Acquisitions by Private Equity – Finally, consolidation of the veterinarian industry through private equity infusion shifted the business focus, which often results in increased pricing pressure.
The Growing Importance of Pet Insurance
Why pet insurance?
Insurers were reluctant to enter this offering without standardized forms. The U.S. pet insurance market scored nearly $4.75 billion in gross written premiums in 2024, a 21.4% year over year increase, according to a 2025 NAPHIA State of the Industry Report. Verisk leadership recognized the need to develop this LOB. The number of insured pets grew by 12.7% in 2024.
Core Benefits for Insurers
Insurers saw many advantages to standardizing this coverage, including the following.
- New pet coverage options come to the market more quickly.
- Standardized coverage reduces market complexity and regulatory red tape.
- When actuarially rated with data-driven tools, insurers can price risk more accurately.
- Insurers can stay compliant through ongoing legislation monitoring.
- Insurers hope to increase policyholder retention and reduce churn.
Core Benefits for Agents
Agents can benefit from this new coverage. Here are the benefits to writing this coverage.
- The ability to cross-sell coverage to your personal lines clients is a given. At least 71% of U.S. homes have either a dog or a cat, or both, or many.
- Commercial lines cross-sales are also a good prospect. Many business owners own pets as “office dogs,” as well as protection dogs and home companions.
- Agents can regularly reach current and prospective clients on social media with pet insurance promotions, using engaging pet photos, videos, and other content to market the program.
- Using the pet insurance forms, it’s a great way to train newer employees on a single line of coverage by using Verisk’s policy form. Verisk also offers online training describing their pet insurance program.
Contents of the ISO/Verisk Pet Insurance Line of Business Program
Similar to other Verisk offerings, here are the Pet Insurance line of business provisions.
- Standardized policy forms offering accident and illness coverage, plus related endorsements and exclusions that can either expand or reduce coverage.
- Rating rules and actuarially developed advisory loss costs.
- Territorial rating tools that consider geography, pet breed, age, and other risks. (This program insures only dogs and cats, so if you own an exotic breed such as ferrets or parrots, for example, you’ll have to sniff out alternative coverage.)
- Verisk offers a Pet Legislation Dashboard with state-specific comparisons and NAIC Model Law assessment.
- There is a new Pet Line Business Hub, available on core.verisk.com.
Let’s Review the Coverages
Here is a list of just some of the available coverages under ISO’s new PI0001 forms.
- PI0001 provides core pet accident and illness coverage, with defined policy terms and definitions.
- Like any insurance policy, exclusions apply. Verisk recommends a close review of policy terms for accurate underwriting.
- Coverage limits are subject to a deductible per policy period. Much like health insurance, there is coinsurance applied per visit.
- Similar to other coverages such as flood insurance, there is a 30-day waiting period after policy inception, unless an accidental injury occurs.
- Cancellation is in effect 10 days after mailing notice to the insured’s last known address.
- There is a 30-day written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before policy expiration.
- Wellness and preventative care coverage is available as an optional endorsement, PI 03 01, for additional cost.
- Manual rules govern rating and underwriting procedures.
How to Access Pet Insurance Coverage
Contact your carriers’ marketing representatives to learn which insurers are providing this unique and beneficial coverage. And remember, the policy will not cover pre-existing conditions, and there is a 30-day waiting period, so be sure to help your clients understand that once they bring that pet home, they should buy insurance immediately.
One of the best features of this insurance is that unlike insurance offered by some vet practices, this policy does not limit which vets your insured visit.
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