06/11/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/11/2025 12:23
The pet health insurance industry has seen a 21.4% year-over-year (YOY) increase in gross written premiums (GWPs), which represent the total amount of money insurance companies collect from U.S. customers for policies they issue.
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) revealed in its recently released 2025 State of the Industry (SOI) report that GWPs surpassed a record $4.7 billion in 2024 in the U.S. compared with $3.9 billion in 2023 as the sector continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace compared to the post-pandemic boom.
The U.S. pet insurance market has more than doubled from $2 billion in GWP since 2020. While the market continues to see double-digit growth, the rate has slowed: After a 30.4% YOY increase from 2020 to 2021, the annual growth rate has fallen below the five-year average growth rate of 25%.
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) has released its 2025 State of the Industry report. In 2024, 6.4 million pets in the U.S. were insured by year-end, compared with 5.7 million in 2023. (Courtesy of NAPHIA)Despite slowing growth, the market data illustrate the pet insurance industry's upward trajectory.
In 2024, 6.4 million pets in the U.S. were insured by year-end, compared with 5.7 million in 2023. Dogs comprised 75.6% of insured pets while cats represented 23.5% of the total U.S. volume in 2024.
As with GWP, the total number of insured pets in the U.S. has more than doubled from 3.1 million in 2020, though the growth rate has more than halved from 28.0% between 2020 and 2021 to 12.7% between 2023 and 2024.
"Over the past five years, the industry has experienced a combined growth rate of 20.8% in written premiums," said Logan Bitter, who leads NAPHIA's SOI report initiative, in an April 22 press release. "There is simply no other line of insurance and few other pet health products experiencing that level of ongoing growth."
Bitter attributed this market expansion across North America to a host of factors, such ongoing product innovation and new pet insurance brands, while NAPHIA President Rick Faucher highlighted the evolving human-animal bond.
This expansion in the pet insurance sector comes as the percentage of U.S. pet-owning households steadily increases, with most pet owners viewing their dogs and cats as members of the family, as AVMA data show.
The 31-page NAPHIA SOI report, estimated to represent roughly 99% of the written pet health insurance premium in the U.S. and Canada, aims to provide insight into the pet health insurance industry in North America.
The annual report used pet insurance market penetration rates as a benchmark to measure adoption. Overall, the U.S. market penetration rate reached 3.9% of 163.6 million pets-5.5% for dogs and 2.0% for cats.
The report further breaks down the pet insurance market by product type, top claims paid, average annual premiums, and GWP distribution by U.S. state and Canadian province.