We will begin with a list of who is selling pet insurance in the US as of April 29, 2005. [Note that this list is out of date as of April 12 2007 - I will update later, Laura]
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) of Brea California - the company was founded in 1980 by a consortium of several hundred veterinarians and was been run by veterinarians until 2004. VPI policies are underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (California) and National Casualty Company (in all other states, rated A+ by AM Best), a subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual Insurance. VPI’s key owners are Scottsdale (majority at 60.8%), also a subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual, and Iams (8.9%), a pet food subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble.
Pethealth Inc. of Oakville, Canada - the second-largest pet insurer in the US, which sells pet insurance in both Canada and the United States under the PetCare brand. Petcare policies in the US are underwritten by Lincoln General Insurance Company, York , Pa. , (rated A- by AM Best) and sold through their US agency partner, Avalon Risk Management, Inc.The firm is listed as an over-the-counter stock on the Toronto Venture Exchange (symbol:PTZ).
Hartville Group of Canton, Ohio - sells pet insurance policies under the Petshealth Care Plan and Healthy Bark and Purr brands. Its policies are underwritten by QBE Insurance (rated A by AM Best), and sold through its agency, Petsmarketing Insurance.com Agency.
Pet Protect of Naples, Florida - sells under the Pet Protect brand. Its policies are underwritten by the Insurance Corporation of Hannover, which is owned by Hannover Re, the fifth largest reinsurer in the world (rated A+ by AM Best). The company is privately held.
Pet Partners of Raleigh, North Carolina - sells pet insurance under the AKC Pet Healthcare Plan (AKC = American Kennel Club) and the CFA Pet Healthcare Plan (CFA = Cat Fanciers' Association). It's policies are underwritten by the National Specialty Insurance Company, a subsidiary of State National. The company is privately held.
That is, as far as I know, all the companies in the US that sell pet insurance. I'll be updating it when other companies go live and of course, when Embrace Pet Insurance joins the fray.
In future entries, I'll talk about these companies individually, what it means to have an underwriter and how that works, what an AM Best rating means and should you care, and many other topics. Stayed tuned.
