Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Top 10 Pet-related Trends 2012

Did you know that that spending on pets in 2011 topped $50 billion for the first time? That's a lot of dog collars, don't you think! 

Actually, we spend on everything from pet accessories and food to veterinary care and services such as boarding and pet sitting. To put $50 billion in perspective, the pet industry tops the book publishing ($31 billion) and women’s clothing ($41 billion) industries by a healthy margin.

Want to know what is driving pet spending in 2012? Hop on over to the Embrace site for an in-depth look at pet-related trends for 2012. 

Related Posts:
Pet Industry Trends 2012
Pet Industry Trends 2011
Pet Industry Trends 2010
Pet Industry Trends 2009
Pet Industry Trends 2008
Pet Industry Trends 2007
Pet Industry Trends 2006

About the author: Laura Bennett FSA CFA is the CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. Her career working in the insurance industry has taken her from Toronto, Canada and Dublin Ireland to the US, where she obtained her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Laura was the first pet insurance actuary in the United States and was named to the Society of Actuaries Top 100 Actuarial Pioneers for her ground-breaking work in pet insurance. Laura strongly believes in furthering awareness of pet insurance across North America and leads that work in her third year as Chairman of the Board of NAPHIA, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Laura also writes a blog on pet-related issues, the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.

Veterinary Inflation Observations

Have you been wondering recently why your veterinary care feels like it costs so much more than it used to? You are not alone.

I was digging into the inflation numbers over at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and I was fascinated by the difference between veterinary inflation (yes, they do track such a thing!) and the consumer price inflation.

For example (see graph below), if I look at January 2007 to March 2011 (just about as long as we've been selling pet insurance policies), while my wages went up 10% over that time (yay!), my vet bills went up 25% in the same period (ouch!). Vet bills are definitely taking up more of a bite out of my free cash than they used to. 

 
You can clearly see the impact of the Great Recession in the second half of 2008 in the CPI, with the year's inflation being practically zero (-0.1%); however, veterinary inflation chugged along at 7% that year and didn't slow down until 2009.

Another point to note, the Consumer Price Index is defined as the change in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services and Veterinary Services are just a subset of those goods and services. The representative basket of goods is based on typical family spending in 2007/2008 so changes in the types of veterinary services (such as more TPLO surgeries or MRIs) are not reflected.

So chances are, as veterinary medicine has grown in the last 3 years, and more complex and more costly procedures are more common, your veterinary spending increases are even more than those shown above.

It's amazing we can afford our cats and dogs at all, don't you think?

If you are wondering what impact veterinary inflation has on pet insurance premiums, check out my blog post on how inflation and other factors affect pet insurance premiums using Trupanion as a case study.

Just for fun, here's another graph for 2001 - 2011. It really shows the bite into your household income over the last 10 years.

 
For the data hounds out there, you can find the data on the BLS website:

• CPI - All Items US City Average Seasonally Adjusted
• Veterinary Inflation - Veterinary Services US City Average Seasonally Adjusted

Breed Focus: Italian Greyhound

We insure a lot of Italian Greyhounds and love it when people send in pictures for us to share. They are fun and loyal dogs, who don't know their own small size.

Since it is Pet Dental Health Month at Embrace, I thought it would be appropriate to feature a toy dog breed because of the tendency to have dental issues in the smaller dogs.

From our Pet Health Center:

Grooming couldn't be easier: an occasional soft brushing to keep shedding from becoming a problem, along with keeping the nails trimmed and the ears clean, and you're done.

Training is another story. While they're tractable and loving people-magnets, they're also stubborn and a bit defiant – and very creative at showing their displeasure. Unlike some very small dogs nipping and barking aren't big problems, but housetraining definitely is. Use gentle, consistent training and establish acceptable routines from the very beginning, or you might find yourself with a problem.

Italian Greyhounds are also prone to a number of health issues, including oral health issues and broken leg bones (they dont' know spindly their own legs are!)

Here's a summary of other issues affecting IGs:

 
Has your Italian Greyhound had any of these health issues?

Related Posts:
February is Dental Health Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest Post: top five ways to know if your dog needs a dental 
Breed Focus: Italian Greyhound
How to brush your dog's teeth - an Embraced pet parent shows how she does it
Claim Example: dental cleaning and extractions
Guest Post: Preventing Pet Periodontal Disease

You know you work in a Pet Insurance Claims Department when...

We take our jobs very seriously here at Embrace but every now and then, we have a laugh at ourselves to keep our feet on the ground.

So, here's a little pet insurance inside humor from our claims department, for those of you who live your lives day in, day out buried in pet insurance claims.

You know you are in the Embrace Pet Insurance Claims Department when...

1. ...people tell you about their pet's illness stories (at work or away) and your first thoughts are all of the things that would be excluded in a medical history review
2. ...you want to scream from the rooftops to get an orthopedic waiver done
3. ...the electronic fax queue has an enormous file in it and you are praying it’s medical history for a claim you’re working on
4. ...you become proud of yourself for being able to read the worst handwriting in the world
5. ...a breed of dog is mentioned and you begin listing all of the genetic issues they have in your head
6. ...your thoughts are constantly centered around how to increase productivity & efficiency, in the office or at home 
7. ...the term “applied to Continuing Care” makes you cringe
8. ...you’re more familiar with Microsoft Excel than Microsoft Word
9. ...it no longer surprises you what a pet will eat
10. ...you compete with yourself every day to see how many claims you can process
11. ...you see a bulldog owner and automatically offer them your card or an Embrace brochure

For those of you with other pet insurers, please add your own in the comments. Don't worry, I won't tell your boss you wrote on my blog :)

Press Release: Embrace Pet Insurance Swims Upstream To Add Goldfish Coverage to Its Product Range

Embrace is tapping into the world of fish parents who care for the 75 million goldfish in America

Mayfield Village, OH – Embrace Pet Insurance swims against the tide, adding goldfish health insurance coverage to its customizable product range.

 

Now that Embrace Pet Insurance is intimately familiar with the cat and dog health insurance market in the US, the company is leveraging its actuarial and insurance knowledge and is announcing its new customizable goldfish insurance product.

 

Laura Bennett, Embrace co-founder and the only goldfish insurance actuary in the US, explains the rational for such a move. “Goldfish might seem to be one dimensional and unfeeling pets to the uninitiated, but underneath their scaly exterior, they really have a heart of gold. Those who welcome goldfish into their family reap a lifetime of emotion from these loving pets.”

 

Bennett developed goldfish mortality and morbidity actuarial tables based on her own lifetime of experience raising the domesticated fish. “Yes, there’s a large drop off when you bring them home from the fair, but if they survive the initial shock, they settle in quite well. I loved many goldfish in our house growing up. I particularly remember my third goldfish, Jonathan, who lived to the ripe old age of 12 years. I’m sure he would have lived several years longer if our cat Lily hadn’t finally found out that cats aren’t actually allergic to water. That was a very sad day in our household.”

 

Embrace goldfish insurance covers hereditary conditions such as swim bladder and telescopic eye problem (as long as they aren’t showing clinical signs before you purchase your insurance). The insurance also covers a variety of treatments for goldfish illnesses, from antibiotics for dropsy, to weight reduction programs for overfeeding, to amputation surgery for fin rot.

 

Bennett says “Most people have no idea how expensive it can be to treat some of these every-day conditions. Fin amputation surgeries can range anywhere from $500 using aquarium sedatives, a fish net, and a pair of nail scissors, to $15,000 for a board certified specialist using a specialized breathing table developed for fish. Gone are the days of flushing a goldfish down the toilet (also known as economic euthanasia). Veterinarians can do so much more for goldfish than they used to, even 5 years ago.”

 

Goldfish premium rates range from as little as $2 up to $56 a month and are based on a number of factors such as fish age (have your veterinarian give you an estimate if you aren’t sure of your goldfish’s exact date of birth), location (fish vets in NY city are so much more expensive than those in Fargo MN); and breed (the overbred Ekoj hybrid is particularly sickly) all affect the premium. You can also get a multi-pet discount, although having a family cat dramatically increases the rate.

 

If you love your goldfish as much as we do, Embrace Pet Insurance recommends goldfish insurance for your finned friends. It’s the one thing you can’t buy when you need it. To explore your goldfish insurance options, call 800-511-9172, or go to www.embracepetinsurance.com for a customized quote.

 

# # #

About Embrace Pet Insurance

Embrace Pet Insurance Agency LLC is a specialist insurance agency headquartered in Mayfield Village, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Embrace was founded by Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, pet parents who also happen to be insurance experts, and offers self-serve, customizable pet health insurance for dogs and cats, and now goldfish. All goldfish policies are underwritten by Carp Health Assurance Company. Embrace is based on the core values of innovation and not taking oneself too seriously. On the web at Embrace Pet Insurance and the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.  

 

Addendum: if you didn't notice by now, this was posted on April Fool's Day. Just a little pet insurance humor for the day :)

Running Theme with our Embraced pet parents

Perhaps we shouldn't order the milk-bone flavored paper anymore? Within the last 2 weeks, we received these 2 emails:

Hello Chris,
Sorry for the delay. I had every intention on signing that paperwork and sending it back, except I really believe that my dog ate it. I know I know, that excuse doesn't even fly with grade schoolers, but I found little bits of it and half of an envelope. Would it be posible for you to remail it or email it to me again. Thanks.
george

And...

Hello!
Thank you so much for checking on the check. :)
We DID receive it but then my husband left it on the table and, this is true, the dog chewed it up. The puppy decided that since it was for his vet. services, it was his check to destroy!
Sigh...
Would it be possible to tear the check up completely and be reissued a new one or perhaps to do the instructions below and setup our account for direct deposit?
Thanks again...you guys have been so wonderful!!!

Dog ate your Embrace paperwork anyone?

November is Orthopedic Month at Embrace Pet Insurance

Back before Embrace Pet Insurance was but a twinkle in my eye, I knew something about pet health (it's hard not to learn with a dog and at least 4 cats in the house at any one time as a kid) but nothing like I know now.

One area I was particularly weak on was canine orthopedic conditions. For some reason, our dogs never had issues with their hips, knees, or elbows, which we're very grateful for so I never had to learn from experience.

But at Embrace, I've learnt quickly. I'd say that orthopedic conditions are our number one category of claim by amount. For example, in the first half of 2009, as a percentage of total claimed amounts at Embrace:

• cruciate ligament ruptures accounted for over 9%
• hip dysplasia - 5%
• patellar luxation - 4%

Wow - nearly 20% of our claims were from just 3 orthopedic conditions!

These are interesting stats, particularly if you are considering different pet insurance policies for your dog. All of these conditions, cruciate ligaments included, are considered genetic in origin, meaning that they are inherited conditions (also known as breed-specific conditions as some breeds are more prone than others for getting certain conditions.)

So, if you want pet health insurance coverage for conditions your mixed or purebred dog is likely to get, you better get a policy that covers hereditary conditions, such as one from Embrace.

Since this type of claim is so important in the grand scheme of things, November is Orthopedic Month at the Embrace blog. I'll explore orthopedic issues in a series of articles from a number of different perspectives. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Oh, and be sure to let me know if you have any particular orthopedic topics you'd like to cover and I'll make sure to address as many as I can throughout the month.

Related Posts:
How much did you say a ruptured cruciate ligament cost to treat in my dog?
$3,449 claim: Rottweiler with hip dysplasia has ACL repair
Hip dysplasia in dogs (and cats)
What happens when my dog's cruciate ligament tears?
Ski - a dog who recovered from a cruciate ligament injury without surgery

Pet-related Small Business Trends 2009

It's official! Anita Campbell, has posted the detailed Pet Industry Trends for 2009 that I write every year over on her Small Business Trends blog. It's from a small business perspective, a topic dear to my  heart.

In the meantime, here is a summary for you, just in case you didn't have time for the full version.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Pet-related Small Business Trends 2009

Question: is the pet industry recession-proof as many say it is? Answer: 2009 will prove out whether or not pet owners spend on their pets through thick and thin.

The overwhelming pet-related trend in 2009 will be value for money – spending more thoughtfully and spending less. 2009 spending will level off as pet owners pay more attention to their budgets. The top ten trends are:

1. Pet parents will spend, but more thoughtfully than in recent years

Spending on pet supplies and over-the-counter medicines was projected to increase 5.1% in 2008 from $9.8 billion to $10.3 billion according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA) but before the recession announcement. We would not be surprised to see more modest increases in the range of 2% in 2008, continuing on to 2009.

2. Pet services for pets continue to grow

There’s a reason Wal-Mart is testing grooming in its stores and expanding its pet aisle – pet parents are spending good money in this area, even in a recession. More than $3 billion dollars will be spent on pet services in 2008 according to the APPA, which will likely continue to grow in 2009, but at a lower rate than in prior years.

3. Dog’s Star on the Rise for 2009?

The number of cats in the US have long dominated dog numbers (according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, there are more than 72 million pet dogs in the U.S. but nearly 82 million pet cats). Will the new First Dog inspire people with dog allergies to reconsider bringing a dog in-house?

4. Growing interest in pet health care

Pet parents are taking control of their pets’ health care as they do their two legged children. Technology from the human world continues to make its way into the veterinary tool kit including non-invasive surgeries, human medical devices and services being applied to pets. Pet lovers want, and are demanding, the same treatment options for their pets as they can get for themselves.

5. Pet insurance edges towards the mainstream

We estimate the size of the US pet insurance market to be $271 million in premium in 2008, up from approximately $220 million in 2007 (a 23% increase) and we expect 2009 premium to reach $328 million. We project that the market will grow to $500 million by 2012.

6. Hybrids take center stage

Not just popular for cars, recent years saw the popularity of hybrid dogs grow rapidly. As predicted last year, 2008 saw the growth of the puppy farm hybrid to take advantage of the inflated prices people are paying for these dogs. 2009 is only going to get worse in this respect.

7. Increased competition from larger players.

Larger companies are beginning to recognize the economic potential of the pet industry. Target and Wal-Mart are both expanding their pet selection and using pets in their advertising.

8. Large companies hold off buying smaller just when the prices are right.

Some might say that right now is the perfect time for consolidation in the pet industry because of the incredibly low valuations but don’t expect much to happen in the first half of 2009.   

9. Increased online sophistication from new pet-related businesses in ecommerce, design, and usability.

In 2008, a whole slew of new “WebMD for pets” websites appeared, such as WebVet, PetMD, and PetDoc, and we’ll see them battle it out for the lead position in 2009. Newer players are more sophisticated in design and ecommerce, reaching their target audience via web-site usability, search engine optimization, paid search, and word of mouth marketing.

10. Pet-related blogs continue to grow their influence.

The power of pet-related blogs really showed up during the pet food recall in the middle of 2007. Blogs such as Pet Connection, Pet Sit USA and Dolittler continue to provide high quality commentary on all aspects of pet news and issues.

And one final bonus trend that indicates the direction of pet health …

11. The divergence of the veterinary clinic

On the one hand, the advent of advanced human medical tests and treatments in the pet world has led to the growth in private specialty clinics. At the other end of the spectrum, there is good money to be made by a single veterinarian in a practice focusing on pet wellness, without the need for fancy equipment and more than a handful of support staff. We predict this divergence between wellness and accident/illness care in veterinary clinics will grow noticeably over the next five years.
______________________________________________________________________

So there you have it - what do you think the pet trends of 2009, 2010 and beyond will be?

Sneak peak at the 2009 Pet Trends

I have to keep this short (big day tomorrow) but if you are interested in a sneak peak at the 2009 pet trends coming up, here's a story on some off-the-top-of-my-head comments to journalist Darcy Lockman made on the subject a month ago in her article A Dog-Centric Look Back at 2009.

The biggest trend Darcy thought for 2009?

But what is Bennett's biggest prediction for 2009? She thinks the popularity of adopting a shelter dog will skyrocket. "Shelters and rescues will be the big thing after the Obamas move into the White House. Everyone will want to say, 'I got my dog from the same place the president got his.'"

What do you think?

Celebrating the top posts for the Embrace Pet Insurance blog

Hard to believe but it was 3 years ago today that I wrote the first pet insurance blog entry. Time flies, as they say, but boy, has a lot ever happened in that time.

So, in honor of our big day, I thought I'd share the top viewed posts from the blog:

1. Saddle Thrombus in Cats - a description of this awful and mostly terminal condition. This blog post also has the most comments, most of which are heart rending. Get out the Kleenex's when reading this one.
2. My Dog or Cat is Limping - what could that limp be? Post describes a number of different scenarios.
3. Dog or Cat Protective Head Cone - could it be those great pictures on this post? What a strange one to be in the top 6
4. Toe Amputations for Cats and Dogs - an odd but strangely interesting post on loosing a toe to illness or accident
5. Perineal Urethrostomy: Description and Costs - an altogether ouchy topic for male cats but costly too
6. Repairing a Tracheal Collapse in Dogs - another costly procedure for smaller dogs

Wonder what the next year's top posts will be - any suggestions for topics you'd like me to cover?

PS. That's Ruby, Jonathan's new dog, who came to visit the office this morning. Nice to have our puppy therapy so early in the week.