Veterinary practices see benefits with insured pets

Pet owners who purchase pet health insurance are more likely to bring their pets in to their veterinarian and to approve surgical procedures.

Those are among the findings in a study sponsored by Nationwide, one of the largest providers of pet health insurance in the United States, in collaboration with analytics company VetSuccess. The analysis looked at data for almost 10 million pets served by close to 2,000 veterinary practices, comparing pets with Nationwide pet health insurance to pets that weren’t covered.

According to a Nationwide press release, pet owners who had the company’s pet health insurance for their dog or cat versus no pet health insurance did the following:

Spent more on veterinary care. Revenue per patient was 92% higher for insured dogs than for uninsured dogs. For insured cats, revenue was 76% higher.

Visited their veterinarians more often. For dogs, that’s 73% more often, resulting in 4.17 annual visits per insured dog, compared with 2.41 for uninsured dogs. For cats, yearly veterinary visits were 43% higher, with 2.54 visits for insured cats, compared with 1.77 for cats with no insurance.

Approved surgical procedures more often. Insured dogs were 51% more likely to receive surgical treatment, with 17% more money spent. Insured cats were 20% more likely to receive surgical treatment, and 38% more was spent on those procedures.

Stayed with their veterinary practice. After three years, 81% of insured dogs were at the same clinic, compared with 46% of uninsured dogs. For cats, 69% of insured cats were at the same clinic after three years, compared with 33% of uninsured cats.

The AVMA has resources on pet health insurance.