Pet health insurance is a booming industry in North America, as shown here using data provided by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. The number of insured pets nearly doubled from 2016 to 2020, and now totals almost 3.5 million pets. Most of these are dogs (about 83% of insured pets are dogs in the United States and 75% are dogs in Canada).
While the growth in number of insured pets has been impressive, the growth rate of the pet health insurance market in dollar terms has been even higher. Total premiums in North America have increased by at least 20% year-over-year since 2016. Compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in number of insured pets have been lower, at ~19% in the United States and ~13% in Canada.
The growth in this market is not just attributable to growth in the human or pet population. From 2012 to 2022, the United States human population grew at a +0.6% CAGR, while the cat population grew at a +1.5% CAGR and the dog population grew at a +4.1% CAGR.