Europe Pet Insurance Market size surpassed USD 3.4 billion in 2020 and is predicted to register a growth of over 6.3% from 2021 to 2027.

Pet insurance scheme covers veterinary expenses incurred for the treatment of a pet who has endured an injury or is sick. Pet insurance is usually opted by owners to minimize the burden of cost of availing veterinary services. The policies are offered by various public and private providers for different animals such as dogs and cats, among others.

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Increasing number of pet animals being adopted widely for companionship across the European region has increased significantly in the past decade. Pets are largely adopted by people for companionship and there has been shift in trend from pet owners to pet parents which indicates that pets are considered as a part of family these days. For instance, according to the European Pet Food Industry statistics, there were around 80 million pet owning homes in Europe in 2018. Thus, increasing social acceptance of pets has stimulated the demand across the region.

Moreover, companies are using web-based applications and software that connects veterinary professionals & pet owners and streamlines the process of availing benefits of pet insurance schemes. For instance, Waggel Limited, a UK-based insurance start-up firm, launched a completely digital pet insurance plan in December 2018. The company’s main objective is to simplify the extremely complicated pet insurance process and allow the users to get quotes in less than 30 seconds. The company also allows users to track the claiming process in real-time, thus maintaining the highest possible transparency in the claiming process.

Europe Market, By Policy Coverage

The accident & illness segment size was more than USD 3.3 billion in 2020 due to comprehensive nature of the accident and illness policy. The accident & illness policy nearly covers all the illnesses along with accidents. Therefore, the accident & illness policy is the most favorable policy for young animals, thereby stimulating its adoption rate. Furthermore, high veterinary treatment and diagnostic cost coupled with increase in awareness regarding the accident & illness insurance will further drive the market growth. 

Europe Market, By Animal

The dog segment revenue is estimated to cross USD 4 billion by 2027 led by increasing adoption of dogs across the European region. For instance, countries such as Russia, Germany, UK, and France have the highest population of pet dogs and that will attract pet owners to opt for various policy coverage. Furthermore, insurance providers in European region offer dog health insurance plans for injuries, illnesses, and wellness care, and provide insurance for various disease condition.

Europe Market, By Provider

The private provider segment revenue crossed USD 3.2 billion in 2020 owing to adoption of competitive pricing of the monthly premiums. The private providers offer innovative insurance schemes such as maximum coverage plans and minimum premium. Furthermore, growing demand for pet insurance policy coupled with increasing pet healthcare expenditure will boost the industry growth.

Europe Market, By Country

UK pet insurance market value was around USD 1.2 billion in 2020 and will witness a lucrative growth of 5.7% through 2027 attributed to early introduction of pet insurance coupled with high penetration of insurance coverage for companion animals. Also, growing demand for insurance of exotic breeds of cats and dogs will play a significant role in stimulating the market expansion. Furthermore, rising concerns among the population pertaining to their pet’s health and growing adoption of exotic pets in the country is another major growth driving factor.

Competitive Industry Landscape

Major players operating in Europe pet insurance industry are Royal & Sun Alliance, Petplan, Protectapet, Hollard and Petfirst Healthcare LLC, among others.

Companies undertake various strategies such as mergers, collaborations, acquisitions, and geographic expansions to strengthen their market share. For instance, in August 2017, RSA Insurance Group announced that it added new partners to its Referral Vet Network that was created to deliver affordable pet insurance to its customers. The partnership aimed to expand the geographical and professional range of the RSA Vet Referral Network, thus expanding the customer base, and generating strong revenues.