Your dog needs emergency surgery. The bill? $5,000. You have two options: drain your savings or skip the procedure. For millions of pet owners, this impossible choice is becoming more common as veterinary costs climb.
On October 14, 2025, Verisk Analytics announced a solution that could reshape this landscape. The company launched the first standardized pet health insurance program from an advisory organization, giving U.S. insurers ready-made tools to enter this $4.75 billion market. According to GlobeNewswire, the program includes policy forms, rating rules, and loss costs—everything insurers need to start offering pet coverage quickly.
The timing matters. Pet insurance premiums jumped 21.4% between 2023 and 2024, while insured pets increased just 12.7%. Translation: Costs are rising faster than coverage. More competition from new insurers could stabilize these premium spikes.
Why Pet Insurance Just Got Easier for Insurers
Building an insurance product from scratch takes years. Actuarial analysis. Rate filing. State approvals. Verisk’s program eliminates most of that work.
Ron Beiderman, Chief Product Officer at Verisk’s Core Lines division, explained the challenge: “As more people have welcomed pets into their lives, the demand for pet insurance has surged in recent years along with veterinary costs.”
Here’s what Verisk provides insurers:
- Pre-built policy forms that meet state regulatory requirements across all 50 states, cutting development time from 18-24 months to roughly 3-6 months.
- Rating rules based on actuarial data from millions of pet health claims.
- Loss cost projections that help insurers price policies competitively without guessing.
- Standardized coverage language reduces legal review costs by 40-60%.
The standardization matters for small and mid-sized insurers. A regional carrier in Ohio can now launch pet insurance without hiring a team of pet health actuaries. They use Verisk’s data instead.
$4.75 Billion Market Grew 21.4% Last Year
Pet insurance isn’t niche anymore. The numbers from North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) tell the story:
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Written Premiums | $3.9B | $4.75B | +21.4% |
| Insured Pets | 5.8M | 6.5M | +12.7% |
That gap between premium growth and policy growth? It signals price increases. Average pet insurance premiums climbed roughly 7-8% in 2024 alone.
Veterinary costs drive this. A routine wellness visit for a dog now averages $200-300 in major cities, up from around $150 three years ago. Emergency care? Figure $2,000-5,000 minimum. Cancer treatment for pets can exceed $10,000.
Most pet owners don’t have that kind of cash available. Federal Reserve data shows 37% of Americans couldn’t cover a $400 emergency expense without borrowing or selling something. A $3,000 vet bill? Out of reach for many households.
3 Ways This Affects Your Pet Insurance Options
More insurers entering the market changes the competitive landscape. Here’s how:
1. Premium Competition Should Increase
Right now, a handful of companies dominate pet insurance. Trupanion, Nationwide, and ASPCA control roughly 60% of the market. When regional insurers can launch products quickly using Verisk’s tools, those big players face new competition.
Basic economics: More supply = downward pressure on prices. Don’t expect dramatic drops, but premium growth might slow from the current 21.4% annual rate to something more sustainable like 8-12%.
2. Coverage Options Will Diversify
Standardized tools don’t mean identical products. Insurers can customize Verisk’s base program for different markets:
- Budget policies with higher deductibles ($500-1,000) and basic coverage
- Premium plans covering wellness visits, dental care, and alternative therapies
- Breed-specific policies priced for known health risks (hip dysplasia in German Shepherds, heart issues in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
3. Regional Availability Expands
Pet insurance penetration varies wildly by state. California and New York have high adoption rates. States like Mississippi and Arkansas? Nearly non-existent options. Regional insurers can now fill those gaps without massive upfront investment.
Should You Wait to Buy Pet Insurance?
If you’re considering pet insurance, don’t wait for new options to appear. Here’s why:
Pet insurance only covers conditions that develop AFTER you buy the policy. Pre-existing conditions are always excluded. Your healthy 2-year-old dog could develop diabetes next month. If that happens before you buy insurance, diabetes treatment is never covered—even if you sign up the day after diagnosis.
Plus, premiums increase with pet age. Insuring a 1-year-old dog costs roughly $30-40 monthly. Wait until age 5? That jumps to $50-70. Age 8? Often $80-100+.
The math works like this: If you buy insurance at age 1 and pay $40/month for 10 years, you’ll spend $4,800 total. Buy at age 5 and pay $60/month for 6 years? You’ll spend $4,320 but miss coverage during prime health years when most dogs develop chronic conditions.
That said, shop around once new insurers launch products. Switching policies (for conditions not yet diagnosed) makes sense if you find better coverage or lower premiums.
What Verisk’s Data Analytics Brings to Pet Insurance
Verisk isn’t just providing templates. The company analyzes insurance data for a living—they process information from thousands of insurers to identify risk patterns.
For pet insurance, this means:
Better Breed Risk Assessment
Some breeds cost more to insure because they’re prone to specific health issues. Verisk’s database includes claim histories across breeds, ages, and geographic regions. This helps insurers price policies more accurately instead of using broad breed categories.
A Golden Retriever in Florida faces different health risks than one in Colorado (heat-related issues vs. cold weather injuries). Verisk’s tools account for these variables.
Fraud Detection Built In
Pet insurance fraud happens—owners falsifying illness dates, veterinarians billing for unnecessary procedures. Verisk’s analytics flag suspicious patterns. When multiple claims from the same vet clinic show identical diagnosis codes across different pets, that triggers review.
Claims Processing Speed
Standardized data formats mean claims flow through systems faster. Instead of each insurer building custom integrations with veterinary software, they use Verisk’s established connections. This cuts claim payment time from 2-3 weeks to 7-10 days in many cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will pet insurance premiums decrease because of Verisk’s program?
Not immediately. Premium decreases require sustained competition over 2-3 years. What’s likely: Premium growth slows from the current 21.4% annual rate to something more manageable like 8-12% as new insurers enter and compete. Veterinary costs keep rising (inflation), so premiums won’t drop in absolute terms—they’ll just rise slower.
When will new pet insurance options become available?
Insurers using Verisk’s program still need 6-9 months minimum for state regulatory approvals and system integration. Expect new products starting mid-2026. Regional insurers will likely launch first in their home states before expanding. Check with your state’s insurance department for approved carriers.
Does standardization mean all pet insurance policies will be identical?
No. Verisk provides baseline policy forms and rating tools, but insurers customize coverage levels, deductibles, reimbursement percentages, and add-on options. Think of it like car insurance—state minimums are standardized, but companies offer vastly different coverage tiers above that baseline.
Should I switch from my current pet insurance to a new provider?
Only if your pet has NO diagnosed chronic conditions yet. Pre-existing conditions follow you—new insurers won’t cover anything diagnosed before your policy starts. If your dog has diabetes, kidney disease, or arthritis already, switching means losing coverage for those conditions forever. For healthy pets, compare new options when available in 2026.
What percentage of U.S. pet owners have insurance?
Roughly 4-5% of U.S. pets are insured, compared to over 25% in the UK and Sweden. The 6.5 million insured pets in 2024 represent a tiny fraction of the estimated 135 million dogs and cats in American households. This low penetration rate means massive growth potential as awareness increases and more affordable options emerge.
Bottom Line
Pet insurance costs keep climbing. Veterinary bills keep climbing. Something had to change.
Verisk’s standardized program won’t solve the underlying problem—veterinary care gets more expensive every year as treatments advance. But it removes barriers for insurers to compete, which should slow premium growth and expand coverage options.
For pet owners, the takeaway is simple: Buy insurance while your pet is healthy and young. Premiums only go up with age, and pre-existing conditions are never covered. Whether you choose an existing insurer or wait for new options in 2026, the worst time to buy pet insurance is after you need it.
The $4.75 billion pet insurance market is still tiny compared to the hundreds of billions Americans spend on veterinary care annually. As that gap narrows, more pets get coverage. That’s good news for pet owners facing impossible financial choices.