Pet Insurer Trupanion Expands into South Carolina

The pet insurer recently started selling coverage in South Carolina, and the Seattle-based company—which does business in other states as well—says it plans to expand to the rest of the country within the next few months.

Last year, the pet market industry surpassed $41 billion in the United States, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA). About a quarter of that total was spent on veterinary care.

The U.S. market has captured about only 1 percent of the pet population, compared with 18 percent in the United Kingdom and 48 percent in Sweden. However, the APPMA estimates that by 2010 the amount of pet insurance subscribers will increase to 5-7 percent.

The success of Trupanion will depend in part on its unique approach to pet insurance: it enrolls puppies and kittens under a year old and offers them up to $20,000 of lifetime comprehensive coverage. Thus, pet owners will never see a premium increase due to their pet aging or from filing claims.

“By enrolling puppies and kittens only, Trupanion dramatically reduces the number of claims that must be denied due to pre-existing conditions,” explained Darryl Rawlings, founder and CEO of Trupanion. “This allows us to be a ‘claims paying’ company rather than a ‘claims denying’ company.”

Other Trupanion benefits include dedicated, local Trupanion experts who serve veterinarian clinics, no per incident or yearly limits, and a quick claims payout—90 percent of approved claims are paid within 24 hours.

Trupanion also owns its underwriting insurance company, unlike any other pet insurance company in the country.