In recent years, the rate of pet ownership among households in my country has continued to increase, and the market size of the pet industry has also continued to expand. The pet field has now also spawned pet insurance, which only costs a few hundred yuan a year to increase protection for your pet's health. Some pet owners said frankly that they buy insurance because the cost of pet medical treatment is not low these days, and buying insurance can provide an additional layer of protection. On the complaint platform, many pet owners also said that although pet insurance seems to be a good deal, there is the possibility of "missteps", and certain insurances may have problems such as difficulty in settling claims. Relevant financial industry insiders believe that pet owners can purchase insurance according to their own pet care needs, and they need to be careful when purchasing and read the insurance terms carefully.
You can purchase pet insurance with a monthly payment of more than 20 yuan, and the "shit shovel official" is willing to pay for the health of your pet. "I bought pet insurance on the short video platform, and saw that the price was relatively suitable and included a physical examination, so I placed the order." Ms. Kong, a pet owner in Jinan, said that she recently purchased a one-year insurance for her pet cat from an online platform, and only paid 24.75 yuan per month in installments. Pet insurance sold in e-commerce live broadcast rooms
When talking about the reasons for purchasing insurance, Ms. Kong said frankly that the annual physical examination fee for cats is three to four hundred, and pet insurance that gives free physical examinations is more cost-effective. "In addition, medical treatment for pets is not cheap now. The last time my cat vomited, it cost 1,000 yuan. If you have pet insurance, you can reimburse some amount." Xinxin, a pet owner who also lives in Jinan, has also purchased pet insurance for her cat before. "My pet insurance costs less than 400 yuan per year. Although I haven't used it yet, it gives me peace of mind." In Xinxin's view, pet insurance is no different from human insurance. From the perspective of medical expenses, it has an extra layer of protection.
It has been noted that well-known financial and insurance companies such as Zhongan Insurance, Pacific Property & Casualty Insurance, Cathay Property & Casualty Insurance, etc. have launched corresponding pet insurance, covering medical insurance, accident insurance, etc. The premium of pet insurance ranges from 200 yuan to 1,000 yuan per year. Pet owners can choose the insurance they like based on their pet’s health status and age.
It is worth mentioning that some insurances also come with vaccines, doctor consultation, physical examination and other services. There are also some pet insurances that are linked with designated pet hospitals. If pet owners go to designated hospitals to treat their pets, the reimbursement ratio will be relatively high. Some pet owners have complained that pet insurance claims are difficult to make, and the scope and amount of claims have become points of contention. Browsing through social media platforms for pet lovers, it is not difficult to find that many “shockers” are now willing to buy insurance for their pets. However, different pet insurances may cause different problems and disputes when making claims. On December 9, when searching for "pet insurance" on the Black Cat Complaint Platform, more than 400 matching results related to it popped up. Some consumers complained that they encountered problems such as difficulty in paying compensation after treating their pets.
"My cat needed to have his teeth extracted due to a broken tooth that caused gum inflammation. After the operation, the insurance application was rejected because the tooth extraction was not due to disease or accidental injury. But it is clearly an oral disease, so why can't we claim?" A cat-raising netizen complained that when he purchased pet insurance, he clearly saw that the policy covered "oral diseases", but after the pet had its teeth extracted because of oral problems, the compensation was rejected.
Netizen Wenwen said that the pet insurance promotion page she purchased previously stated that the compensation amount was as high as 15,000 yuan. "But when the compensation was paid, she discovered that there was a limit on compensation for each accident, with the maximum not exceeding 1,500 yuan." Wenwen said that although the compensation was successful, the insurance compensation amount was still quite different from psychological expectations.
There are also financial bloggers on the Internet platform who have compiled a list of pet insurance “mistakes”, and have taken a detailed inventory of the advantages and disadvantages of the major pet insurances on the market. Among them, issues that have attracted high attention include: few designated hospitals, slow compensation process, only supporting telephone claims, long waiting period for taking effect, non-designated hospitals not providing compensation, etc.
The pet industry market continues to expand, and domestic pet insurance supervision needs to be improved urgently. According to the "2021 China Pet Industry White Paper", China's urban households will own 58.06 million pet cats and 54.29 million pet dogs in 2021. The "White Paper on China's Pet Consumption Trends in 2021" shows that the market size of my country's pet industry will be close to 300 billion yuan in 2020. The industry is expected to continue to maintain steady growth in the next three years, with a compound growth rate expected to be 14.2%, and the scale will reach 445.6 billion yuan by 2023.
"These data also fully confirm the huge scale of my country's pet market. Pets are 'living animals' after all, and they also need health care, medical treatment, medication, physical examinations and surgeries, etc." According to Ms. Zhao, an industry insider with many years of pet medical experience, pet insurance can indeed reduce the medical burden of pet ownership and compress pet medical expenses to a certain extent. "Appropriate and formal pet insurance can play a certain role in protecting pet health. Once a pet needs medical treatment or even dies due to an accident or disease, pet owners can reduce losses." Pet insurance is no longer a "new product" in European and American countries. In September this year, an overseas pet information platform showed that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) passed the "Pet Insurance Model Law" to refine and standardize pet insurance regulations.
"At present, the supervision of pet insurance in my country is relatively blank, without too many constraints and regulations. When the emerging insurance industry develops, various problems are bound to arise. All consumers need to do is to keep their eyes open and carefully read the insurance precautions and protection content." A financial industry insider believes that when insuring pets, consumers should try to choose the services of well-known insurance companies, carefully read the basic insurance rules, and avoid disputes during claims settlement.