Pets are becoming increasingly important in urban environments, both in developed and developing countries. According to Xinhua News and the Ganzhou Pet Health Science Research Institute, China is the largest country in terms of pet cat and dog sizes in 2023. However, the exorbitant cost of pet medical care has always been a concern for pet owners. Thus, purchasing pet insurance is very important as it appears to be an extensively available financial management solution for managing pet healthcare costs around the world. Pet insurance has been available in China since 2004. However, pet insurance purchases has been slow, compared to other nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Thus, the promotion to develop pet insurance market is strongly encouraged.
To begin, pet insurance companies should provide a wide selection of products to fulfil the demands of pet owners. There are six different sorts of pets in the Chinese pet market: cats, dogs, aquatic animals, rodents, birds, and reptiles. Nonetheless, pet insurance companies develop pet insurance packages tailored exclusively for cats and dogs. This creates a situation in which pet owners who maintain other pets, such as rabbits or birds, desire to obtain pet insurance, yet there are no available pet insurance products in China. Therefore, pet insurance must be designed to cover all pets.
Second, in order to increase acceptance of pet coverage alternatives, pet insurance companies may modify the terms of their policies. Many pet owners are concerned that their pets will not be sufficiently protected by pet insurance because they do not completely comprehend the provisions. In order for pet owners to appreciate the benefits, pet insurance companies should provide simple plans that emphasize pet insurance coverage. Furthermore, pet owners with multiple dogs and cats must pay a large premium for pet insurance. This demographic appears to have been disregarded by Chinese pet insurance providers. To alleviate the strain on pet owners, it is suggested that pet insurance firms provide premium discounts to individuals who own many pets.
Finally, pet service providers should increase pet owners’ understanding of pet insurance because awareness is a key aspect in developing familiarity, which leads to adoption. According to various studies, even though pet insurance has been offered for many years, many pet owners are still unaware of it. Several studies have found that pet owners prefer to obtain information on pet insurance from their doctors. As a result, pet insurance firms should work with pet hospitals or clinics to organize campaigns to raise awareness of prevalent pet ailments, and they may use this chance to market pet insurance. This could be a useful method for increasing pet owners’ awareness of the need to get pet insurance.
To summarize, pet insurance companies may assist to enhance the pet insurance market by extending product choices, optimizing pet insurance terms, and increasing pet insurance awareness among pet owners. Furthermore, the popularity of pet insurance helps to improve pet health, quality of life, and life expectancy, while also encouraging society’s harmonious development towards the ‘One Health’ aim. Let’s buy pet insurance.
Dr Zarina is an Associate Professor at Azman Hashim International Business School, University Technology Malaysia. She started her career as a senior executive in Bank Negara Malaysia and performed audit supervision of Malaysian financial institutions. She is currently a chartered accountant, registered with Malaysian Institute of Accountant. She joined UTM and her research interests are financial reporting quality, corporate governance, auditing, corporate issues, disclosures and performance. For more information about her research and publications,
Geng Xiya is a lecturer at Tongling University, China. She mainly focuses on the insurance market, and her research interests include pet insurance, agricultural insurance, and cyber insurance.