[비즈한국] While the pet insurance market is growing rapidly, coverage remains focused on dogs and cats. Pet insurance is a product designed to reduce the high burden of veterinary costs and prevent situations where treatment is abandoned for financial reasons, but owners of small animals find it difficult to receive such medical benefits.
"Our pet insurance only covers dogs and cats. It is difficult to enroll a parrot."
"Customer, products for lizards have not been developed yet."
When inquiring about whether small animals could be enrolled in pet insurance, agents responded that it was not possible. Even after double-checking the possibility of coverage for certain animals, the explanation remained that there were no related products. Among the top two companies in the pet insurance market, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance and DB Insurance005830, both indicated that insurance enrollment for animals other than dogs and cats was impossible.
According to the financial sector, a total of 13 companies currently sell pet insurance, including Meritz, Hanwha, Lotte, Samsung, Hyundai, KB, DB, Nonghyup, Lina, Carrot, Shinhan EZ, Yebyeol, and MyBrown. The number of pet insurance contracts signed through these insurers was 251,822 at the end of last year. This is a 55% increase compared to the previous year (162,111), indicating that the pet insurance market is growing steeply every year.
Despite the expanding market size, the scope of pets that can be covered remains stagnant. This is because all pet products released by major insurance companies are limited to dogs and cats. There are no products available for other types of pets. Exotic animals like birds or reptiles also cost hundreds of thousands of won for basic checkups when test fees and medication costs are added, but they remain in a blind spot for insurance.
Visiting four veterinary clinics in the Seoul area revealed that exotic animal treatments are occurring consistently. A source at a veterinary clinic in Mapo-gu, Seoul, said, "There are quite a few owners who bring in various animals other than dogs and cats," and added, "Recently, there was a case where a lizard visited due to issues during the shedding process."
A source at a veterinary clinic in Gangseo-gu also explained, "Small mammals like hamsters or hedgehogs visit relatively frequently, but since the treatment costs are high relative to their expected lifespan, the number of people seeking treatment is limited."
Hamsters and hedgehogs have short average life expectancies of under 5 years. Thus, some point out that the utility of coverage may be low compared to short-term premium payments. However, for animals with relatively long life expectancies such as rabbits, parrots, or lizards, there are no insurance products to cover the high medical expenses that arise throughout their life cycle, despite the significant burden.
In fact, 'A', who raises a parrot, lamented, "If there were pet insurance, I would be willing to sign up. When I went to the hospital for my parrot's fractured wing, the medical bill was nearly 500,000 won. In most cases, hospital visits cost hundreds of thousands of won."
The insurance industry maintains that developing insurance products for exotic animals is not easy. They explain that it is difficult to standardize treatment criteria and that there is not enough accumulated data to calculate premiums. Furthermore, difficulty in individual identification is cited as an obstacle. They pointed out that since microchip registration is not mandatory, it is hard to verify if the animal is the same individual, and there is a potential for insurance abuse, such as swapping animals.
A representative from Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance stated, "Because the number of animals other than dogs and cats is small, it is difficult to calculate the rates," adding, "We cannot say anything about product development plans at this time." A DB Insurance official also explained, "Dogs and cats can be identified individually, but it is difficult to specify other animals, making product design challenging."
Meanwhile, the U.S. insurance company Nationwide launched a health insurance product for exotic pets in the form of indemnity insurance in 2020, and currently covers accidents and illnesses for various exotic pets such as birds and reptiles. Additionally, in the U.S., alternative coverage products for exotic pets can also be purchased through Pet Assure Corporation, which is not an insurance company.