As an insurance broker, you already know how profitable it can be to upsell ancillary and voluntary worksite benefits to fill gaps in coverage. These affordable products can help workers cover expenses should they become unable to work because of an off-the-job injury or illness. Coverage may also extend to some family members.
But when you think about insurance coverage to provide workers with financial protection and peace-of-mind, there’s an opportunity you might be forgetting: Pet insurance.
In 2020, consumers spent more than $100 billion on healthcare services for their pets, primarily dogs and cats. Yet, only 2% of the pets in the U.S. carry insurance to help cover these costs. The average vet emergency bill runs pet owners between $800 and $1,500.
Close to 50% of millennials with pets said they are “not confident” they could afford a life-saving procedure for their pet, while 25% said they’d be willing to sell their car to do so.
These statistics help explain why pet insurance is now one of the top three desired employee benefits, according to 51% of workers, said a report at WorkLife.com.
Write Pet Insurance with The DBL Center
In an effort to continually expand our offerings and help our brokers earn more in less time with voluntary and ancillary products, The DBL Center is working with a preferred pet insurance provider to provide pet insurance as a voluntary or employer-funded benefit.
Of the companies who wrote policies this fall, 5% were employer funded, while 95% were voluntary and funded by employees. To date, brokers writing these policies have a 70% success rate when they present pet insurance as an option and provide a quote.
Policies can start as low as $21 a month for dogs or cats, and are completely customizable with different deductible levels, co-insurance, and annual coverage limits. Clients can “power up” their policy with options for packages that add in-demand services, including:
- Exam fee (for vet visits that don’t lead to a diagnosis of an illness or condition)
- Holistic and alternative treatments
- Boarding, holiday cancellation, and lost pet advertising
- Breeding
The DBL Center Make It Easy
We make it easy to introduce your clients to pet insurance with an easy, one-page online application.
You can choose from a direct billing model where the employee fills out the application and pays the carrier directly. Coverage can be live in roughly 1 to 2 weeks. This is a hands-off option for brokers who don’t want to add administrative duties for this benefit and for smaller businesses where only a handful of employees want to take advantage of pet insurance.
Alternatively, you can write the benefit with a payroll deduction option. The app will pre-fill census data and your clients’ benefits administrator or HR department fills out the rest. Premiums are paid monthly, and the policy can be live in three to four weeks.
With either option, perpetual enrollment is available, making this a “set-it-and-forget-it” benefit that will keep paying commissions with little effort on your end.
As always, The DBL Center is here to support you as your back-office staff.
Is Pet Insurance Available in Your State?
Pet insurance is rapidly expanding across the U.S. Currently available in most southern and Midwest states, as well as other regions, the company predicts that it should be available across most of the U.S. by the first quarter of 2024.
For companies in eligible areas, pet owners can use veterinarians in any state – even if it isn’t the state where the policy was written. This makes pet coverage perfect for remote workers whose employer is in an eligible state, but the employee may live in another area.
At The DBL Center, we continue striving to be your go-to source for required and voluntary employee benefits. The addition of pet insurance to our line helps round out our offerings. Our brokers can offer benefits for every employee, at every stage of life.
To learn more about offering pet insurance to your clients, reach out to The DBL Center today.