Published : Sep-2017
No. of Pages : 38
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
1.1. UK pet insurance continues to grow amid rising claims costs 3
1.2. Key findings 3
1.3. Critical success factors 3
2. THE PET INSURANCE MARKET 8
2.1. UK pet insurance broke through the £1bn mark, but claims are outgrowing premiums 8
2.1.1. Insurers are facing an increasingly saturated market 9
2.2. Claims inflation continues to challenge GWP growth in the pet space 9
2.2.1. Pet insurance GWP grew 7.1% to £1,045m in 2016 9
2.2.2. Advances in medical treatments continue to drive claims costs 11
2.2.3. Vet salaries falling despite fees increasing highlights the squeeze on profits 11
2.2.4. Insurer losses continue gradual ascent as profit margins tighten 16
2.3. The UK pet population has fallen every year since 2013 17
2.3.1. Dog ownership remains higher than cat ownership 17
2.3.2. Lifestyle is key to explaining choice of pet 20
2.3.3. Compulsory microchipping is shaping the way owners track and monitor their dogs 21
2.3.4. Northern Ireland has the highest dog count in the UK, with 33% of the population owning dogs 21
2.3.5. Online aggregators have pushed consumers towards lifetime policies 23
3. COMPETITORS 25
3.1. The top two insurers account for over 70% of the market 25
3.1.1. Allianz and RSA continue to dominate the UK pet insurance market 25
3.1.2. CVS launches own-brand pet insurance 26
3.1.3. Allianz merges with LV= 26
3.1.4. More Than Doggyssentials 26
3.1.5. Markerstudy launches pet insurance aggregator 27
3.1.6. More Than's Vetfone 27
3.1.7. E&L's co-insurance pick n' mix policy 27
4. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND DYNAMICS OF THE MARKET 28
4.1. Costly vet treatments are encouraging insurers to take control of the market 28
4.1.1. RSA aims to manage the cost of pet insurance with the launch of a new scheme 28
4.1.2. Pricing needs to be more transparent for pet insurance customers 29
4.1.3. Insurtech is slowly entering the pet sector with new providers, aggregators, and apps 30
4.1.4. Co-insurance is coming back into fashion and is set to become a mainstream product 31
4.1.5. Bought By Many leads the way in product innovation 32
5. DEVELOPMENTS IN 2017 AND BEYOND 33
5.1. Claims inflation will continue to drive rates over the coming years 33
5.1.1. The UK pet space is forecast to maintain double-digit growth 33
5.1.2. Pet insurance as an employee benefit is likely to emerge after success in the US 34
5.1.3. Social media continues to provide a good route for providers to target the uninsured 35
5.1.4. Humanizing pets and treating them as part of the family is essential to appeal to consumers 36
6. APPENDIX 37
6.1. Abbreviations and acronyms 37
6.2. Bibliography 37
6.3. Further reading 37
List of Tables
Table 1: Pet insurance GWP in the UK 10
Table 2: UK pet insurance market gross claims incurred, 2012-16 12
Table 3: UK pet insurance market claims notified, 2012-16 13
Table 4: Average claims costs in the UK pet insurance market, 2012-16 15
Table 5: Top 10 conditions for claims in the UK pet insurance market, 2016 15
Table 6: Top 10 most expensive claims in the UK pet insurance market, 2016 16
Table 7: Dog and cat ownership by geographical region, 2016 22
Table 8: UK pet insurance market GWP forecast, 2016-20f 34
List of Figures
Figure 1: 2016 saw GWP break the £1bn mark 10
Figure 2: Claims incurred growth remained strong in 2016 12
Figure 3: Number of claims notified growth slowed in 2016 13
Figure 4: The cost of the average claim continued to rise in 2016 14
Figure 5: Gross claims incurred as a proportion of GWP grew slightly in 2016 17
Figure 6: More households own dogs than cats, but both are decreasing 19
Figure 7: Dogs remain more popular than cats 20
Figure 8: Allianz is the largest pet insurer with 43.7% of the market 26
Figure 9: Vet costs around the country 29
Figure 10: Bought By Many offers a range of pet options and utilizes social media platforms 35
