Paw-sitively busy times for Canadian pet insurers

It’s official — everyone and their dogs are announcing pet insurance mergers, acquisitions and partnerships.

It started two days ago, when Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. completed the US$1.4-billion sale of its interests in Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and Pethealth Inc. to Independence Pet Group (IPG) and certain of its affiliates.

And it continues today, with P&C brokerage NFP announcing a partnership with Petline Insurance Company. Through it, NFP is offering Canadian customers Petsecure pet health insurance.

In the Fairfax deal, the holding company of P&C subsidiary insurers sold its interest in the Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group to IPG. Crum & Forster offers customizable pet insurance plans covering everything to from routine exams to unexpected illnesses.

Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group is a founding member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Pethealth Inc. offers pet services through two brands — 24Pet and VioVet. 24Pet are experts in lost pet solutions, pet adoptions, animal welfare and shelter support.

IPG is indirectly majority owned by JAB Holding Co., which owns a global pet insurance and ecosystem platform. JAB’s gross written premiums and pet health services revenues are estimated to be worth over $1.2 billion by 2023.

“The pet insurance industry, which has been expanding at a rate of approximately 20% per year on a global basis, is expected to continue to see many years of steady, strong growth, driven by attractive long-term trends in pet care and significant opportunities to expand…especially in the U.S. and Canadian markets which have less than 3% penetration,” JAB stated in June when the deal was first announced.

Regarding its partnership with Petline Insurance Co., NFP is adding pet insurance to its mix of specialty insurance product offerings — including motorcycle, equine, collector car, boat, recreational vehicle, snowmobile, travel and DigitalShield cyber protection.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Petline and offer this great product that helps our pet owner clients to protect their pet’s health,” said Greg Dunn, NFP’s managing director of personal risk in Canada. “We know how important pets are to our clients, and Petsecure will provide them with the type of comprehensive coverage they deserve.”

Petline’s flagship brand, Petsecure, offers pet health insurance plans that combine comprehensive accident and illness coverage with dental, alternative therapy, preventive treatments and behavioral therapy protection.

“We are happy to join with NFP in Canada to offer pet health insurance to their customers and have more pets protected across Canada,” said Raegan Ahlbaum, vice president of Operations for Petline. “With combined experience as insurance specialists, it was a natural fit.”

Feature photo courtesy of iStock.com/dageldog