By Sahil Pandey
November 5 (Reuters) - The rising cost of veterinary care is pushing more Americans to buy pet insurance, as advances in animal medicine give owners access to treatments that were uncommon or unavailable a decade ago.
For Norwalk, Ohio-based Amanda Moore, 45, whose dog Tasha was diagnosed with mammary cancer, it meant surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment that has cost about $20,500 so far.
Embrace Pet Insurance reimbursed more than $14,300, she said. Embrace Pet Insurance policies
are underwritten by American Modern Insurance Group.
Moore said radiation treatment was quoted at roughly $3,000 to $10,000. Tasha was initially given about six months to live but is doing well more than a year after the treatments.
"I would not have been able to afford to do a lot of this myself without having pet insurance," Moore told Reuters. "It allowed me to make decisions based on what was medically best for Tasha rather than what I could afford."
About 7 million pets, or more than 4% of US pets, were covered by insurance policies in 2025, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, up 9% from the previous year and 76% from five years ago.
It is becoming the fastest-growing property and casualty insurance business line, with premiums projected to rise 17% to $6.4 billion in 2026, according to Tim Zawacki, head of financial institutions research at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The rise has come as annual veterinary spending averaged about $560 last year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, while treatment costs for specialized cancer care, surgery, advanced diagnostics and chronic-condition management can run into thousands of dollars.
Insurer Trupanion said its highest individual claim has exceeded $150,000.
ADVANCES IN PET MEDICINE
Veterinarian-service prices were 4.6% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Veterinarians and insurers said rising treatment costs, along with the growing availability of advanced tests and treatments, are encouraging more owners to buy pet insurance.
Karen Hauer, a veterinarian with more than two decades of practice, said supplies, shipping, employee healthcare and labor all cost more.
"Are some owners delaying or declining treatment because of cost? Absolutely," she said.
The expanding range of care and specialists, including oncologists, cardiologists and dermatologists, has driven up costs.
"That sophistication improves outcomes and helps pets live longer, but it also raises the cost," said American Veterinary Medical Association President Dr. Jen Quammen.
Richard Goldstein, global chief medical officer at animal health company Zoetis, said pets are now living about 1.5 to 1.7 times longer than they did four decades ago, increasing demand for treatment of chronic conditions and other age-related diseases.
Treatments such as Zoetis' Apoquel and Cytopoint have expanded options for environmental allergies, which affect up to 15% of dogs, Goldstein said.
Zoetis launched Cytopoint for allergic skin disease in 2016 and later received US approvals for osteoarthritis treatment Solensia for cats in 2022 and Librela for dogs in 2023.
Cytopoint injections can cost roughly $50 to $200 per treatment, while monthly Librela injections are estimated at about $65 to $250 depending on dog size, according to pricing guides published by Vety, MarketWatch and SpectrumCare.
Zoetis did not provide treatment-cost ranges. Actual costs can vary significantly by veterinary clinic, pet size, dosage requirements and geography.
Veterinary diagnostics company IDEXX Laboratories has introduced testing tools, including its Cancer Dx screening panel and inVue Dx cytology platform, helping veterinarians diagnose cancer and other conditions more quickly and accurately.
Chemotherapy, 3D-printed prosthetics, minimally invasive surgery, wearable health monitors and portable diagnostic equipment are also driving spending.
INSURANCE GOES UP
Insurers say premiums are rising because of the increase in veterinary costs.
"Veterinary medicine can do more than ever before, which means there is more care worth financing," said Katie Seawell, Trupanion's chief marketing officer.
Trupanion said net subscription pet additions rose nearly 40% in the second quarter from a year ago.
Embrace Pet Insurance said its average claim rose 6.9% in the second quarter to $432 from a year earlier. It reimbursed policyholders $62.9 million during the quarter.
Arizona-based Maribeth Roufus had sticker shock when she got the bill for her dog Pepita's herniated disc: about $10,000.
Insurance reimbursed $7,791.02 of Pepita's $10,038.77 veterinary bill, leaving Roufus responsible for about $2,247.75 out of pocket.
"Because I knew a surgery of this magnitude would be covered by my policy, I just said, save my sweet girl," she said.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer)
