A Pet Insurance Milestone: Trupanion Pays Over $3 Billion in Claims

A longtime leader in the pet insurance industry, Trupanion has hit a new major milestone. As of November 21, 2024, over $3 billion in veterinary bills has been paid out!

That’s a lot of dogs and cats getting important veterinary treatment. After all, paying for veterinary care — especially when it comes to unexpected illnesses and injuries — is an ongoing challenge faced by pet owners across North America. While dog and cat parents can often budget safely for routine veterinary care like checkups and vaccines, it’s impossible to predict when accidents and surprise illnesses will happen, much less how much they’ll cost to treat.

“Trupanion exists to help pet parents care for their pet without having to worry about the cost of care,” said Trupanion CEO and President Margi Tooth in a statement. “To cross $3 billion in paid claims is a huge acknowledgment of the problem we are solving and underscores the growing importance of pet medical insurance.”

With providers like Trupanion protecting them, more dogs and cats are able to get the care they need. Here’s what went into paying $3 billion in pet insurance claims and how Trupanion continues to play a significant role in the future of pet health.

Breaking down the numbers

Wondering what $3 billion in paid pet insurance claims looks like? Over the past two decades, Trupanion has handled over 11 million vet bills submitted by members. In that time, the highest claim ever paid out for a dog was $157,956.27, while the highest cat claim was $53,592.86. The average individual claim cost for all pets was $444.67.

It took 20 years to pay out $1 billion, with things only accelerating in the years since. After surpassing $2 billion paid claims in January 2023, Trupanion reached an average of $1.5 million being paid out per day. That broke down to averages of 5,388 claims per day and 4 claims paid per minute!

Common claims

The Trupanion team gained some additional unique insights from their decades of processing pet health claims. While health risks vary from pet to pet (and between species), some conditions emerged as being more prevalent than others. Over the past 20+ years, the most common claims for dogs and cats were as follows:

Top 5 pet insurance claims for dogs

1. Allergy and allergy-related issues — $128,471,744 in paid claims
2. Diarrhea — $66,742,702 in paid claims
3. Limping — $78,592,984 in paid claims
4. Vomiting — $80,462,404 in paid claims
5. Mass Lesion — $103,604,609 in paid claims

Top 5 pet insurance claims for cats

1. Renal failure — $9,618,255 in paid claims
2. Vomiting — $18,401,635 in paid claims
3. Diarrhea — $6,128,976 in paid claims
4. Diabetes — $5,822,469 in paid claims
5. Hyperthyroidism — $3,456,438 in paid claims

All paid claim amounts were current as of November 21, 2024.

The pet that got Trupanion to $3 billion

Since 2000, Trupanion has helped over 2.4 million dogs and cats get the medical care they need. All of them have helped bring the pet insurance provider to the $3 billion mark, but there was one pet in particular whose claim surpassed the important milestone. That was Lexi, a nine-year-old dog.

Protected by Trupanion since she was just a puppy, Lexi’s recent claim for her regular allergy medication pushed Trupanion across the $3 billion mark.

“We love Trupanion. Lexi has been getting care for nine years and everyone has been so helpful,” said Lexi’s human, Seth, when Trupanion reached out.

How Trupanion is changing the game

Trupanion stands out in the world of pet medical insurance, and not just because few other providers can say they’ve been around as long. Trupanion remains the first and only company in North America that can pay veterinarians directly (often in just seconds) at time of checkout from a pet’s appointment. This means fewer pet parents have to pay everything upfront and then wait for reimbursement.

“With our ability to pay veterinarians directly at checkout, our comprehensive coverage and unlimited payouts per condition, pet parents get the best treatment without having to worry about the cost of care,” said Tooth. “We really are at our best when paying claims on behalf of members.”

Learn more about how pet insurance works.

The growing importance of pet insurance

According to data published in Consumer Affairs, approximately 87 million households have at least one pet. However, only 4.8 million of those pets are protected by pet insurance. This is nevertheless a rise up from 3.9 million pets who were insured in 2021, indicating growing awareness of the importance of pet health and the surprise costs it can bring.

The American Veterinary Medical Association likewise found that fewer than 30% of pet owners were satisfied with the cost of their veterinary services in 2024. It’s no secret that veterinary care costs have increased over the years, but this is largely due to expanding treatments and diagnostic testing available to pets. The possibilities of dog and cat healthcare now rivals that of humans, which makes having a good pet insurance plan all the more important.

Meanwhile, Trupanion is looking forward to paying even more claims and reaching the next milestone.

“[Surpassing $3 billion] is an achievement that highlights our rapid growth as a company but more than that, it’s a testament to the positive impact we’ve had in the lives of pets and pet parents,” Tooth said.

Interested in how Trupanion can help safeguard your pet’s health? Get a free quote today to learn more.