PD Insurance’s Most Common Insurance Claims in 2021

If you’re a pet parent who’s considering insurance, you might’ve wondered what the top claims for pet insurance are. Maybe you’re trying to figure out whether it’s worth it, how much you might save, or whether dogs and cats are really as accident and illness prone as some owners say.

In an effort to shed some light, we’re sharing the 10 most common claim categories for our pet insurance customers in 2021.

Top 10 claims for pet insurance customers

The top 10 types of claims for pet insurance policyholders received from our dog and cat owners last year were:

1. Infection: e.g. ear, urinary tract, respiratory tract, laceration-induced, nail bed
2. Allergy/allergic reaction: e.g. skin issues, food allergies
3. Injury: e.g. limb, soft tissue, eye, muscle
4. Ingestion: e.g. foreign body, poison, medication, chocolate
5. Diarrhoea/Gastroenteritis
6. Bite wound/infection from it
7. Conjunctivitis
8. Lacerations: e.g., ear, paw, chest, limbs
9. Abscess
10. Parvovirus

Moving into 2022, we’ve seen a recent and noticeable increase in claims related to parvo. Well-informed pet parents may be aware there’s been a serious outbreak over summer. Unfortunately, it’s highly contagious and resistant. It causes severe illness in dogs, and can often be fatal for unvaccinated dogs and puppies.

Because parvovirus often requires a lengthy hospital stay, the cost of claims for pet insurance can mount up quickly. One American Staffordshire Bull Terrier owner was relieved to have our pet insurance policy in hand after having a claim payout of over $4,000 for parvo-related vet bills.

Allergies, infection, and ingestion amongst the top claims

Top of the list of claims for our pet insurance customers was infections.

We know, for instance, that the French Bulldog and dog ear infections tend to go hand in hand. And whether they’re pampered indoor pets or get to explore the great outdoors, ear infections were the most common type of infection claims.

Eyes, sinus, and bladder infections were also fairly common. Though these are usually treatable, infections can spread very quickly and require plenty of tests, medicine and vet supervision. One domestic medium haired cat racked up almost $3,000 in bills for a respiratory tract infection, for example! Eek!

In second place were claims related to allergies.

Skin conditions in dogs and cats such as dermatitis were common, as were reactions to food. Allergies can be chronic and lifelong, making your dog or cat miserable without treatment. While they’re sometimes mild, prompting nothing more than a bit of dry skin or itching, they can also be severe and life threatening.

As you might expect, injuries were also in the top three most common types of claims for pet insurance customers.

Whether it’s a flying frisbee knockout, an overenthusiastic run, a fall from the balcony railing or being hit by a car, injuries and pets seem to go hand in hand. Injuries to the limbs, soft tissue and eyes featured heavily. Depending on the severity of the injury, these can be very costly to fix, especially if surgery is involved.

One Rottweiler pet parent had a claim payout of over $7,000, as did the owner of a Labrador for its head injury treatment.

Watch what your pet eats

Although accidental ingestion wasn’t in the top three most common types of claims for pet insurance, it did take a close fourth place.

And that’s only because dogs tend to be more prone to this type of claim than cats – no surprises there! In fact, 92% of ingestion claims were for dogs. Maybe the cat people are onto something; you’ve probably never wrestled a pool cover out of the mouth of your cat. But with dogs, you never know…

Both toxins and foreign bodies contributed to ingestion claims. Whether it was the consumption of toxic things (like grapes, karaka berries, chocolate, and poisonous plants) or gobbling up a plastic toy meant for the kids, it’s safe to say that pet owners (and dog parents in particular) need to keep an eye on what’s getting past those fangs!

Pet insurance claims can skyrocket quickly

While Kiwis are lucky to have access to great healthcare for humans, our pets aren’t quite as fortunate. As you can see from these claims from pet insurance policyholders, vet bills can quickly run into the thousands. And for most people, that can cause serious strain on the wallet.

We love our pets for their mischievous natures and personality quirks, but it does mean accidents and illness are often part and parcel of pet ownership. Even with the best care in the world, your furkid will probably need medical attention at some point.

Pet insurance could cost less than a cup of coffee a day. But instead of a caffeine boost, you’re getting peace of mind that you won’t have to put finances before your pet’s health – or their life.