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With the bill for veterinary care of dogs, cats and other household animals growing, more companies are offering pet insurance as an employee benefit or discounted perk.

Veterinary Pet Insurance, the largest provider of pet insurance in the U.S., said that in 2010 it added almost 400 large companies and associations to its list of 2,200 groups that offer pet insurance as a voluntary employee benefit.

Among those now offering voluntary pet insurance to employees is Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Corp.

"Five years ago, the group channel represented 12% of business," said VPI spokesman Grant Biniasz. "Today, the group channel represents 21% of business."

The American Pet Products Association Inc. projects that pet owners will spend $12.2 billion on veterinary care in 2011. That is up from $11 billion last year and $8.2 billion five years ago.

The rising tab for vet care hits consumers directly in the pocketbook unless they have insurance to cover part of the cost the way health insurance does for humans.

"Veterinary costs are growing faster than inflation and people are aware of that," said Chris Middleton, director of sales and marketing for Pets Best Insurance. "The sophistication of veterinary medicine is growing. Caught early enough, a dog or cat with cancer - if you have the resources to take it to the vet and get appropriate treatment - stands a really good chance of having a normal life span."

Some companies offer pet insurance to employees as a voluntary benefit that includes a payroll deduction. In the case of VPI, the premiums for the employee are 5% lower than if he or she had purchased the policy independently, Biniasz said. The group insurance discount is higher for people with multiple pets who enroll through an employer.

"The average monthly premium for a dog will be between $30 and $40 a month," Biniasz said. "This may be lower for a young dog with a high deductible, or higher for an older dog with a low deductible, but the majority of policyholders fall within this range."

Cats, on average, cost $20 to $30 a month to insure, he said.

Employee perk

Some companies offer pet insurance as a discounted employee perk, similar to the way they would offer a group discount for membership in a health club or to buy merchandise from particular retailers. The monthly premium is paid directly to the insurer via the employee's credit or debit card.

That's how most PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance policies have been offered to workers.

"In most cases, it is a 5% discount if they enroll one pet, 10% if they enroll two pets or more," said David Goodnight, president and chief operating officer of PurinaCare.

According to the American Pet Products Association, cat owners spent an average of $423 on surgical veterinary visits last year, up from $278 in 2008. Dog surgery costs roughly the same on average, but can be expensive depending on the problem.

In one claim example cited by PurinaCare, the cost of surgery and care to a 4-year-old mixed breed dog that tore her anterior cruciate ligament amounted to $1,433, of which about $946 was covered by insurance.

Employers who offer pet insurance as an employee benefit or discounted perk do it for a variety of reasons.

"Companies usually add VPI pet insurance to their benefits package because employees have requested the benefit and/or a human resources executive has been exposed to the benefit through advertising or at a trade show and thinks it would be a good fit for his or her company," Biniasz said.

Said PurinaCare's Goodnight: "We have found that more and more companies are offering it as a means to provide as many benefits as possible to their employees while still controlling costs. Pet insurance allows them to offer a benefit at virtually no cost to the organization."

Know what's covered

The American Veterinary Medical Association said pet insurance is increasing and welcomed by the profession.

"It certainly is growing in popularity, and we do endorse the concept of pet health insurance, most notably because it does defray the cost of some veterinary care," said spokesman David Kirkpatrick. "If consumers/pet owners have an opportunity to improve the health of their pet while also saving money, that certainly is a good thing and can translate into doing what they have to do to make sure that their pets stay healthy."

But he added that "pet owners really need to do their homework to find out what the different companies and policies offer and don't offer."

"The health insurance program, we feel, should honor the veterinarian-client relationship," Kirkpatrick said. "In other words, let the veterinarian and the client make the calls as far as what types of treatments the animal needs. We haven't heard issues related to that, but that certainly is one of our primary concerns."

Overall nationwide, pet insurance for dogs has been growing, but there still are a lot without insurance, according to the American Pet Products Association pet owner survey. Last year, 4% of dogs - about 3.1 million - had health insurance, up from 1% in 1998. But only 1% of cats, or 800,000, were insured - the same percentage as in 1998.

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