How to Discuss the Benefits of Pet Insurance With Your Vet Clients

Educating your veterinary clients about the benefits of pet insurance is more than financial planning. It helps ensure pets receive the veterinary services and care they need while helping reduce stress for pet owners and veterinary teams. When clients can’t afford necessary diagnostics or treatments, veterinary professionals may feel torn between their desire to help and the client’s financial limitations.¹

These difficult conversations can take a toll, but proactively discussing pet insurance with your clients can alleviate some of these challenges. By guiding clients toward financial preparedness, veterinarians can help owners make informed decisions, ensuring pets receive appropriate care while helping to ease cost concerns.

Read on to find out how to approach these conversations effectively to help clients see the advantages of pet insurance.

The State of Pet Insurance

According to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association's 2024 State of the Industry Report, more than 6.25 million pets are insured across North America, a 20.9% increase from 2022.² While this growth is encouraging, an estimated 170.4 million pets live in North America, meaning approximately 164 million pets remain uncovered.² This highlights a significant coverage gap.

Access to veterinary care is critical for pet health and well-being, yet an estimated 25% to 50% of pet dogs and cats don’t receive regular medical attention, leaving them vulnerable to preventable illnesses and undiagnosed conditions.³ Cost is often the primary barrier to veterinary care.³ In Synchrony's Pet Lifetime of Care study, 1 out of 4 pet owners surveyed revealed that an unexpected expense of $250 or less would cause a financial issue.⁴

Concern over funds can place pet owners in difficult situations, causing them to delay or forgo necessary veterinary care. This gap in access to care highlights the importance of financial preparedness, which may include pet insurance and other payment solutions. By addressing this issue through client education, veterinary teams can help more pets receive the care they need while easing the financial strain on pet parents.⁵

Communicating the Benefits of Pet Insurance

Knowing the benefits of pet insurance can encourage pet owners to invest in their pet’s health. Advantages you can discuss with clients at your veterinary practice include:

• Access to advanced care. Pet insurance allows owners to focus on the best treatment options for their pet rather than worrying about affordability.⁶ Coverage can include advanced diagnostics, such as MRI and CT scans, and specialized care, such as oncology or cardiology.⁷
• Better outcomes for pets. Pet insurance helps owners agree to timely, high-quality veterinary care, leading to better outcomes.⁸
• Coverage for chronic conditions. Most accident and illness policies cover long-term illnesses, such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease, making ongoing treatment more manageable.⁷
• Financial security for emergencies. Veterinary emergencies, such as accidents, toxin or foreign body ingestion or sudden illnesses, can be expensive. Pet insurance may help cover costs for diagnostic testing, treatments, surgery and hospitalization and can reduce the client’s out-of-pocket expenses.⁷
• Less stress. When an owner has pet insurance, they don’t have to choose between financial limitations and their pet’s health, making the situation less stressful for the client and the veterinary team.⁶

5 Tips for Discussing Pet Insurance With Clients

Proactively preparing pet owners for the costs of veterinary care helps ensure they can obtain the care they want or need for their pets. To be effective, your team should provide a consistent message and be able to knowledgeably answer client questions.⁹

Here are five tips to consider when discussing pet insurance plans with clients:

1. Begin the conversation early

Pet owners receive the most benefits if they purchase a pet insurance policy when their pet is young and healthy. This means that the ideal time to educate owners about pet insurance is during their first puppy or kitten visit.⁸ Explain that pet insurance providers don’t cover preexisting conditions, highlighting the advantage of insuring the pet before they experience an injury or illness.⁸

Offering statistics about the cost of veterinary care — such as that annual health-related expenses for dogs can range from $534 to $1,285 — can help emphasize the need for coverage.⁴ You can also explain that some pet insurance policies offer wellness add-ons that can help cover costs for veterinary services such as wellness visits, vaccinations and parasite prevention.⁸

2. Explain how pet insurance works

Pet insurance can be confusing for owners, which may make them less likely to enroll their pet. Providing clear information about how pet insurance works can help them make informed decisions when choosing coverage for their pet.

Explain that most pet insurance providers function on a reimbursement model, which means the client will have to pay the bill up front and then submit a claim for reimbursement. You should also help them understand factors such as deductibles, reimbursement rates, payout limits, waiting periods and coverage exclusions.⁷

3. Involve the entire team

Getting your entire team on board ensures consistent messaging. Provide talking points your team can use to open the conversation about pet insurance and ensure everyone knows the answers to common questions your clients may ask.⁸

You can also provide pamphlets and direct your clients to articles on your website that offer information about pet insurance. This allows them to easily refer back to the information once they’ve had time to consider their options.⁸

4. Encourage your clients to do their research

Pet insurance is not a one-size-fits-all purchase. Encourage your clients to compare multiple providers to find the best fit for their pet’s health needs and their financial situation. If the pet has a high likelihood for a hereditary condition, have your client check the policy’s fine print to ensure the condition isn’t excluded. Also, recommend they check for applicable discounts, such as multi-pet, military and first-responder discounts.⁶

Additionally, promoting only one insurance provider can result in legal ramifications. Veterinary team members don’t have an insurance license and are, therefore, not permitted to recommend one specific provider, which could be construed as insurance sales. It’s best to provide information about several pet insurance providers so clients can make an informed decision based on their own research.¹⁰

5. Explain how insurance can be used with other payment options

Pet insurance provides valuable financial support for veterinary care, but it doesn’t typically cover 100% of the cost. Combining pet insurance with a veterinary financing solution can help pet owners better manage out-of-pocket expenses, ensuring their pet receives the best possible care without putting too much strain on their bank account.¹¹

Most pet insurance policies operate on a reimbursement model, and owners must pay the bill up front and receive reimbursement after their claim is approved.⁷ Veterinary financing solutions, such as the CareCredit credit card, allow owners to pay over time, helping manage costs while waiting for reimbursement. This combination empowers pet owners to immediately agree to care without delaying treatment due to financial concerns.¹¹

Pairing CareCredit With Pets Best

To make your clients’ lives easier, CareCredit and Pets Best work together to create a seamless financial solution for pet owners, simplifying the process of managing veterinary expenses. This partnership allows pet parents to use their CareCredit credit card to pay for veterinary services and then receive automatic reimbursement credits for eligible expenses directly back onto their CareCredit card after Pets Best approves the claim. With this integrated approach, pet owners can have a comprehensive financial plan for routine and unexpected veterinary care, helping to ensure a lifetime of care for their pets.

Communication About Pet Insurance Is Key

Educating your clients about pet insurance is an opportunity to help them make informed decisions about their pet’s health while helping to reduce stress during unexpected medical situations. By starting the conversation early and delivering consistent messaging, veterinary teams can help clients understand the value of pet insurance, navigate their options and ensure pets receive timely, high-quality care without financial barriers.

A Veterinary Financing Solution for Your Clinic

Looking for a way to help your clients manage the cost of care that is needed for their pets? Consider accepting the CareCredit health and pet care credit card. CareCredit is a flexible financing solution that allows cardholders to pay for veterinary services over time, while you get paid within two business days.

When you accept CareCredit, you will receive a custom link that allows clients to see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score. Those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* The entire process is mobile-friendly, leaving you free to focus on providing the care pets need.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a veterinary financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Jenny Alonge, D.V.M., has 17 years of experience as a veterinarian specializing in equine medicine and surgery. She blends her clinical background and writing expertise to produce veterinary content that is engaging and informative.

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