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Summary of our market study
The French pet insurance market is estimated at between €150 and €200 million.
The global pet insurance market is growing strongly and steadily. In 2023, the market size is estimated at $7.92 billion, and should reach $9.22 billion in 2024.
In Europe, the market growth rate is expected to be 14.9% between 2023 and 2030. The market will reach $3.6 billion in 2021.
France, despite a high rate of pet ownership, has a relatively low pet insurance take-up rate, with only 15% of pets insured in 2020. The French pet insurance market could exceed one billion euros if the adoption rate were the same as in countries like Sweden.
The sector is influenced by trends such as the humanization of pets, rising veterinary costs and the growth in the number of pets.
The cat population grew by 35.9% between 2010 and 2022.
Emerging market trends include the over-taxation of pet products and services, growing awareness among pet owners and the introduction of new, transparent and flexible insurtech offerings.
New entrants and investment funds are actively participating in the market, as evidenced by major fundraisings, such as SantéVet's €150 million from Columna Capital and startup Dalma's €15 million from several funds.
Trends in the French pet insurance market
The French pet insurance market is booming. The take-up rate for pet insurance policies remains low, and is expected to grow rapidly.
More than half of French households have a cat or dog, but only a fraction of them choose to insure their pets.
The dog population has stabilized at around 7.5 million and the cat population at 15 million over the past decade.
Nearly 70% of dog and cat owners consider their pets to be part of the family.
This emotional bond is put to good use by owners who are prepared to spend on top-of-the-range care and products.
The sharp rise in veterinary care costs by almost 48% between 2015 and 2023 should boost the insurance market.
The French market, estimated at between 150 and 200 million euros, is fertile ground for new entrants and traditional insurers alike.
Trends such as "tiers payants", similar to health insurance systems for humans, are gaining ground.
SantéVet is the market leader.
Regulations are few and far between, with the exception of compulsory third-party insurance for certain categories of dog. Recent legislative changes, such as the "certificate of commitment and knowledge" for all pet owners, testify to an institutional awareness of animal welfare and owners' responsibilities.
Some players in the French pet insurance market
General insurers
- Carrefour Banque et Assurance :
- Groupama: a giant in the insurance sector
- Groupe des Assurances du Crédit Mutuel (ACM)
- Macif and Matmut: two mutual insurers
- Generali: a global player of Italian origin
Emerging Insurtech companies
- Acheel: one of the newcomers to the sector, already making a name for itself by combining home, health and pet insurance solutions.
- Dalma, mutual insurance for pets
- Lovys: uses a digital business model to offer simplicity, transparency and personalization.
Specialist in pet insurance
- SantéVet leader in France.
- HD Assurances, specialized broker
to understand this market
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The pet insurance market refers to insurance contracts covering the health costs of pets - veterinary care and expenses related to illness or accident - in the same way as for humans.
The animals concerned are mainly dogs and cats, and to a lesser extent other pets known by the acronym NAC (Nouveaux Animaux de Compagnie): rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.
The pet insurance market generally includes 3 types of offer:
- Basic plan
- Intermediate plan
- Premium plan
Depending on the package chosen, the insurance may cover :
- Veterinary consultations
- Laboratory tests
- Vaccinations
- Sterilization
- Deworming
- Etc.
The pet insurance market remains relatively underdeveloped in France compared to other European countries. Many therefore see strong potential for development in the coming years, in line with the trend towards higher veterinary expenditure and premiumization of pet care and services. The fact that the market is not yet firmly established would leave more room for new entrants than other saturated markets.
However, others note the obstacles that continue to hold back the market's development in France, such as a psychology unaccustomed to paying its own healthcare costs, which would then be less inclined to spend a lot on its pets, or products that often disappoint consumers (numerous exclusions in offers...).
1.2 The global market
Worldwide market
The global pet insurance market is one with strong growth potential over the next decade. Numerous sources estimate average annual growth of between **.*%(***) between now and ****-****.
The Business Research Company estimates that the market will increase from $*.** billion in **** to $*.** billion in ****, representing growth of **. *%. According to the ...
1.3 The French market
Compared to its European neighbors, the French market still has strong growth potential over the next few years. Indeed, **% of French people own at least one cat or dog, yet only **% of them decide to insure them, according to an Ifop study. Although the humanization of pets is gaining ground in ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Animal population growth
The first variable that automatically impacts the number of pet insurance policies taken out is logically the number of pets owned by the French (***).
According to a **** FACCO study, **% of French households will have at least one pet. The pet population has been on the rise in France for several years, ...
2.2 The premiumization trend in pet products and services
Sales in the French petcare market are on the rise, driven by demand for increasingly high-quality products. Consumers are prepared to spend more on them. Indeed, more and more people are "humanizing" their pets, regarding them as family members in their own right, and therefore deserving of increasingly high-end care and ...
2.3 The rise in veterinary care
Finally, another variable directly impacting demand for pet insurance is the price of veterinary care covered by insurance. You should expect to pay around €** for a simple consultation (***) has thus increased by **.*% between **** and ****.
Sales indices for veterinary activities (***) France, ****-*****, base *** (***) Source: ****
Such a rise in sales for veterinary activities ...
2.4 Geographical distribution of demand
To determine the distribution of demand for pet insurance, we can look at the distribution of the pet population and of veterinary clinics and staff in France. We can thus observe that veterinary clinics and staff are relatively well distributed between French regions, and are slightly more present in the south ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
How pet insurance works:
There are three parties involved in the process of insuring a pet: the pet owner, the veterinarian, and the insurer chosen by the owner, who may be, as we saw earlier, a general insurer offering a "pet insurance" package, or a specialized insurer. The underwriting and insurance ...
3.2 Major market players
The French market can be divided into several types of player:
traditional insurers, already well established in the insurance market, who have developed an "animal insurance" offering: Carrefour Banque et Assurancecarrefour Banque et Assurance, one of the main players in dog and cat health insurance, with ** years' experience and chosen by ...
3.3 A niche market attracting new entrants and investors
With the pet insurance market still relatively undeveloped in France, many new players have set their sights on establishing themselves in the market, and even revolutionizing it with new offerings. They are thus succeeding in overturning a system that is no longer dominated solely by traditional insurers.
Startups operating exclusively in ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Prices and packages
Pet insurance providers generally offer * types of cover:
anentry-level plan, with a low level of cover, which may be limited to accident expenses, and which has relatively low rates and reimbursement ceilings an intermediate plan, covering both accident and sickness expenses, with average rates and reimbursement ceilings a top-of-the-range plan, offering ...
4.2 Product trends
Chris Blatchly, Director of Insurance Consulting at Cognizant, talks in **** about * variables to focus on in the coming years in the pet insurance sector:
the products themselves, to be made more personalized by, for example, observing the animal's lifestyle in order to offer more appropriate rates business models, to be reimagined ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Regulations
Pets are defined by law as "any animal kept by a person for their own enjoyment". All pets must be identified by a tattoo or microchip on their first visit to a vet. It is then registered in the national identification database for domestic carnivores in France.
French law does not ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
- Dalma
- Acheel
- Santé Vet - Vetassur
- HD Assurances (JAB Holding)
- Assurances du Crédit Mutuel
List of charts presented in this market study
- Global pet insurance market size
- Pet populations
- European pet insurance market size
- Proportion of pets insured
- Number of pets
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Latest news
Acheel: The crisis and neo-insurance - 27/10/2023
- Start-ups in the online insurance sector, known as insurtechs, have seen venture capital funds become more cautious and financing more scarce over the past eighteen months.
- After its launch, insurtech Acheel passed the 100,000 contract mark.
- Acheel has been profitable since the end of 2022, and claims 350,000 contracts representing 135 million euros in premiums.
- In-vehicle insurance will account for over $700 billion in premiums by 2030, or 25% of the total global market.
- Luko is an online insurance start-up
- According to "L'Argus de l'assurance", the British Admiral Group, which owns L'olivier Assurance in France, has decided not to acquire the start-up
- Luko has raised over 100 million euros.
- Lovys reduced its workforce by 40% between January and July 2022.
Pet insurance: a popular market - 25/08/2023
- In France, there are around 7.5 million dogs and 15.1 million cats.
- Only around 6% of these animals are covered by a mutual insurance company.
- The French market leader, SantéVet, held 300,000 contracts.
SantéVet invests $50 million in Doctolib for dogs and cats - 14/04/2023
- SantéVet is the leader in pet health insurance.
- The company is investing 50 million euros in its digital transformation.
- SantéVet raised 150 million euros in February from Columna Capital.
- The company has a 50% share of the French pet health insurance market.
- Between 6% and 7% of dog and cat owners in France choose SantéVet
- SantéVet has 300,000 active contracts, including 10% in Belgium and Germany
- The company forecasts sales of 100 million euros in 2022, compared with 77 million in 2021
- SantéVet employs 300 people and has recruited 120 new staff since January 2022
- The group aims to be adopted by 30% of veterinary clinics by 2023.
- The aim is to generate 50% of sales internationally by 2026.
- The company plans to open subsidiaries in Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Portugal between 2022 and 2023.
Insurtech Acheel passes the 200,000 mark and becomes profitable - 07/02/2023
- Raising of 29 million euros announced in May 2021 2n 2022
- Acheel has signed over 200,000 contracts and collected 79 million euros in premiums (compared with 23,000 contracts and 12.5 million euros in premiums at the end of 2021)
- Acheel is profitable
Dalma, the dog and cat insurer, has acquired a stake in Northzone. - 02/06/2022
- Dalma, the insurance company for dogs and cats, has just completed a new round of financing of 15 million euros, led by the Swedish Northzone, alongside the German Project A and Anterra Capital
- Dalma has attracted 20,000 customers (6 million annualized premiums)
- Its main objective: to become an all-in-one application for pet owners
- Dalma offers fully online insurance at 5-10% less than its competitors
- To reduce its customer acquisition costs (€100), it will rely on veterinarians
- Its biggest French competitor, SantéVet, has raised €150 million and is already present in Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
One year after its launch, insurtech Acheel has over 100,000 active contracts. - 20/05/2022
- Acheel collected 35 million euros in premiums during 2022 ( in twelve months )
- The start-up has an ambitious growth plan for 2022: 200,000 contracts and 70 million euros in premiums
- To achieve this, at the end of the month Acheel will launch its car insurance business, which is attracting significant online volume
- Launched in 2021, the insurtech rapidly passed the 100,000 contracts signed mark
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The pet insurance market | France
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