The insurance crisis is now expanding from home to pet families, as the largest pet insurer in the nation announced it will not renew some policies.
Nationwide Insurance revealed on June 14 that it is dropping 100,000 policies. The insurer cited inflation as the reason for its decision, pointing to the increasing cost of pet insurance coverages such as veterinarian visits and care. According to its website, Nationwide is protecting more than one million pets.
“These measures are taken at a state level and are not associated with the pet’s age, breed, or prior claims history,” the insurance provider said in a statement.
The non-renewed policies will lose coverage between the spring and summer of 2025. Impacted policyholders will be notified in advance.
“We certainly empathize with the disappointment many of our pet families feel and will fully stand by the protections for which they have paid through the end of their current term.”
This comes after multiple national insurance companies announced the non-renewal of homeowners’ policies and auto insurance in California due to inflationary pressures like rising costs.
In March, State Farm said it would drop 72,000 property and commercial apartment policies in the Golden State after it announced a quota for new property insurance applications.
Farmers Insurance made a similar move last year, and Allstate stopped accepting new applications for business and property insurance in California as well.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
