YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Pet owners love their furry family members, but if Mittens eats a house plant or Rover breaks a bone, the veterinary bills may break the bank.
That’s where pet insurance may come in handy.
April Snyder, senior risk manager at The Gibson Agency, points out a cat can live 30 years. That is a lot of years of bills and unsurprisingly, pets tend to have more health-related expenses as they age.
According to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, 7.6 million pets were insured in the U.S. and Canada at the end of 2025. That was a 8.5% increase from the previous year.
But when there are an estimated 94 to 95 million U.S. households with at least one pet, those with pet insurance comprise a small portion with dogs being the most insured pet.
According to Forbes Magazine in 2025, of the 5.36 million pets insured across the country, 80% are dogs and only 20% are cats.
Pet Business Owner
Adam Salamon, a kennel manager and one of the head trainers at The Northern Border LLC, a dog boarding and training company in Washingtonville, Ohio, says a lot of athletic dogs train and compete at his business and events he attends.
The dog business is involved with both local and national agility competitions, dock diving competitions and Schutzen, which are police dog competitions, including bite work. Like any other athlete, dog athletes can sustain injuries and competitors, especially the Schutzen dogs, have insurance, Salamon says.
“We have some events where we actually have a chiropractor come out here to work on some of the dogs,” says Salamon.
While pet insurance is primarily for medical injuries, he also knows in Ohio, those who own aggressive, reactive or nuisance dogs are required to have an insurance policy as well.
“As a trainer, I have personal insurance where any dog I have on a leash that I’m working with, I have a $1 million coverage,” he says.
Salamon says he started the process to obtain his pet insurance through the same agency that insures his car, but it insured him through a subsidiary.
Local Insurance Options
Some Mahoning Valley insurance agencies offer pet insurance through national programs.
Kerri Stewart, principal agent and owner of Bea’s Insurance in East Palestine, says that agency offers pet insurance through a partnership with Progressive Insurance.
A vendor’s link on Bea’s Insurance website allows Bea’s Insurance clients to purchase pet health or pet life insurance coverage.
Some features of the pet insurance that can be purchased through Bea’s Insurance include either a lifetime annual benefit or unlimited lifetime benefit, a single annual deductible, routine care, optional accident or illness exam coverage, optional vet direct pay and a 24/7 pet helpline, which allows the owners of covered pets to ask health-related questions. Pets are covered for accidents and illnesses as they age.
Snyder, of The Gibson Agency, which is part of the Thompson Insurance Group Company, says owners can get pet insurance plans similar to those for their own health. Insurance plans can cover wellness visits for those regular checkups, medications and dental cleanings. Or there are accident and illness plans that cover the higher bills like a broken leg or tumor treatments.
“So there’s two different plans that you can get, which is the difference between basic insurance and full coverage,” Snyder says.
Premiums for coverage also can be affected by the age, breed and even gender of the animal, according to Snyder. Certain breeds are known for having certain health conditions.
“If they’re puppies, no big deal, but if they’re an older dog, they ask for any kind of medical history,” Snyder says.
While the policy may not be cheap, it’s also not an expensive one for people with some disposable income, she says.
“I have a couple clients who don’t have any children,” Snyder says. “They have their pets. So it would be the same as paying health insurance on your children.”
Not unlike a child’s health insurance, pet owners can pick a plan that pays for 80% or 100% of covered expenses after the deductible and there are annual maximums as well, according to Snyder. Plans can pay for the regular routine medications your pet may need such as flea and tick.
Snyder says Liberty Mutual is one of the main companies her agency works with and Embrace is another.
Through PetBiz Insurance, a subsidiary of Thompson Insurance Group, Snyder is able to insure many of the businesses that are directly involved with pets, including pet groomers, mobile groomers, kennels, pet stores, pet trainers and veterinarians.
An independent insurance agency, PetBiz Insurance is able to find a variety of solutions for the needs of business owners in the pet business.
And when pet owners go to those businesses, they may also learn about the pet insurance that is also available through the same agency.
Jamie Ciccone, an agent with State Farm in Austintown, says her agency insures pets through Trupanion, which is a product offered by State Farm, but not a State Farm product.
Trupanion is offered for both dogs and cats, but not other pets.
Ciccone notes it is best to start the product when pets are young, before pre-existing conditions occur, because they are excluded from coverage bought later. However, prices do not increase as pets age, so it’s better to lock in that rate early.
Deductibles can range from $0 to $2,000, Ciccone says. Additionally, pet owners can choose whether they want an 80% or 90% reimbursement for claims, with 80% having a lower monthly premium.
“Trupanion pays the customer’s selected payout percentage on all eligible claims – no matter the cost,” Ciccone says. “They want to make sure your pet can get the best, veterinary-recommended care without worrying about the bill.”
Trupanion also has a list of participating facilities, where they will pay directly and within seconds. In other cases, Trupanion pays a reimbursement to the pet owner directly after the care is provided.
And the program has unlimited payouts, Ciccone says, with no fear of running out of coverage no matter how many times a customer need to use it.
Therapy dogs can also receive a small discount, Ciccone says.
Some of the covered items include diagnostic tests, medications, hospital stays and surgeries, advanced dentistry, rehabilitation, prosthetic devices and carts. However, the insurance does not cover routine check ups, preventative care or problems that start before the 12-day effective date.
