2024 Pet Insurance Survey: Fearing Costs, 30% of Pet Owners Have Avoided the Vet (2024)

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• Roughly 16% of pet owners said they’d lost a pet because they could not afford veterinary care.
• Many pet owners (36%) are unsure about pet insurance, reporting that they are researching whether or not it’s worth it. But nearly all (99.5%) pet owners who have pet insurance do not regret doing so.
• According to our 2024 survey, 85% of pet insurance holders think pet insurance is worth it.
• Gen Z is more than 16 times more likely to get pet insurance than baby boomers, driving an uptick in pet insurance rates.
• Nearly 33% of pet owners without pet insurance said they’ve avoided taking their pet to the vet to prevent a high bill, compared to just 22% of pet insurance holders.

The majority of pet owners are going to do whatever it takes to get their pets the care that they need — financially or otherwise. But some simply cannot afford to. According to our survey, 16% of pet owners said they’d lost a pet because they could not afford veterinary care. One respondent shared the following story:

“My neighbors had three extra-large pit bulls. They got out of their cage and came to my yard, and my dog got attacked. She had lost so much blood we didn’t think she would make it, because we couldn’t afford what it was going to cost. It was going to cost over $3,000.”

Unfortunately, the cost of care is a huge barrier for pet owners. The following are other relevant statistics that came from our survey:

• More than 30% of pet owners said they avoided taking their pet to the vet to prevent an expensive bill.
• Nearly 29% of pet owners said they’ve been unable to provide emergency care for their pets due to cost.
• Over 30% of pet owners said they’ve had to rely on family or friends to help pay a vet bill.

The statistics slightly shift when comparing pet owners with insurance to those without insurance. The chart below reveals how, in most cases, insured pet owners are less cost-burdened regarding vet care.

The largest difference between pet owners with and without insurance is related to how often they opt to take their pet to the vet. Nearly 33% of pet owners without insurance say that they have avoided taking their pet to the vet to prevent an expensive bill compared to 22% of pet insurance holders.

Pet owners get pet insurance for various reasons, but financial motivations top the list.

The majority (50.8%) of pet owners reported that one of the reasons they took out an insurance policy was so they’d be able to provide the best care for their pets without having to worry about the cost. The second most popular reason, also related to cost, was “trying to avoid high vet bills” (40.4%).

Other motivations for getting pet insurance include worrying about pets aging and needing more care (33.5%) and taking the pet to the vet too frequently (24.2%).

Pet insurance was introduced in 1982, with the famed TV dog Lassie receiving the first-ever pet insurance policy. But it’s taken off in recent years. NAPHIA data shows a near 125% increase in the number of pets insured between 2018 and 2022.

Data from our survey shows that this surge in pet insurance has been driven in large part by Gen Z. Close to 42% of Gen Z pet owners have pet insurance compared to less than 3% of baby boomers.

Baby boomers are the most likely to say that they do not have pet insurance either because it’s too expensive or they don’t think it’s necessary for their pet. Close to one in five baby boomer pet owners (19.8%, specifically) say that pet insurance is not necessary.

Dog owners are more likely to insure their pets compared to cat owners. Our survey found that about 24% of dog owners had pet insurance compared to just under 15% of cat owners.

Gen Z and Millennial pet parents were far more likely to insure their dogs and cats than older generations. However, our Gen X respondents were the only generation to have a higher percentage of cat insurance holders compared to dog insurance holders.

Insurance tends to vary depending on the size of the pet. Our data revealed that owners with medium-sized dogs (25 pounds to 59 pounds) were more likely to have pet insurance, with 32% of these pet owners having insurance.

Comparatively, 19% of big dog (60+ pounds) owners and 17% of small dog (under 24 pounds) owners had pet insurance.

Notably, almost 30% of big dog owners said they don’t have pet insurance because they think it’s too expensive, despite larger dogs typically having larger vet bills. And another 13% say that they don’t think it is necessary for their big dog.

Although many pet owners— with and without pet insurance — report avoiding taking their pet to the vet due to costs, veterinarians are hardly strangers to the majority of pet owners.

Our survey found that roughly 83% of pet owners had taken their dog or cat to the vet in the last year, with nearly 25% reporting an emergency vet visit within that time. Only 2% of respondents said they’ve never taken their pet to the vet.

Interestingly, nearly 25% of pet owners said they got a pet insurance policy because they were taking their pet to the vet too frequently. Most veterinarians recommend bringing your pet to the vet at least once a year, with more frequent visits for young and senior pets.

Most pet owners treat their animals like family; when an emergency happens, they bring their pet in for treatment. Unfortunately, that treatment often comes with a high price tag.

We asked our respondents if they were ever shocked by a vet bill and received hundreds of responses. One pet owner even reported a bill of $5,800 for anti-venom treatment after a snake bite. Below are some of the other responses. (Note: Responses have been edited for clarity.)

A small dog owner, age 47 says: “I had a bill for about $1,600 because of her back legs. It was so much I had to go on a payment arrangement…”

The Gen Z owner of a large dog remembers: “My dog went in because he ate chocolate, a whole lot too, so I took him to get his stomach pumped and afterwards…they handed me a bill of $300!! I was shocked but had to pay it. After that, I got insurance so I wouldn’t have to pay ridiculous amounts of money.”

Meanwhile a medium dog owner remarks on the price of even a check in: “Took my pet in just for an annual checkup and the bill came in the mail for $500.”

Finally, a Millennial cat owner says: “I had to take my pet cat for a visit because she ended up eating something that was bad for her and the bill was pretty high. But it was worth it for my cat.”

While many pet owners are still considering insurance policies for their furry friends, many of these responses show that large – and potentially unexpected – bills may sway them toward taking out an insurance policy.

If these findings have you thinking about insuring your pet, you may wonder how much it costs. Using cost data gathered from ten top pet insurers, we found pet insurance costs:

• Between $23 to $49 per month for an adult dog.
• Between $14 to 25 per month for a cat.

However, the price depends on the pet insurance provider, coverage plan and specifics for your pet. Typically, pet insurance policies will cover the following visits:

• Accidents and injuries (broken bones, toxic ingestions, bite wounds, etc.)
• Diagnostic testing (bloowork, CAT scans, MRIs, X-rays, etc.)
• Major and minor illnesses (epilepsy, cancer, allergies, ear infections, etc.)
• Prescription medication
• Surgical procedures

If you’d like to learn more, read our guide to pet insurance costs here.

The MarketWatch Guides Team surveyed 1,000 Americans using Pollfish, a third-party market research and survey platform, to better understand factors influencing pet owner decisions surrounding pet insurance. We collected survey data for this report from June 19, 2023 through June 21, 2023.

About 71% of our survey respondents were dog owners while 29% own cats. The breakdown of survey respondents by generation is below:

• Generation Z: 14% of respondents
• Millennials: 38% of respondents
• Generation X: 32% of respondents
• Baby boomers: 15% of respondents

Using the raw survey data, we weighted responses to align with population demographics across age, gender, and income status to be representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+). The margin of error is +/- 3% with 95% confidence.

Questions on our study? Contact the author here.

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Learn more about Kristina Zagame

Learn more about Stephanie Horan

Learn more about Angela Beal, DVM

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Angela Beal, DVM, loves using her writing to help pet owners provide the best possible care for their furry companions. Angela has worked in private practice and taught veterinary technicians for 15 years. Since 2020, she has worked full-time with Rumpus Writing and Editing, a veterinary-specific writing and editing company. Angela lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, two sons, and their spoiled Chihuahua mix, Yogi.