Pet insurance companies want to triple rates. What does that mean for pet owners?

Pet insurance costs are far exceeding the costs of veterinary care, as insurers seek double-digit increases, state filings show.

Federal figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that as of August, national veterinarian costs had increased 8.5% in the past 12 months.

But three pet insurance companies are asking the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance to approve much higher rate increases.

Pet insurance company Trupanion is asking for a 33% increase, Healthy Paws is asking for a 44% increase, and Metropolitan General Insurance Company, typically called MetGen, is seeking a 56% increase.

Kurt Baker, one of the founders of the "In Their Shoes" exhibit, pets Murphy, a therapy dog in training, in Woodland Park on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Each pair of shoes represents a young New Jersey resident who died by suicide. Baker and his wife, Tricia Baker (not shown) started the exhibit after their son Kenny died by suicide.

None of the three companies could be immediately reached for comment.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Wyckoff, said in a Monday press conference that he was formally asking the Banking and Insurance Department to deny the requests. He’s also asking the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate pet insurance fees across the nation.

In the letter to Justin Zimmerman, the state's acting insurance commissioner, Gottheimer said consumers would suffer “sticker shock” from the proposed increases.

“The department takes seriously its review of rate requests by insurance companies,” Banking and Insurance Department spokesperson Dawn Thomas said in a statement.

“The department understands the importance of its role in reviewing insurance rates for families throughout our state, and will be carefully reviewing each rate request submitted by insurers to determine if the requested changes are in accordance with state law."

The department did not immediately provide a complete list of which insurers were seeking increases.

“The bottom line is that veterinarian cost increases of 10% should not lead to rate increases of between 33% and 56% in one year,” Gottheimer said at the Monday press event in Glen Rock. “There is a line between reasonable and unreasonable — and this crosses it.”

According to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, the average annual premium was $640.04 for dogs and $387.01 for cats in 2022.

For comparison, premiums in 2018 were $560.06 for dogs and $359.56 for cats, or a 16% and 7.6% increase, respectively.

Brian Hackett, director of government affairs at the Associated Humane Societies, an animal rescue organization based in Newark, said factors like inflation for pet goods and food, veterinarian retirements during the pandemic and the shortage of veterinary students are pushing up costs for insurance premiums.

“We’re seeing skyrocketing animal surrenders due to people being unable to afford their pets, due to people being evicted, not being able to afford veterinary care,” Hackett said.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Pet insurance rates: Companies want to triple them