Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group Studies Connect Pet Health Insurance Education and Positive Outcomes Amongst Veterinary Teams, Clients, and Pets

Findings include 30 percent revenue growth, increase in patient numbers, demonstrated acceptance of veterinary staff recommendations, and overall increased client satisfaction

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Crum & Forster

Dec 08, 2020, 14:13 ET

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Two studies conducted by Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group™ (C&F Pet) show the positive impacts veterinary hospitals can experience by proactively educating clients about pet health insurance.

The clinical studies, led by Wendy Hauser, DVM, C&F Pet AVP of Veterinary Relations, were conducted at four independently-owned, geographically-diverse companion animal general medicine veterinary hospitals. The study "How Does Proactively Educating Clients About Pet Health Insurance Impact Veterinary Teams and Clients?" was a one-year study to measure changes in both staff and client attitudes when proactive discussions about pet health insurance were implemented. The study "How Proactively Educating Clients About Pet Health Insurance Impacts the Care Pets Receive" was a two-year study to measure and compare hospital revenue and patient visits for insured pets and non-insured pets when proactive discussions about pet health insurance occurred.

"These results clearly demonstrate that patients, clients, and veterinary teams benefit when pet health insurance is a part of the strategy to enable clients to provide care to their pets," said Hauser. "Furthermore, the study showed that a hospital financially benefits from training teams how to proactively make discussions around pet health insurance part of every client's education."

Key Findings

Average total gross revenue in the study hospitals increased by 30.5%, compared to 9.8% in benchmarked hospitals.
An increase in client annual patient visits was seen within the study hospitals, with a 23.8% increase for insured dogs and a 17.6% increase for insured cats.
When asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the hospital, clients reported being more satisfied in 2018 (76.3%) when compared to 2017 (71%), with a 5.3% increase in clients stating that they were 'extremely satisfied' during the study period.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of veterinary team members in the post-study period stated that clients 'almost always' accept their recommendations. Only 3% had this perception in the pre-study period survey.

In addition, the study identified five key barriers preventing veterinary teams from educating their clients about pet health insurance, as well as ways to overcome them. For example, discomfort in talking with clients about pet health insurance was discovered to be a barrier. One solution hospitals found was to empower teams by removing any expectation that staff are expected to be knowledgeable about the specifics of a pet insurance policy and gave the team permission to refer clients with questions directly to the pet insurance companies.

"Throughout my 30-year career, I spent time on the front lines and was also a practice owner. I can certainly relate to the barriers we discovered during the study, and I was very impressed by the solutions the hospital owners and their staff were able to identify," added Hauser. "The reality is that pet owners often find themselves making decisions regarding the health of their dog or cat based on finances. Insurance, like the policies offered by our ASPCA® Pet Health Insurance, can help ease the financial burden and allow the veterinarian to provide the recommended course of treatment."

In addition to Hauser, Kathleen Kaiser Schoen, Veterinary Services Manager for C&F Pet, and Lori R. Kogan, Ph.D., authored the studies.

Information and results from the studies can be found here.

About Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group™
Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group (C&F Pet) is committed to helping pet parents get access to reliable and affordable pet health insurance plans. With a history dating back to 1997, making it one of the original providers in the U.S., C&F Pet utilizes various go-to-market strategies, including direct-to-consumer, employee benefits, white labels, and other partnerships. Insurance plans are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and produced by C&F Insurance Agency, Inc.(NPN # 3974227), a Crum & Forster company. More information can be found at www.cfpetinsurance.com.

The ASPCA® is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. Through a licensing agreement, the ASPCA receives a royalty fee that is in exchange for use of the ASPCA's marks and is not a charitable contribution. More information on ASPCA Pet Health Insurance can be found online at www.aspcapetinsurance.com.

Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group, Crum & Forster, and C&F are registered trademarks of United States Fire Insurance Company. Crum & Forster is comprised of leading and well-established property and casualty business units.

Media Contact:
Travis Reynolds, AVP, Media Relations
[email protected]
(234) 231-1830

SOURCE Crum & Forster