PetSure's mission to drive awareness of pet insurance and its benefits
“You don’t question insuring a car, but you do question insuring a pet.” That’s the challenge facing Jenny Williams, chief marketing officer of pet health company PetSure.
PetSure's new ad campaign aims to boost awareness of the need for pet insurance
Pet insurance is a growing market; however, despite being a nation of animal lovers, market penetration in Australia remains low. Just 17% of dog owners and 12% of cat owners, according to statistics from Animal Medicines Australia (AMA). This is despite 69% of households owning a pet, and that figure continues to rise.
Williams says the challenge is to drive awareness among Australian pet owners of the benefits of pet insurance. It is a big challenge, particularly in the post-pandemic market where pet ownership surged, with nearly two in every five dogs acquired since the onset of Covid-19.
"The pandemic led to a huge spike in pet ownership, and we saw that across the board," says Williams. "however, many first-time pet owners simply aren’t aware of the costs associated with vet consultations, routine care or pet healthcare treatments. The mission is about making people more aware."
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According to reports, Australians spend nearly $500 per year on vet services for dogs and just over half that $260 for cats. However, this does not factor in the steep costs that can occur if your fur baby eats something it shouldn't, has an accident or becomes ill, according to PetSure.
"We did some research into why people don't take out pet insurance, and one reason is that people don't perceive it as worth it. If they have a younger pet, they are less prone to disease, but our data shows younger animals are more prone to accidents. That's the premise behind the campaign, to raise people's awareness of a pet's propensity to have accidents regardless of how well they are looked after or how careful you are as an owner."
In a bid to boost awareness, PetSure has launched a campaign for its innovative claims solution GapOnly, which enables pet owners with insurance policies to claim on the spot and only pay the gap fee.
The campaign, which incorporates outdoor advertising, paid social, PR and influencer channels, explores the different scenarios and mishaps that pet owners face.
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While the ads target a broad market of pet owners, with programmatic OOH targeting locations near pet stores and vet clinics and re-targeting through digital media.
Globally the pet insurance market is projected to reach $39.6 bn by 2030, led by Europe and the US. However, an increase in companies offering pet insurance coverage in Australia is helping to drive growth. New entrants include supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, health insurance providers Bupa and Medibank and dedicated pet insurance companies Petsy and Pet Insurance Australia.