# Why Pet Healthcare Benefits are a Strategic Advantage

This playbook lays out a strategic approach to offering pet healthcare benefits that are right for your organization – and your employees.

## What you'll learn:

### The limitations of traditional pet insurance

### The impact pet health issues have on employees

### How comprehensive pet healthcare benefits improve employee recruitment and retention

### Pet care is now a workforce issue

Pet ownership is on the rise, up nearly 15% since 2023. Owners don’t simply view their animals as pets; 98% consider them to be family members — and that makes pet insurance an increasingly valuable part of an organization’s voluntary benefits package.

### 94M

U.S. households have at least one pet

### 46%

of pet owners can’t afford a surprise vet bill under $1,000 without debt.

### Why traditional pet insurance often doesn’t get used

Employees expect it to work like medical insurance, but it’s often limited to illness/accidents.

Sticker shock (e.g., $50–$60/month).

Sign-up friction when employees have to link out to another system.

### “Pet insurance is one piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the full story…”

— Christie Horvath

[Download Report](https://wagmo.io/business/resource/pet-healthcare-playbook#download)