The US pet insurance market reached $4.74 billion in written premium and about 6.4 million insured pets at the end of 2024, part of a $5.2 billion North American total that grew 20.8% in a single year [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. Penetration was still only about 5.46% of US dogs and 2.04% of cats, so the category is growing fast off a small base, not approaching saturation [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. For a buyer the relevant takeaway is what that growth implies for pricing, which is the one part of the market story that touches the wallet.
What the data shows
NAPHIA's State of the Industry report is the authoritative US source because it captures roughly 99% of written pet health insurance premium in the US and Canada, so the totals are close to a census of the market rather than an estimate from a sample [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. The 2024 year-end numbers it reports:
- North American written premium: $5.2 billion in 2024, up 20.8% from $4.2 billion in 2023
- US written premium specifically: $4.74 billion, up 21.4% year over year
- Pets insured, North America: 7.03 million in 2024, up from 6.25 million in 2023
- US pets insured: about 6.4 million; US penetration 5.46% of dogs, 2.04% of cats
The growth rate has been durable, not a one-year spike. The market ran $3.51 billion in 2022 and $4.27 billion in 2023 before reaching $5.2 billion in 2024, a roughly 22% to 24% annual revenue increase three years running [NAPHIA: North American Pet Insurance Industry Surpasses $3.5 Billion, 2023-05] [NAPHIA: Pet Health Insurance Industry Continued Exceptional Growth Rate In 2023, 2024-04]. Pets insured grew at a similar double-digit clip over the same window.
Where the growth is coming from
Revenue growth in this market has two components, and separating them is what tells a buyer something useful. The first is more pets enrolling: the insured-pet count rose from 6.25 million to 7.03 million in North America over 2023 to 2024, a low-single-digit-millions increase in absolute terms [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. The second is higher premium per pet: the US dog accident-and-illness average rose from $675.61 to $749.29 over the same year [NAPHIA State of the Industry, Average Premiums, 2024]. The 20.8% revenue jump is roughly the product of more pets times more premium per pet, which means part of the headline growth is the price increase a buyer is paying, not just new customers.
The enrollment side of the growth is constrained by where penetration sits. At 5.46% of US dogs and 2.04% of cats insured, more than 94% of dogs and 98% of cats in the US carry no policy, so the runway is large and the category is nowhere near a ceiling [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. That low penetration is also the demand context for the price increases: a fast-growing book of newer, often younger pets ages over time, and as it ages claims frequency and severity rise, which feeds the per-pet premium growth documented on why pet insurance premiums rise.
North American written premium: $3.51B (2022), $4.27B (2023), $5.2B (2024). Insured pets, North America: roughly 5.4M (2022), 6.25M (2023), 7.03M (2024) [NAPHIA: North American Pet Health Insurance Industry Market Reaches $5.2B in Written Premium, 2025-04]. Insured pets rose about 12% from 2023 to 2024 while premium rose about 21%, so roughly half of the revenue growth in that year came from higher premium per pet rather than from new enrollments. For a buyer that means the market's growth and your renewal increase are partly the same number.
What the growth does not signal, on the cited evidence, is improving buyer outcomes scaling with the market. Consumer Reports' survey of 3,583 policyholders found 44% received full reimbursement at their policy level after the copay on their most recent claims [Brian Vines, Consumer Reports Pet Insurance Buying Guide, 2026]. A larger market is not, on this data, a market where the typical claim is paid in full, so growth is not a quality endorsement a shopper should read into.
What it means for you
For a prospective buyer, the market-size numbers are context, not a decision input, with one exception: the price-driven half of the growth is the part that lands on your renewal. Understanding that roughly half of the 2024 revenue jump came from per-pet premium increases reframes a renewal hike as a market-wide trend rather than your carrier singling you out, and it argues for benchmarking your increase against the cited series on average pet insurance premium by year rather than assuming it is anomalous.
For a switcher, the durable double-digit growth and 94%-plus uninsured dog population mean carrier competition for new enrollees is intense, which generally helps a shopper's bargaining position, but it does not change the terms that decide whether a policy pays out: the deductible type, the annual cap, the exam-fee carve-out, the orthopedic waiting period. A bigger, faster-growing market does not change those terms for any one policy, so the market size is a reason to read the structure more carefully, not less. The term-by-term framework for reading that structure is in the guides hub. For the cost angle see pet insurance cost trends in 2026; the full tracking desk is at /news/ and the review method is at /methodology/. FurVerdict is an independent editorial site and is not a licensed insurance agent; verify current terms with the provider before purchasing.