Lemonade Launches Pet Insurance Policy
“Health insurance for pets dates back to over 100 years ago. It started with horses in the Netherlands, and the heir to that pet insurance is actually car insurance. Horses were a mode of transportation, and the insurance was meant to protect you if something happened to that mode of transportation. But pets are now members of the family.”
Lemonade, the insurance company powered by AI and behavioral economics, launched their previously announced Product line addition Pet Insurance today. With nearly 70% of its customer base having pets, a small fraction [~1-2% according to Lemonade CEO, Daniel Schreriber] of all US pet owners have insurance.
🐕 This is a new vertical of insurance since it launched its renters/home owners insurance in 2016.
🐕 Will cost users $12/month + an optional wellness package and extended Accident and Illness Package.
🐕 Policy covers a range of blood tests, urinalysis, x-rays, MRIs, labwork, CT scans and ultrasounds, as well as outpatient, specialty and emergency care procedures, along with hospitalization and surgery.
🐕 Medication is also covered to include injection and prescription meds.
🐕 Policy is only available to dog and cat owners.
Bound by rigid legal requirements, Lemonade has been looking to disrupt policy by introducing solutions like Policy 2.0 [deemed a “radically simplified insurance policy” that is open sourced] in the US to update older language established decades ago, but as it stands is currently only offered in Europe.
Earlier in the month, Lemonade opened extremely high in its IPO at $61.62 per share, up $32.62 or 112.48% which nearly doubled its value. To date it has raised $480M in institutional investment from firms like Sequoia, Allianz, and others.