Pet insurance is a growing segment of the industry given the fact that owners spent more than $30 million in 2009 on veterniary care. The most common (and expensive) conditions, which required surgery were, by species:
Dogs
1. Benign skin mass.
2. Skin abscess, inflammation, or pressure ulcer.
3. Tooth extraction
4. Torn ACL or cartilage.
5. Malignant skin mass.
6. Cancer of the spleen.
7. Cancer of the eyelid.
8. Bladder stones.
9. Cancer of the liver.
10. Auricular hematoma (fluid filled ear.)
The average cost for the number one surgical claim in dogs, the removal of a benign skin mass, was $999.
Cats
1. Tooth extraction.
2. Skin abscess, inflammation, or pressure ulcer.
3. Benign skin mass.
4. Bladder stones.
5. Cancer of the abdominal wall.
6. Malignant skin mass.
7. Multiple bite wounds.
8. Cancer of the liver.
9. Cancer of the mouth.
10. Cancer of the nasal cavity.
The average cost for the number one surgical claim in cats, a tooth extraction, was $927.
Currently about 485,000 pets are insured in the United States.