Nationwide announces pet insurance underwriting actions

Nationwide is dropping coverage for about 100,000 pets across the country due to inflation, cost of veterinary care, and other factors.

The insurer said that it is taking underwriting actions which will enable the company to maintain long-term viability and profitability. Nationwide issued the following statement today:

“As pet lovers ourselves, we understand the emotions connected to the protection of our family pets. Inflation in the cost of veterinary care and other factors have led to recent underwriting changes and plan availability in some states — difficult actions that are necessary to ensure a financially sustainable future for our pet insurance line of business.

These measures, being taken at a state level, comply with the law and our contracts. They will impact approximately 100,000 policies between this spring and the summer of 2025. Impacted policyholders will be notified in writing.

We certainly empathize with the disappointment many of our pet families feel and will fully stand by the protections for which they have paid. Given the current environment, our rates will continue to be fair and appropriately priced for the plan, pet, and breed.

We are proud that we consistently pay for covered claims each and every day, amounting to billions of dollars over the past four decades. We are making these tough decisions now so that we can continue to be here for even more pets in the future.”