Trupanion Receives Approval of Utility Patent
Trupanion, the Seattle-based pet insurance provider has announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office approved its utility patent entitled “Pet Insurance System and Method” for the technology behind the company’s proprietary software platform, Trupanion Express.
Trupanion Express offers a new approach for the current reimbursement model, which requires either hospitals to hold account receivables or pet owners to pay out of pocket at the time of checkout. In addition, there’s the need to complete paperwork related to the veterinary procedure and wait for confirmation if the procedure will be covered or not, to ultimately find out what the reimbursement amount will be. The software removes claim forms and eliminates the old-fashioned reimbursement model by allowing Trupanion members to only pay for their portion, all while increasing the speed in which hospitals get paid – mostly in under 5 minutes.
“Our technology eliminates the financial barrier to care by enabling Trupanion to pay veterinarians directly before the pet owner even leaves the hospital. With Trupanion Express we have changed the way pet owners are able to approach the costs of veterinary care, while enabling veterinarians to provide the best care possible” – Chief Veterinary Officer at Trupanion, Dr. Steve Weinrauch, BVMS, MRCVS.
“We want to be recognized as setting the industry standard in customer experience, and the approval of this patent helps solidify our positioning “ – CEO and Founder of Trupanion, Darryl Rawlings.
Trupanion Express is currently in thousands of hospitals across the US. To date, over 43,000 pets have received access to care through Trupanion Express. Over 233,000 veterinary invoices have been paid through Trupanion Express to date, and more than $67 million in claims have been paid directly to hospitals through Trupanion Express with $24,642 being the largest veterinary invoice paid so far.
In addition to the approval of the utility patent, Trupanion also holds a design patent on its Trupanion Express system.
