Beginning September 2014, pet owners in Shanghai and other select locations can acquire insurance for their pet dogs and cats.
This privilege became available when two large insurance providers, People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, started offering insurance catering to both licensed and unlicensed pets.
These days that urban families have more disposable income, owning pets has become consequently popular. Pet owners are also able to provide a better standard of living and healthcare for their pets.
PICC and Ping An are not the first companies to offer insurance for pets. But they have the best coverage so far, in addition to the high-end DNA technology they use to identify pets for issuing quick treatments and insurance in case of sickness or accident.
Veterinary service providers in China use expensive drugs and technologies that contribute to higher vet fees. For instance, treating a cat's ear infection would cost the owner around 1,000 yuan at a known clinic in Shanghai.
But with PICC and Ping An's insurance plans, people will be able to save costs while giving better health services for their beloved pets.
PICC's pet plan is a national scheme that, aside from Shanghai, includes Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Nanjing. The company's annual fee of between 450 yuan and 3,380 yuan provides coverage for 132 diseases plus a premium from 5,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan.
Ping An's policy, which is available only in Shanghai, offers three annual fee options of 680 yuan, 1,280 yuan and 1980 yuan. The insurance specifies the age for cats and dogs, but covers medical costs, death allowance, advertising fee for lost animal and third-partly liability insurance.
According to China Animal Agriculture Association, there are approximately 80,000 dogs in China to date. The Capital Animal Welfare Association put the number of cats in Beijing alone to be over 200,000 in 2010.