Pets are family. They make us smile, laugh, get off the couch, go for a walk, and bring additional purpose to our days. As a pet parent, you do everything you can to ensure you care for your pets the best you can, whether you have a dog or cat. However, pet care comes with veterinary bills, which can lead to increased financial anxiety. Some pet parents purchase pet health insurance policies for their pets, while others stash away funds in pet-specific savings accounts or dedicate credit cards, such as CareCredit, solely for pet care costs. And when it comes to Gen Z versus Baby Boomers, each generation tends to handle pet parenting differently.
To dive deeper into this, Pets Best conducted a study to look at the habits of households with pets. The study, Pet Parenthood Today, covered various topics, ranging from how pet owners spend time with their pets, their shared experiences, financial stresses related to pet care, generational differences in pet ownership, and more.
Pet parents in the study reported that living with pets led to positive emotions such as joy, happiness, companionship, loyalty, completeness, and relaxation. Not surprisingly, 83% of pet parents say they are happier because of being a pet parent. Additional themes that came up for pet parents in our survey were viewing pets as family members, feeling loved by their pets and love for their pets, and being calmer when in the presence of their pets. And 79% of pet owners said they couldn’t imagine not ever having a pet in their life.
Our study looked at how Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Boomers handle pet care and found that each generation has different pet parenting policies. Gen Z (34%) and Millennials (36%) are the top generations most likely to use pet health insurance to finance the costs of having a pet.
The generation of pet parents also influenced how they handle the costs of pet care, with Boomers, for instance, being more likely to put pet-related costs on a credit card and Gen Z more inclined to have a dedicated savings account just for their pets. Millennials are also 3x more likely to use pet insurance to be prepared for the unexpected than boomers.
With Gen Z and Millennials making up 54% of the labor force as of mid-2024, the number of pet parents enrolling in pet insurance will likely continue increasing, making it a worthwhile addition for organizations looking to cater to their younger employees.
4 out of 5 pet owners reported feeling some form of anxiety about pet care costs, regardless of whether they have pet insurance or not. But pet owners with pet health insurance shared that while finances can be stressful, having policies for their pets helped them feel better equipped to manage things. People whose pets are insured felt less anxious about paying vet bills ranging from $250 to over $1,000 than those without pet health insurance.
Pet parents with pet health insurance plans reported being 5x more likely to use a pet wellness plan versus those without pet insurance. They were also 2x more likely to use a pet-related credit card, 2x more likely to have a dedicated savings account just for their pets, and less likely to put their pet care costs on a regular credit card.
Across the board, people with insured and uninsured pets identified the cost of pet care as their top pet parenting worry, with 81% of respondents feeling anxious about how much raising a pet would cost. The top concern was whether they could afford to pay for an unexpected vet care emergency. Additional stressors were pet care costs for aging pets, the cost of routine pet care, the overall costs of pet parenting, how a pet parent would care for a pet if they lost their job, and whether they could afford the type of pet food their pet needs.
Pet parents with pet care insurance said they tended to rely on a pet wellness plan, a payment plan with their veterinarian, discounted pet pharmacies, or a dedicated savings account for their pet as their preferred methods of covering pet costs. On the other hand, those without insurance were much more likely to rely on putting pet care expenses on a credit card, asking family and friends for financial help, or visiting a low-cost clinic or veterinarian to pay for pet care.
Check out Pets Best to see how they can help keep the cost of pet parenting down so that you can focus more on spending time with your pets and less time stressing about vet bills.
