Middle East & Africa Pet Insurance Market Outlook, 2027

Pet insurance is a policy of specialized property and casualty insurance that pet owners purchase to cover unforeseen costs such as veterinarian care, surgical procedures, and injury. Accidents and prescription pet medications are two of the most common causes of pet death. Owners of pets can benefit from pet insurance in a variety of ways. Some insurance cover congenital, hereditary, and chronic illnesses such as cancer, as well as the costs associated with them. CAT scanning, ultrasound imaging, and veterinarian examination costs are all methods of identifying the same. Prescription medication, MRI testing, and non-routine dental therapy are all examples of veterinarian. Some pets, on the other hand require regular tooth cleaning, infection, and flea prevention which is often not covered by insurance policies.

The report titled, Middle East & Africa Pet Insurance Market Outlook, 2027, categorizes the market to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following segments: based animal type (Cat, Dog & others), by insurance type (Accidental and Illness & Accident only endorsement) by end-user (Agency, Broker, Bancassurance, Direct writing) based on countries & major companies. The region can be better termed as the lowest contributor to the global market. The Middle East & Africa Pet Insurance market was valued at merely USD 0.14 Billion in 2016. The increasing rate of urbanization in developing countries like South Africa, increasing disposable income of people, rising knowledge about pet care, are expected to allow the market to grow at a rate of over 14% in the forecasted period. Pet ownership is on the rise in the region due to the growing number of single professionals, empty-nesters, couples who delay having children, and families who need additional guard dogs. Most of the dog insurance demand is met by expatriates as dogs are regarded ‘bad omen’ in Islam.

In Middle-East & Africa, more cats are kept as pets than dogs, as Islam considers dogs to be unclean. There are some regional cat breeds, like the Egyptian Mau that are kept as pets. However, the dog insurance type leads the market with a market share of nearly 75% in the year 2020. The share for dog insurance in the country is more due to higher exposure to illness as the high temperature of the region is unsuitable for them. In South Africa amongst breeds, the Jack Russel Terrier is the most popular enrolled dog, the Domestic Short-Hair the most popular cat, and the African Grey parrot the most popular exotic pet. In the coming years, the market growth rate of the other animal insurance segment is expected to be more than 23%.

Accident and Illness policy dominates the market with high concerns over the health of pets, especially dogs in the region. The segment holds nearly the whole market share in the year 2020. The vet fees in the developed countries of the region such as the UAE are sky-rocketing. This has created a need for pet insurance, especially for accident-only insurance in the urbanized sections. The segment is expected to grow with an exceptional CAGR through the forecasted period. In addition, in a still-struggling economy, with the rising cost of owning and caring for pets, pet insurance is becoming increasingly popular. Rising literacy rates and the growing preference of people to adopt a pet and delay having children is a supporting factor to the growth of the industry in the Middle East & Africa.

There are no major players in the UAE and Saudi owing to the lack of motivation among the pet owners and insufficient knowledge regarding the benefits of pet insurance. The agency segment in the region accounted for the highest market share, while the direct writing segment is to portray the highest CAGR in the coming period. The increasing popularity of the pet humanization concept is increasing the demand for pet grooming and care products. Owners, especially millennials, are willing to spend more on their animals to ensure a healthy and secure life. Private players tend to supply insurance policies with maximum coverage plans and minimum premium offers. Leading insurance agencies permit various novel pet schemes to retain consumers, which will further foster market growth in the region.

COVID-19 Impact

The covid 19 pandemic affected the market in a mixed manner which for the most part was negative. The only positive aspect brought forth by the pandemic in the market was the increase in adoption rate with people forced to sit home during the lockdown period. Other than this the economic uncertainty in the already economically struggling areas of the region the consumer looked to cut down on unnecessary expenses and considered pet insurance to be one.

Companies Included:

NationWide Mutual Insurance Company, PetFirst Pet insurance, RSA Group, Oriental Insurance, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co.Ltd.

Considered In the Report

• Geography: Middle East & Africa
• Base year: 2021
• Historical year: 2016
• Forecasted year: 2027

Countries covered:

• UAE
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa

Aspects covered in the report

• Market Size by Value for the period (2016-2027F)
• Market Share by Animal Type (Cat, Dog & others)
• Market Share by Insurance Type (Accidental and Illness & Accident only endorsement)
• Market Share by End User (Agency, Broker, Bancassurance, Direct writing)
• Market Share by Region
• Market Share by Country
• Market Share by Company

Intended Audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the Finance & Insurance Service industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.