How does birthday pricing work?

When you sign up for pet health coverage, you will be given a monthly (or sometimes annual) cost that you will pay to maintain that coverage. This price is subject to change. With birthday pricing, the concept is simple — your pet’s coverage cost goes up every time they have a birthday.

Providers who use this practice often justify it by saying that a pet’s health risk naturally increases the older they get. However, the truth is that dogs and cats can get sick or injured at any age.

Naturally, birthday pricing can be frustrating to pet owners because it penalises dogs and cats simply for getting older, whether or not they have had an injury or illness. These automatic increases can also cause your rates to more than double over time.

Other factors that can raise your monthly cost

It’s normal for your monthly pet health coverage rates to go up throughout their lifetime due to a variety of factors:

• Economic inflation
• Changing veterinary care costs / Operational costs
• Your pet got sick or injured (some companies will raise your rates based on how often you are using coverage)
• Switching insurance providers after new health conditions have appeared
• Loss of an existing discount (it can be tempting to choose a plan that starts at an extra low rate, but be careful — these discounts are often temporary)

According to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), pet insurance premiums have risen 24% each year since 2016 alone. This largely coincides with a rise in veterinary care spending, which went from $13 billion in 2010 to over $30 billion in 2020.

What pet insurance doesn’t rates increase because of age?

Most pet insurance providers do use birthday pricing, but Trupanion does not practice this at any stage in your pet’s life. Instead, your monthly cost with Trupanion is set in accordance with their age at enrolment along with typical veterinary costs for your pet’s breed and location.

That’s not saying your price won’t ever increase — as veterinary costs go up, so will the costs to insure your pet. For example, your price may be adjusted from time to time if the claims experience of your pet’s cohort (your pet’s group of similarly situated pets) changes from what it was when you signed up. But unlike other insurance providers, your price will never change just because your pet has a birthday, or if you file claims.

Learn more about Trupanion’s pricing philosophy.