Kakao Pay pet insurance tops 10,000 contracts in 4 months

Kakao Pay Non-Life Insurance said Thursday its pet insurance product has surpassed 10,000 cumulative contracts just four months after launch.

The company attributed the strong uptake to growing demand from pet owners who enroll their animals at a young age to prepare for the financial burden of medical costs from illness or accidents.

By age group, pets aged 0 accounted for the largest share of policyholders at 39%, followed by 1-year-olds at 23%, 2-year-olds at 20% and 3-year-olds at 18%. Among pets aged 0 to 3, the younger the animal, the higher the enrollment rate.

Among coverage types, policyholders most commonly chose the surgery-and-hospitalization plan, followed by the surgery, hospitalization and outpatient plan, then the surgery-day-only plan. The average payout among claimants was 308,408 won ($213), while the largest single payout — 3.4 million won — covered treatment for portosystemic shunt, a congenital condition.

By pet type, dogs accounted for 80 percent of enrollments and cats 20 percent. Among dogs, Maltipoos were the most common breed at 28 percent, followed by Bichon Frises at 16 percent, mixed-breed dogs under 10 kilograms, Pomeranians and Maltese. Among cats, Korean Shorthairs led at 42 percent, with British Shorthairs second at 17 percent.

Kakao Pay Non-Life Insurance launched the pet insurance product in March. It covers same-day surgery costs up to 5 million won per incident and up to 40 million won annually, and includes not only surgical expenses but also MRI and CT scan fees, hospitalization costs and outpatient treatment charges that commonly arise during pet ownership. For a 30-year-old owner insuring a 1-year-old Maltese, the monthly premium starts at around 7,000 won for the surgery-day-only or surgery-and-hospitalization plans, and around 30,000 won for the comprehensive plan that also covers outpatient treatment.

The company earlier partnered with dog trainer Kang Hyung-wook to produce pet insurance content addressing illness, accidents and medical costs that arise during pet ownership, and the importance of preparing for them in advance.

"We will continue to introduce coverage and services that provide real, practical help in the daily lives of pet owners," said Jang Young-geun, chief executive of Kakao Pay Non-Life Insurance.