Nearly 50K Florida Pet Parents Face Double-Digit Pet Insurance Premium Hikes | Insurify

Staff WriterThe Courier-Times

More than 48,000 pet-owning Floridians will see their premiums spike in the next few months after state regulators green-lit rate increases for three pet insurance companies.

The rate hikes will climb as high as 35.6% for people with accident-only coverage underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company. In their rate filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, insurers pointed to high claims costs as driving their need for rate increases.

Most affected policyholders will see double-digit rate increases

American Pet won approval for increases that will affect more than 3,200 policyholders, including 1,618 Trupanion for Chewy Health policies.

The insurer's accident-only customers will see the largest increase of 35.6%. Rates for accident and illness plans will climb 24%, and Trupanion rates will rise by 12.9%, according to the company's state filing.

The increases will take effect Feb. 1, 2026, and will apply to all new and renewing policies.

Approximately 21,800 Healthy Paws policyholders will see their premiums increase by 14.6% starting as early as this month. ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company underwrites Healthy Paws in Florida. The Florida Department of Insurance approved the insurer's request for an effective date of Nov. 17 for all new and renewing policies.

More than 23,700 Metropolitan General Health Insurance policyholders will also see rate increases. The insurer won approval to increase rates across multiple policy types, including exotic pet coverage, illness and injury, and preventive care. The overall rate increase will be 26%, with a retroactive start date of Oct. 1.

What's next: The state of Florida's pet insurance market

Florida is the third-largest market for pet insurance in the U.S., accounting for 6.4% of the industry's gross written premium, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. The state is home to 9.6 million cats and more than 500,000 dogs, according to Florida Animal Friend. And about 5 million Florida households have at least one pet, according to a Dogster analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

The average cost of pet insurance in Florida is $42 per month for dogs and $21 per month for cats as of Nov. 1, Insurify data shows.

The state's pet insurance costs are in line with the national averages of $43 monthly for dogs and $23 for cats.

In early 2025, the Florida legislature passed a bill to further regulate pet insurance. The new law, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, sets disclosure and marketing requirements for pet insurance companies operating in the state. It's one of only 14 states that regulate pet insurance as a separate insurance product. None of those states cap pet insurance rate increases.