Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Launches Simplified Underwriting Pet Insurance for Policyholders with Pre-existing Conditions

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance announced on the 20th that it has launched two types of simplified underwriting pet insurance policies that allow enrollment even if there is a history of existing diseases or treatments.

The new products are '(Non-life) Petpermint Dangjoheun Our Family Dog Insurance' and '(Non-life) Petpermint Nyangjoheun Our Family Cat Insurance.' This marks the introduction of simplified underwriting insurance for pets with pre-existing conditions in the pet insurance market, 13 years after the launch of simplified underwriting products for people with pre-existing conditions in 2012.

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance developed this pre-existing condition product based on high-quality data by building a pet-specific cohort statistic (statistics tracking the medical history of humans or animals).

Previously, enrollment was difficult if there was a history of veterinary treatment within the last three months, but this product allows enrollment if there has been no hospitalization or surgery experience. Insurance benefits are paid up to a maximum of 5 million KRW annually based on cumulative medical expenses, enabling coverage for high-cost incidents such as surgeries for pets.

Another advantage is that the premiums are lower compared to existing products. Premiums for dogs are reduced by up to 36%, and for cats by up to 66%.

Additional premium savings can be achieved through various discount benefits. A 2% discount on premiums is applied when the pet registration number is provided. Through the ‘DaPet Discount’ service, a 5% discount is available when enrolling two or more pets, and a 10% discount when enrolling four or more pets.

This simplified underwriting pet insurance product is available for pets aged from 60 days to 8 years old. With renewals every 3 or 5 years, coverage extends up to 20 years of age, minimizing concerns about premium increases and underwriting rejections. The combined coverage ratio for medical expenses is 80%.

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance expects that the launch of this pre-existing condition pet insurance will contribute to increasing the enrollment rate, which remains only 1.7% despite government efforts to promote pet insurance.

A Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance representative said, “Previously, pets with pre-existing conditions could not enroll in insurance, but this new product expands eligibility to include pets with treatment histories. As a leading company in pet insurance, we will continue to strive to foster a healthy pet culture.”