HARRISBURG, Jan. 20 – For many Pennsylvanians, pets are chosen family who deserve all the love, affection and care their human family receive. As a proud parent — to two humans and two dogs — state Rep. Mike Schlossberg takes that seriously.

“Lexi and Chrissy are as much Schlossbergs as Auron and Ayla. To some degree, they get better treatment than I do,” Schlossberg joked.

As part of his family’s care for their two dogs, the Schlossbergs purchase pet insurance to ensure financial support to address emergency medical costs should any arise. They are not alone. Pet insurance has become a multi-billion-dollar industry and now covers nearly 4 million pets across the United States.

Despite this rapid growth, there are no Pennsylvania laws specifically addressing pet insurance contracts. While not Schlossberg’s experience, this sometimes leaves families holding the bag for expensive veterinarian bills due to unknown waiting periods or coverage exclusions buried in highly legalized language in the insurance policies.

To better protect consumers and families, Schlossberg will introduce legislation providing a framework for the sale, solicitation and negotiation of pet insurance policies in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania offers consumer protections for a variety of insurance policies, whether it be health, life, homeowner or auto insurance,” Schlossberg said. “Pet insurance provides valuable coverage, and consumers deserve to know what is in their policies, what care their pets will receive and the true costs.”

Schlossberg said Democrats and Republicans own pets, so he’s hopeful that his legislation will garner bipartisan support in the state House and Senate before moving to the desk of new Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has two dogs, Bentley and Bo.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Tom Andrews
House Democratic Communications Office

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