If you walk through any public park these days, you will see a lot more dogs than three years ago. The loneliness of the pandemic lockdowns sparked an explosion in pet ownership. In addition, the demographics of pet ownership have shifted. While it used to be grandma or grandpa who owned pets, Generation Z and millennials now represent about 70% of pet owners, according to some statistics. This has led to a big fight among insurers over this new market, and of course predictably led to new startups in the arena.
In the UK you will find UK ManyPets, Waggle, PetPlan, while in the US there are Lemonade, Figo, ManyPets and Trupanion. In the EU you will find Dalma (France), Lassie (Sweden) and ManyPets (Sweden).
Start pet insurance in the meantime Naples has decided to take a certain angle on this topic, offering not only pet insurance, but also pet health information, pet ownership education, and additional services.
It has now raised a £15 million Series A funding round led by DN Capital, and with the participation of the pet-focused Companion Fund, as well as Helvetia Venture Fund, M Tech Capital, Picus Capital, dmg ventures, Sarona Partners, T0 Ventures and FJ Labs.
Napo claims to have insured more than 35,000 pets in the year since its launch last December. It provides access to 24/7 online vet consultations, obesity awareness resources, and access to expert-led live classes to help puppies train their dogs.
In a statement, co-founder and CEO Jean-Philippe Doumeng said, “Our mental model is fundamentally different from traditional pet insurance. We align all stakeholders to look in the same direction by helping people take better care of their pets.”
Guy Ward Thomas, who led the deal at DN Capital, added: “We met all the ‘neo pet insurers’ in Europe… What set Napo apart was their focus on building a virtuous circle between educating owners, providing veterinary care and improving pet health – all of which leads to lower claims, lower premiums and happier customers in the long run.”
