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Walk through any public park these days and you will see a hell of a lot more dogs than you might have three years ago. The loneliness of the pandemic lockdowns led to an explosion in pet ownership. Plus, The demographic of pet ownership has shifted. Whereas previously it was Granny or Grandpa who tended to be the pet owner, now, Gen Z and millennials represent around 70% of pet owners, according to some statistics. This has created a big fight between insurers over this new market, and has of course predictably led to new startups in the arena.
In the U.K. you can find UK ManyPets, Waggle, PetPlan, while in the U.S. there’s Lemonade, Figo, ManyPets and Trupanion. Over in the EU you’ll find Dalma (France), Lassie (Sweden) and ManyPets (Sweden).
Meanwhile, pet insurance startup Napo has decided to take a particular angle on this topic, not only offering pet insurance but also pet health prevention information, pet ownership education and additional services.
It’s now raised a £15 million Series A funding round, led by DN Capital, and with the participation of the petcare-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 over 35,000 pets in the year since its launch last December. It offers access to 24/7 online vet consultations, obesity awareness resources and access to expert-led live classes to help puppy 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 are aligning all stakeholders to look in the same direction by helping people to take better care of their pets.”
Guy Ward Thomas, who led the deal at DN Capital, added: “We met all of 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 leading to lower claims, lower premiums and happier customers in the long-term.”