Odie Pet Insurance Seeks to Expedite its Growth in the Trending Pet Insurance Market
Odie Pet Insurance, one of the newest pet insurance companies on the market, is raising an investment round to fund its growth strategy and to establish itself as a leader in the space in 2021. During the next 18-24 months, funding will be used to enhance Odie’s consumer facing technologies, continue business development and marketing efforts and acquire top-tier talent. The raise is being led by Bridge Point Capital based in New York City.
Throughout the last six to eight months, the pet industry has seen a tremendous boom in pet adoption rates. This number will add to the more than 184 million dogs and cats in the US according to the North American Pet Health Association’s (NAPHA) 2020 State of the Industry Study. Yet, this same study revealed that less than 2 percent of pet owners get their furry loved ones insured. Miles Thorson, Co-Founder and CEO of Odie Pet Insurance, sees this as a largely untapped market opportunity with the potential for rapid growth.
“We’re incredibly excited at the growing need for affordable and high-quality pet insurance. Since pet ownership has really skyrocketed in the U.S. during the pandemic, we feel the timing is better than ever to bring on capital in order to accelerate our growth and our ability to serve pet parents,” said Miles Thorson, Co-Founder & CEO, Odie Pet Insurance.
Odie’s unique distribution strategy is a two-pronged approach aligning itself with strategic insurance distribution partners and other pet sector affiliates in order to streamline and control costs. They’ve already received significant traction with enterprise level partners such as large employee benefits providers looking to expand their services within the fast-growing pet sector.
Thorson continues to say, “Our partners are drawn to our 35 years’ experience in the insurance industry and ability to provide them with the flexibility and openness to integrate with their current technology and workflows.”
Some of Odie’s key platform features include:
- Affordable Pricing – Their plans on average are 15 percent to 30 percent less expensive than equivalent products and offerings.
- Transparent Policies – Addressing a major problem of pet insurance, Odie provides customers with easy-to-understand coverage and transparent policies.
- Flexible Plan Options – Pet owners can fully customize their plan according to their budget and pet’s specific needs.
- Vertical Integration – The platform vertically integrates marketing & distribution, underwriting, program management and its carrier.
Odie is a tech-enabled pet health insurance program that helps pet owners pay for unexpected health and wellness expenses. They provide affordable and quality coverage that gives people the flexibility to customize a monthly plan according to their budget and pets’ needs. Headquartered in Agoura Hills, California with additional offices in New York City, Odie launched in early 2020 offering accident and illness policies for cats and dogs direct to consumer through their website.