Pethealth to Combine with Crum & Forster Accident & Health to Create Fourth Largest Pet Insurance Entity in US Market
Crum & Forster, Accident & Health announces Pethealth will complete a reorganization transaction that will result in Pethealth combining with the Crum & Forster family and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Crum & Forster Holdings Corp, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.
Pethealth, also a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax, entered the pet insurance industry in 1998 and has become one of North America’s leading producers of medical insurance for cats and dogs. Combined under the A&H umbrella with the guidance of A&H President Gary McGeddy, Pethealth and Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group will represent a significant force in the pet insurance industry.
“We are excited to welcome the Pethealth team to the C&F Accident & Health family,” said McGeddy. “This partnership will place us fourth in the $1.6 billion pet insurance market, and we look forward to working with the team to strategically move us up the rankings and offering the best possible cat and dog medical insurance solutions. Pet insurance will, without doubt, be a significant contributor to A&H’s projected growth, even more so with this alignment.”
Sean Smith, CEO of Pethealth since 2014, will continue in his role with Pethealth and will join the A&H executive team, reporting directly to McGeddy.
“We have a WIN-WIN-WIN focus at Pethealth,” said Smith. “Any undertaking we broach has to be a WIN for pets and pet parents, a WIN for animal welfare and a WIN for our organizations and our people and this move into the Crum & Forster A&H division represents all these items. We’ve loved the Fairfax culture since the day Fairfax acquired Pethealth and are excited to continue to accelerate this culture–onward and upward with Crum & Forster.”
Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group (C&F Pet) has a history dating back to 1997, making it one of the original providers in the U.S. C&F Pet utilizes various go-to-market strategies, including direct-to-consumer, employee benefits, white labels and other partnerships.
Robert Capobianco, SVP C&F Pet, noted, “We are looking forward to leveraging the collective expertise of our leadership team, collaborating with Pethealth to envision a pet insurance and services enterprise that will become the preeminent house of brands in the marketplace. We will leverage our combined tools, talent and technology to help even more pets live longer, healthier lives.”