In this photo taken on March. 21, 2020, a group of dogs greets their owner at a pet cafe in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of pet insurance claims more than doubled last year, along with the increase in the use of personal credit cards at veterinary clinics.
In contrast to the reduction in visits to hospitals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, veterinary clinics have not been hit hard by the virus.
According to industry sources, there were 55,800 pet insurance claims filed last year, more than doubling the 23,700 claims reported a year ago.
The nation’s eight major credit card companies saw the use of personal credit cards at veterinary clinics rise in a range between 9.7 and 17 percent last year.
A credit card processing firm BC Card Co. compared the monthly credit card usage trend between 2019 and 2020 and found that credit card usage at veterinary clinics marked a sharp growth of 29 percent in May and 26 percent in June when the government extended the first emergency relief funds.
“People appear to have paid extra care to their pets last year as they spent time more with them, as work-from-home policies became commonplace,” an industry official said.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
