Knowing one's furbaby is experiencing pain or sickness can cause the same fret and helplessness for a devoted dog owner — of which those who secure pet insurance most likely are — as the emotions experienced by parents who are nursing a sick child. Today's families cherish their pets just like (and sometimes more than) their human relatives, particularly during this era of social distancing. It follows that 67% of U.S. households, or about 85 million families, own a pet, according to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA). That organization also determined that parents spent $75 billion in overall pet care in 2019. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance recently surveyed its 2019 claims to determine the top accidents and illnesses plaguing dogs in the U.S. The slideshow above reveals the percentage of Health Paws claims devoted to each dog ailment along with an insured's average expense for treating those afflictions. The data above paired with a bit of research into common ailments for specific dog breeds can help insurance agents steer clients toward the right type and amount of pet insurance. If those individuals feel anything about their dogs like wildlife photographer and television personality Roger Caras did — "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole," he said — pet insurance should be an easy sell. Consider that the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) reported the pet insurance sector for the U.S. and Canada posted a combined gross written premium of $1.42 billion in 2018, up from $1.15 billion in 2017, according to research compiled by the Insurance Information Institute. The total number of pets insured reached 2.43 million at year-end 2018, up by over 17% from 2017. Related: |

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