The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Capital Blue Cross customers can now secure health insurance for their pets through the Philly-based company Petplan.
"We're excited. We think we're the first" Blue to offer pet insurance, Stacy Balaban, Capital's senior director for strategic development, told me. Employers welcomed the "voluntary benefit" because it cost them nothing - premiums for varying schedules of pets, deductibles and coverage levels are paid by plan members, and the policies are administered electronically by Petplan. Capital gets paid a commission on each policy. "It helps diversify our revenue stream," Balaban said. "Our board's been very supportive."
For a lot of Americans, "pets are family members," Balaban added. Some 500 Harrisburg-area residents jammed the company's "pet/people health fair" last weekend collecting information on Petplan and other services.
Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read the full story
here.