Originally when pet insurance was first introduced about 30 years ago it was designed only for domestic dogs and cats. Today in the United States there are more than one hundred and fifty million dogs and cats owned as pets. About half a million (or less than half of one percent) of these pets are currently insured. Accordingly it stands to reason that the market potential for expanding the insurance for domestic dogs and cats is absolutely huge. Horses are also the subject of specialized insurance, especially if the animal is a race or show horse.

It is reality that almost any kind of animal will eventually get sick and require medical care so what about insurance for other types of animals like birds, snakes, lizards, or turtles? A new style of pet health cover known as exotic pet insurance has been developed to cover these less common animals.

Exotic pet insurance originated in the United Kingdom well before it was introduced into the United States. In the very early days of pet health insurance there was not a lot of focus on this type of product because insurance for even domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, was not particularly popular.

So the insurance market seemed to ignore the exotic pet sector of the market on the misconception that animals such as birds and lizards rarely seemed to get sick. The insurers were of the opinion that the cover would not find traction and so they concentrated their efforts on the traditional pets. All this changed, however, when pet health insurance saw a boom of companies being established back in 1996 and 1997 and many of the new comers to the market gave their attention to untapped aspects of the pet insurance market.

Pet owners in the United Kingdom have a very large assortment of different animals as pets. The variety of animals led to advancement in pet insurance to cater for all aspects of the market. The United Kingdom, by virtue of its relatively small size, makes it an ideal place in which to test run new ideas. The cost of developing and promoting new products just like exotic pet insurance is much more simple in the UK than trying to do something similar in the United States.

After the initial success of exotic pet insurance in the United Kingdom this style of coverage started to find its way to the United States. Today even very large pet insurers such as Veterinary Pet Insurance now offer exotic pet insurance but it is not their main line of business. As is the case with the vast majority of pet health insurers they still focus on insuring dogs and cats.

The increased popularity of exotic pets has resulted in a corresponding demand for an appropriate style of insurance, and as such there are now a number of companies that are offering these specialized plans. So if you are in need of exotic pet insurance for your less common animal, just do a little bit of research and you are sure to find an insurance provider willing to assist you.