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AAHA

Trupanion First to Earn AAHA Seal of Acceptance

DENVER - The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has awarded the first AAHA Seal of Acceptance to Trupanion for their catastrophic pet insurance policy. The AAHA Seal of Acceptance program was established to help inform pet owners about their options regarding the need to meet their financial responsibilities for quality pet health care.

"When the cost may go beyond reasonable financial means of the family budget, many pet owners are forced to euthanize their pet or incur burdensome debt," said Dr. John Albers, AAHA executive director. "Studies have shown that many pet owners can manage expenses up to $500, but would have difficulty with expenses beyond that level."

Many pet owners are now considering pet health insurance policies as a mean to cover their pet's medical expenses. AAHA has urged the pet insurance industry to make high-deductible policies available. With insurance, higher deductibles reduce premiums and make pet insurance a more viable option. The Trupanion high-deductible pet insurance policy has been awarded the AAHA Seal of Acceptance because it has met the program's specific criteria.

"Trupanion is honored to receive the Seal of Acceptance from such a well-respected association," said Darryl Rawlings, Trupanion CEO. "We share AAHA's goals of maintaining high standards for veterinary care and ensuring that pet owners are able to afford necessary veterinary treatment."

Policies awarded the AAHA Seal of Acceptance will be re-evaluated annually to ensure that they follow the Association's guidelines. For more information about AAHA, the AAHA Seal of Acceptance, or referral to an AAHA-accredited animal hospital, please visit www.healthypet.com.

About AAHA
Established in 1933, AAHA is well known among veterinarians and pet owners for its standards for hospitals and pet health care. AAHA is the only organization that accredits animal hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Approximately 3,000 AAHA-accredited hospitals voluntarily choose to be evaluated on 900 standards in the following areas: quality of care, diagnostic & pharmacy, management, medical records, and facility. For more information about AAHA, please visit www.healthypet.com.

About Trupanion
Trupanion was established in 1999 in Canada as Vetinsurance. Trupanion is available in the US to puppies and kittens who enroll before their first birthday. Enrolled pets receive $20,000 of coverage for diagnostic tests, surgeries, and medications if they get sick or are injured. Trupanion's mission is to protect the cherished bond between pets and their families by ensuring that pets are able to receive optimal veterinary care.

Business in New York has gone to the dogs!

Trupanion, pet insurance made easyTM, launches in the Empire State.

New York, March 18th, 2008 - Trupanion revolutionizes pet insurance by enrolling puppies and kittens that are under a year old and offering them up to $20,000 of lifetime coverage. Pet parents lock in their coverage and can rest easy knowing that their new family member will be taken care of. By enrolling pets when they are young, Trupanion's goal is to reduce the denial of claims due to pre-existing conditions. Trupanion is rolling out across the US and is available starting today throughout the state of New York.

The annual US pet market totals more than $41 billion, larger than the movie, music and video game industries combined. Americans clearly love their pets and shell out big dollars to pamper their loyal family members. However, in the US, only 1% of all pet owners currently insure their pets compared to 18% in the UK and 58% in Sweden. Prior to Trupanion, US companies have not been able to effectively inspire trust in a pet insurance product. Trupanion believes that the US penetration rates will increase as customers discover the value in knowing their pets' health needs will be met.

"Trupanion's approach is unique," said Darryl Rawlings, founder and CEO of Trupanion, "By enrolling puppies and kittens only, Trupanion dramatically reduces the probability of pre-existing conditions making us a claims paying company rather than a claims denying one."

Trupanion is poised to capture the market with a combination of simple, valuable, and dependable benefits to pet parents:

  • $20,000 worth of lifetime coverage
  • Premiums do not increase as the pet ages or when pet parents file claims
  • Pet parents are covered at any veterinarian
  • 9 out of 10 claims are approved and processed within 24 hours
  • 90% of all approved claim costs are covered
  • Trupanion owns the insurance company that underwrites the coverage, which reduces costs and speeds up the claims paying process

Business in California has gone to the dogs!

Trupanion, pet insurance made easyTM, launches in California.

Seattle, August 27, 2008 Trupanion pet insurance has just launched in the state of California. Pet insurance through Trupanion is currently available in many states across the US, with plans to rapidly expand to the entire US in the next few months.

In 2007 the US pet market industry totaled more than $41 billion, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), roughly a quarter of which was spent on veterinary care.

The US pet insurance market has only captured about 1% of the pet population, compared to 18% in the UK and 48% in Sweden. Prior to Trupanion, US companies have not been able to effectively inspire trust in a pet insurance product. Trupanion believes that the US penetration rates will increase as customers discover the value in knowing their pets health needs will be met, and the APPMA estimates that by 2010 the amount of pet insurance subscribers will increase to 5-7%.

Trupanion has recently received $22 million dollars in financial backing lead by Seattle-based Maveron LLC. Maveron LLC has been instrumental in funding and supporting the success of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY).

Trupanion revolutionizes pet insurance by enrolling puppies and kittens that are under a year old and offering them up to $20,000 of lifetime coverage. Unlike competitors, pet owners with Trupanion lock in their lifetime comprehensive coverage at the time of enrollment and will never see a premium increase due to their pet aging or from filing claims.

Trupanions approach is unique, said Darryl Rawlings, founder and CEO of Trupanion, By enrolling puppies and kittens only, Trupanion dramatically reduces the number of claims that must be denied due to pre-existing conditions. This allows us to be a claims paying company rather than a claims denying company.

Trupanion offers additional unique benefits including dedicated, local Trupanion experts to serve veterinarian clinics, no per incident or yearly limits, and a quicker claims payout where 9 out of 10 approved claims are paid within 24 hours. Trupanion also owns the underwriting insurance company, unlike any other pet insurance company in the US.

Trupanion is the Cat's Meow!

January 15, 2008

Receives Funding from Three Major Investment Firms Totaling $22 million.

Seattle, January 15 2008 - - Trupanion today announced it has received $22 million in financial backing lead by Maveron LLC. Trupanion is focused on making pet insurance easier for owners and is excited to use this financial endorsement to launch its innovative services throughout the United States.

"Our goal at Maveron is to find quality consumer businesses from more obscure markets and help bring them in to the mainstream," said co-founder of Maveron Dan Levitan. We believe pet insurance and more specifically Trupanion to be both a categories and company worth this level of investment. They are innovative, customer focused and cutting edge and we believe they will be extremely successful in setting new standards for pet insurance in the United States."

Maveron LLC has been instrumental in funding and supporting the success of major consumer companies such as eBay "NASDAQ", Capella University "NASDAQ", Pinkberry, Cranium, and Shutterfly "NASDAQ" - just to name a few.

Trupanion's innovative approaches include:
  • Available to puppies and kittens only (under one).
  • $20,000.00 worth of lifetime coverage.
  • Fees never change due to aging of a pet and/or submission of claims.
  • Pet owners can choose any licensed Veterinarian and all standard fees will be paid.
  • 90% of the costs of all approved claims are covered.
  • Trupanion owns its own insurance company.

    • Darryl Rawlings, founder and CEO of Trupanion holds 8 years of experience already in this highly competitive market. He is also the founder of Canadian based Vetinsurance - the number one recommended pet insurance company by Veterinarians. Trupanion is the only pet insurance company who "owns" it's own nationally licensed property and casualty insurance company. All of the other pet insurance companies on the market today are underwritten by one or more unrelated insurance companies making them reliable and vulnerable to a variety of factors outside their control.

    "I'm proud of what I've learned over the past 8 years and I'm happy to bring this knowledge to the U.S. market" said Darryl Rawlings, founder and CEO of Trupanion. "I believe our product is not only dramatically different from our competitors in terms of the puppies and kittens only policy but with 31 failed pet insurance companies to date - I think our ability to fund our own policies via our own insurance company is key to our customer service, satisfaction and longevity!"

    "Given the size and potential success of the pet insurance industry we believe there is an enormous opportunity in the U.S.," said Dan Leitan, co-founder of Maveron. "From this, our goal is to demonstrate leadership through Trupanion's superior product and service in U.S. market."

    Trupanion's board of directors holds a vast and varied wealth of experienced business leaders including Murray Low, Dan Levitan, Tim Graff, Hays Lindsley, John Kramer, Darryl Rawlings, and Rob Jackson.

    Veterinarians also get rewards and benefits from Trupanion pet owners. A knowledgeable, trained specialist - called a "Territory Partner" will routinely call on Veterinarians and their staff to ensure they are getting their needs met. "We are committed to providing Veterinarians and their staff with world class support for our products", said Darryl Rawlings co-founder of Trupanion. "We consider veterinarians and their entire staffs as key customers and hopefully evangelists of Trupanion." We love and care for pets and our number one priority is delivering the best care possible.

    Trupanion begins rolling out its product and services across the 50 states starting January 15, 2008.