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The turtle at home fell ill and was hospitalized for two weeks, costing 2,000 yuan

The cat had diarrhea, underwent an ultrasound, received intravenous fluids, and was prescribed medication, costing 2,500 yuan for a single outpatient visit

The puppy has a fracture and needs surgery, with some hospitals quoting 3,000 yuan while others charge up to 10,000 yuan

Have you encountered similar troubles when taking pets to the vet?

In recent years, with the improvement of residents' living standards and the increasing demand for emotional companionship, the number of pet owners in Shanghai has continued to rise; The pet economy has become an important component of urban consumption. However, the high medical expenses for pets and the lack of standardized pricing have brought economic pressure to pet owners, and the demand for risk protection is becoming increasingly prominent.

At this year's Shanghai Two Sessions, Yu Bin, a representative of the Municipal People's Congress and Chairman of China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Ltd., submitted a proposal on improving and optimizing pet insurance and promoting the healthy development of the pet economy.

Pet healthcare: Establish an official fee disclosure platform

According to statistics, the number of pets in Shanghai has exceeded 2 million, and the size of the pet consumption market is about 23 billion yuan. Nowadays, many people consider pets as companions. They also have life, aging, illness, and death, so we should pay attention to the risk management of pets throughout their entire life cycle, "said Yu Bin.

He found through research that the current pricing of pet medical care lacks standards and information asymmetry, leading to the phenomenon of "over treatment".

It is suggested that the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Commission take the lead in collaborating with the Municipal Pet Industry Association, leading pet medical institutions, and veterinary experts from universities to study and formulate price range references and service standards for common pet disease diagnosis and treatment projects. Yu Bin said that Shanghai should explore the establishment of a hierarchical management system and fee disclosure platform for pet medical institutions (which can rely on official channels such as "Suishenban"), promote transparency in diagnosis and treatment services, standardize medical behavior from the source, and curb the phenomenon of "excessive medical treatment".

In addition, pets should also have their own 'ID cards', "Yu Bin suggested building a unified electronic pet identity archive throughout the city and constructing a data platform for pet identity recognition and cross industry risk prevention and control. In this way, it helps to verify pet chip information, vaccination records, and other information, improve pet lifecycle risk management, and also clarify the foundation for the development of the pet economy

Pet Insurance: Creating a Sustainable Market Ecology

Pet medical insurance products can share risks and alleviate the economic pressure on pet owners. But Yu Bin found that there is still a problem of "supply-demand mismatch" in the current pet insurance market.

On the one hand, it is due to the large number of pets and the high cost of medical treatment, which has led to a strong market demand; On the other hand, it is a practical dilemma in the pet insurance market where the participation rate is less than 1%: insurance companies "lose one policy at a time", and the claims received by policyholders cannot cover medical expenses.

Yu Bin believes that there are multiple reasons for this. In addition to the chaotic pricing of pet healthcare mentioned earlier, industry collaboration and policy support also need to be improved.

In addition, due to the lack of relevant data, pet identification is difficult, resulting in prominent cases of false claims and impersonation of pets. Pet owners often engage in "reverse selection" behavior - concealing the true health condition of their pets when purchasing insurance. The high payout ratio has caused continuous losses on the supply side, resulting in setbacks in product innovation and supply enthusiasm, "said Yu Bin.

He suggested establishing a pricing guidance and regulatory system for pet medical services to provide a reasonable basis for pricing insurance products; Build a data platform or collaborative mechanism to empower technology in verifying the authenticity of pet medical consultations.

In addition, innovative "inclusive+scenario based" insurance products and service models should be encouraged. He suggested that the Municipal Financial Bureau strengthen guidance and support insurance institutions in developing differentiated and inclusive pet insurance products through policy incentives such as innovation rewards or tax incentives.

The development of pet insurance has important practical significance for alleviating the economic pressure on pet owners, improving pet welfare, and promoting the standardized development of related industries. He believes that Shanghai should take the lead in exploring this "small incision" in the field of people's livelihood, forming a replicable and promotable "Shanghai model", and demonstrating the level of refined urban governance.