Owning a pet can be simultaneously rewarding— 

“A few years ago, we had Molly,” shared Representative Michael Schlossberg. “And Molly was a German shepherd who absolutely loved my father in law."

And expensive.

“[Molly] loved him so much that she couldn't contain herself, even if that meant jumping off of a ten foot porch to give him a hug. And Molly's legs didn't react too well.”

The legislator had to take his dog for emergency surgery that would have cost the family thousands. Luckily, they had pet insurance.

“It capped the cost at just $1,000 for a very expensive surgery.” said Schlossberg.

As industries go, pet insurance is newer; Lassie was the first ‘pet’ to be insured in the U.S. in the 80s. But the amount of pets insured across the nation has doubled from 2018 to 2022- according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Overall in North America at the end of 2022, there were 5.6 million insured pets.

Talking with citizens in the capitol, some shared they would never consider pet insurance, others commented that their vet had been pushing it in recent years, and still others noted it would be worth investigating.

“We've never had pet insurance before,” said Jerry Crispino. “But it is something that we certainly would consider, especially depending on what type of dog we would get.”

Schlossberg recognized how much this benefited pet owners from personal experience; but also recognized Pennsylvania had 0 guidance for the rapidly growing industry.

“It made me want to make sure the industry was better regulated so people can have more trust in it,” said Schlossberg.

So he wrote H.B. 660- which passed the House with an unanimous vote on Monday. The bill requires transparency and consistency in contracts.

“It lets pet owners compare apples to apples,” said Schlossberg. “It says ‘OK, if you're going to use these words, this is what the meaning of the words are’. Every pet insurance policy has to have a look back period where you can buy a policy in the potentially return it if you do so in X amount of days.”

The push for legal guard rails recognizes a shift in the relationship between Americans and their pets.

"Our pets are loyal and compassionate. Petting a dog lowers your heart rate. This is one way to give back to them for all they do for us,” said Crispino.

The bill does still have to go through the Senate, but getting unanimous support in the House does bode well for bipartisan support in the second chamber as well.