The pandemic triggered a surge in pet ownership as social distancing and lockdowns resulted in the need for companionship for many individuals and families. Anyone who owns a dog or cat can understand how they need to be cared for, just like a family member. This care includes not just food and baths but also veterinarian and medical bills. As your pets get older, medical bills can add up and get more expensive as treatments get extensive. Here are 2 pet health insurance providers that investors can watch for as beneficiaries of the aging pet trend.
Trupanion
As a pure-play pet insurance company, Trupanion Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUP) claims to be the top pet insurer preferred by veterinarians. The finance sector company covers over 700,000 puppies and has unlimited payouts and direct payments to veterinarians. Signing up is easy online, and insurance covers 90% of the medical bill minus deductibles. Insurance covers everything from medication to hospital stays, advanced dentistry, diagnostic tests, supplements, allergies and herbal therapies.
Solid Growth But Still in the Red
Trupanion reported a Q1 2024 EPS loss of 16 cents, beating consensus estimates by 3 cents. Revenues rose 19.4% YoY to $306.12 million, beating consensus estimates for $300.51 million. Subscription revenue rose 22% YoY to $201.1 million. Discretionary profit from the core subscription business rose 55%, while acquisition spend fell 23% YoY. Total enrolled pets rose 6% to 1,708,017 as of March 31, 2024. Subscription enrolled pets rose 11% YoY to 1,006,168.
Operating cash flow was $2.4 million. Net loss was $6.9 million, or 16 cents, compared to a net loss of $24.8 million or 60 cents, in the year-ago period. The company closed the quarter with $275.2 million in cash and maintained a $256.7 million capital surplus at its insurance subsidiaries.
New CEO Appointment
Trupanion President Margi Tooth was appointed CEO, effective August 1, 2024. She will replace Trupanion CEO and founder Darryl Rawlings, who will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. Margi Tooth served for seven years with the largest pet insurer in the UK prior to joining Trupanion, where she has served for a decade.
Rising ARPU and Price Increases
Tooth spoke of the potential growth runway in North America, with only 5% of pets insured in the country. This statistic is equally low across most of Europe. While acquisition investment dropped 23% YoY, gross pet ads fell 9% YoY. The company acquired 67,000 pets for an estimated internal rate of return of 44%. Total ARPU growth was 9.8% across its subscription business. The average monthly ARPU within its core Trupanion brand was 11% higher YoY, attributed to pricing increases. Over the last 12 months, over 40% of the total book has received price increases of 20% or more.
Tooth commented, "As the cost of veterinary care continues to rise, outpacing consumers' discretionary income, the need for high quality and dependable pet insurance solutions continues with it. This dynamic underscores the importance of having a lifetime solution that enables pet parents to budget effectively and offers reliable coverage. Trupanion stands out in the industry, offering the only lifetime product providing pet parents with complete peace of mind and coverage for life come what may."
Daily Ascending Triangle Breakout
The daily candlestick chart on TRUP illustrates an ascending triangle pattern. The ascending trendline started at $19.69 on May 3, 2024. TRUP made higher lows as it rose toward the flat-top upper trendline resistance at $33.59. The daily relative strength index (RSI) is floating around the 60-band. Pullback support levels are at $26.25, $22.50, $18.45 and $16.25.
Lemonade
Lemonade Inc. (NYSE: LMND) operates an artificial intelligence (AI) powered insurance platform that provides renters, homeowners, term life and pet insurance products. It also provides bundled discounts when signing up for multiple insurance coverage. Lemonade launched its pet insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, taking advantage of the surge in pet ownership. The company has been trimming down losses and improving various financial metrics across the board. The company recently pushed up its breakeven date, which was a boon for investors.
Red Getting Lighter
Lemonade reported a Q1 2024 EPS loss of 67 cents but still beat consensus estimates by 14 cents. Revenues surged 25.1% YoY to $119.1 million, beating $114.13 billion consensus estimates. In-force premium (IFP) grew 22% YoY to $794 million. The gross loss ratio improved to 79% versus 87% in the year-ago period. Customer count increased 13% YoY to 2,095,275. Customer count, IFP and net loss ratio all improved.
Lower Q2 and In-Line FY 2024 Guidance
Lemonade lowered Q2 2024 revenues to $118 million to $120 million versus $123.06 million consensus estimates. The company forecasts IFP to be between $839 million to $841 million.
For the full-year 2024, Lemonade provided in-line guidance with revenues expected between $511 million to $515 million versus $511.40 consensus estimates. IFP is expected to be between $940 million to $944 million.
Breakeven and Vindication Draws Closer
Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber updated the cash flow breakeven date to year-end 2024, accelerated from the first half of 2025. He covered how Lemonade is being vindicated on its claims that AI is superior with its automated underwriting capabilities as trailing twelve-month (TTM) loss ratios improved by 8 points to 79% in the quarter.
Schreiber stated, "These loss ratio improvements indicate that the growing sophistication and diligence in our rate modelings and filings are bearing fruit. In addition, they reflect that our claims accuracy is strong and getting stronger, and this is helping with favorable prior-year development. And indeed, that our growing underwriting precision is delivering lower frequency of claims outright."
Lemonade analyst ratings and price targets are at MarketBeat.
