Petsy introduces free insurance as part of its petsitting services - Startup Rise EU and Mam Biznes

Developed since 2020, Petsy has become the leader in pet care services in Poland. Their platform, which connects pet owners with verified petsitters, saw a 200% increase in services provided over the past year alone and has surpassed 30,000 active users. Recently, the company partnered with Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Europa and Petcover, allowing them to offer comprehensive insurance with every petsitting service.

This includes coverage for veterinary treatment costs due to accidents, liability insurance for both pet owners and petsitters (of which there are nearly 3,000 on the Petsy platform), and access to a veterinary hotline. The insurance premium is covered by Petsy as the policyholder, so customers do not incur any additional costs.

One of the most common challenges pet owners face is finding care for their pets during trips or busy days. You can't always rely on family or friends, and it might not always be the best solution for your dog or cat. Especially if you don't want your pets to be overly pampered.

The market for petsitting services has developed in response to this challenge, and its leader in Poland has become the startup Petsy, founded by Michal Wojewoda and Bartek Sobota. Together with their team, they created a platform that connects pet owners with professional and verified caregivers, offering a safe way to leave pets in the care of trusted individuals. Thanks to a partnership established in July with Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Europa. and Petcover, Petsy will expand its service to include a free insurance package for users, covering both pet owners and petsitters.

Michał Wojewoda, CEO of Petsy said:

"The insurance for dogs and cats that we offer in collaboration with TU Europa and Petcover is automatically and free of charge added to every service ordered through Petsy. It covers veterinary treatment costs due to accidents up to 2,000 PLN, liability insurance for pet owners and petsitters for damages caused by a dog or cat during the stay up to 10,000 PLN, and unlimited access to a veterinary hotline. Exclusions in our package are minimal and among others include the exclusion of liability insurance for damages caused by animals with separation anxiety and aggressive dog breeds for which the owner does not have a permit. Apart from these, there are no exclusions related to the age or illnesses of the pet. - This is the first insurance of its kind in Poland, where as a provider of petsitting services, we offer it free of charge to our users—we cover the cost of the insurance premium ourselves. The interest and positive feedback from our customers, just a few days after introducing the insurance, have far exceeded our expectations. We hope that through our collaboration with TU Europa, we will jointly work towards the widespread popularization of pet insurance and its benefits."

According to data and estimates from TU Europa, currently, less than 1% of pets in Poland are insured. This puts us far behind countries like the United Kingdom, Italy, and Sweden, which not only introduced pet insurance for dogs in 1924 but also leads in this field, with 80% of household pets insured.

Piotr Kunce, Partnership Relations Manager at TU Europa said:

"Recent research conducted at our request showed that pet owners had not previously considered using insurance. It seems that a lot can change by raising awareness that this option exists. - Collaboration with the largest petsitting service in Poland promises a lot in this regard. We hope that our business model will pay off, and as Petsy users gain confidence in the value of insurance added to the boarding service, they will want to recommend it and even consider purchasing a broader coverage. We want to work with our partners to promote insurance in Poland. It's about gathering more extensive knowledge about the insured and data that will allow us to diversify and increase the scope of coverage depending on the pet. "

Petsy is already used by over 30,000 users and nearly 3,000 verified petsitters, with the number of services provided through the platform increasing by 200% over the past year. In recent months, the company, a winner in two categories at this year's European Economic Congress startup competition, has expanded its operations by debuting in the Czech market, where it offers services in Prague, Brno, Plzeň, and Ostrava. In the coming months, the Petsy team plans to steadily expand the scope of their services and focus heavily on international scaling by strengthening their position in the Czech Republic and entering additional European markets.

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