Best Review covers pet insurance as feature in newest issue.

Insurance industry reviewer A.M. Best has released the latest issue of the Best Review, and the cover story shares the inside truth about the tactics different auto insurers use to capture market share. One of the top strategies in garnering new customers is the addition of pet coverage to auto policies, Best says. In fact, their feature story, “Pet Projects” covers it in detail.

Among those interviewed for the story is Miriam Deitcher, director of Progressive Insurance’s target marketing department. She told Best, “Most people see their pets as family members.” It is that sentiment that makes pet coverage an excellent hook for insurance companies.

While Deitcher’s company, Progressive, only extends pet coverage to cats and dogs, other insurers, including Farmers, offer auto policy riders that include rodents, birds, and even pet reptiles. Says Brian Dwyer, senior vice president in Farmers’ auto division, “We find [the pet coverage] to be a differentiating feature for Farmers and a good tool for our exclusive agent partners to use.”

Pet coverage isn’t Best Review’s only target in this issue of the Review. Insurers’ use of technology was also examined, with another Progressive offering, this time a slider bar on their website, which customers can use to calculate the price they would pay for a given amount of insurance coverage, being cited.

Also under review is the concept of usage-based auto insurance, a product that is still very new here in the United States, though it’s been used in Europe rather widely.

Best’s Review is published by the A. M. Best Co., and is intended for insurance professionals and those who work in related fields.