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Pet Insurance May Be HR's Missing Piece for Employee Wellness

Spark Team

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Thanks to ADP benefits carrier partner, PetPartners, for this article.

In today’s workplace, benefits need to reflect what employees truly value. After all, according to Prudential’s Benefits and Beyond study, employers are 1.5x more likely than employees to believe their benefits package is modern. Beyond medical, retirement, and commuter perks, the modern workforce is increasingly looking for benefits that support everyday wellbeing, including the wellbeing of pets.

Here’s what you need to know now:

• Pets play a meaningful role in employee wellbeing.

• Traditional wellness programs often fall short in boosting everyday emotional resilience.

• Pet benefits, including pet insurance, can help employers strengthen culture and talent outcomes.

In fact, a 2025 Market Pulse study by ADP showed that while only 5% of employers surveyed offer pet insurance, 35% of them indicated it’s extremely/very important to offer pet insurance to both attract and retain employees. Pet benefits are more than a “nice-to-have” perk. It’s a business shift in how benefits can align with real employee needs.

Why traditional wellness benefits aren’t enough

Benefits centered around improving employee wellbeing have become a standard part of the modern benefits package, but many struggle to connect with employees in a meaningful, day-to-day way. Even well-intentioned offerings can feel distant from the realities employees are managing outside of work, unexpected expenses, competing responsibilities, and the ongoing stress of balancing life and career.

What employees increasingly appreciate is support that fits naturally into their lives and reduces friction, not benefits that require extra time, explanation, or effort to access. Wellness isn’t something that happens in isolated moments. It’s shaped by everyday experiences, routines, and responsibilities. That’s where pets come in.

Pets: A source of everyday emotional support

Pets provide emotional stability, routine, and comfort—often during the same moments when work stress is highest. But when pet care comes with uncertainty or financial strain, that source of comfort can quickly become a source of anxiety.

Pet insurance can help close this gap. By reducing the financial stress associated with veterinary care, it allows employees to focus on their pet’s wellbeing instead of worrying about difficult trade-offs or unexpected costs. That peace of mind supports emotional and mental health in a very practical way: employees can care for their pets without potentially jeopardizing their financial stability. That’s why pets and pet insurance are a powerful extension of modern wellness strategies.

The business case for pet benefits

Integrating pet-focused benefits complements other wellness programs by acknowledging a support source many employees already value deeply. Here's the potential positive impact employers can work toward by offering pet benefits:

1. Better engagement and satisfaction

Employees feel understood when their employer acknowledges aspects of life that matter to them. Recognizing pets as family members signals empathy and relevance in your benefits strategy.

2. Stronger recruitment appeal

Candidates are paying attention to what benefits say about a company’s culture. Benefits that honor real-world needs can help differentiate your talent brand in a competitive market.

3. A wellness advantage

Pet benefit offerings can contribute to everyday wellbeing by helping to reduce stress and promote emotional balance, especially when they include practical financial support for care.

Bringing pet benefits to life

Consider these strategic moves to start making an impact:

Offer pet insurance as a group benefit

Employer-sponsored pet insurance helps companies offer this meaningful perk just like any other group benefit. This makes access easy for employees and simplifies administration for HR.

Support flexibility around pet care

Allowing flexibility for veterinary appointments, pet-related emergencies, pet loss, or new pet additions helps employees integrate work and personal responsibilities with less stress.

Cultivate a pet-friendly workplace

Implementing policies to welcome pets, like dogs, to the office can improve employee morale and offer even more flexibility to pet parents.

Reframing benefits through a “pet lens”

Looking at your benefits strategy through a pet-inclusive lens isn’t just about perks. It’s about meeting your workforce where they are and acknowledging the full scope of what contributes to wellbeing. This means moving beyond assumptions about what employees value and towards offering benefits that resonate with how they live their lives every day.

Sometimes the most effective innovations aren’t new inventions, they’re simply the ones right in front of us. In this case, they’re the four-legged companions waiting at employees’ feet.

Conclusion

Modern talent expects benefits that help them thrive in all aspects of life. Pet benefits could be a strategic addition to your wellness toolkit, and the OnePack Plan from PetPartners makes integration straightforward. Adopting pet-inclusive benefits can show that you understand your people—and that can make all the difference in today’s competitive talent landscape.

ADP Workforce Now clients with benefit administration have the ability to easily offer OnePack Plan product, a group-rated, employer-offered pet insurance, and the first pet insurance carrier to join the program. Learn more about our carrier integrations.