Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance's dedicated pet insurance brand, 'Petpermint,' announced on the 28th that it has surpassed 130,000 cumulative subscriptions in its 7 years since launch.
According to Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, since the launch of Petpermint in October 2018, the total number of subscriptions has reached about 135,000 (as of the end of June 2025), of which approximately 115,000 are for dogs and over 20,000 cats have been insured since April 2019.
Among the insured dogs, Pomeranians and Toy Poodles accounted for over 14,000 each, while Maltese and Bichon Frise also exceeded 10,000 subscriptions. For cats, Korean Shorthairs recorded the highest number of 6000 subscriptions, followed by mixed and other cat breeds, British Shorthairs, and Munchkins.
Of the insured dogs, the name 'Bori' was the most popular with 1,861 occurrences, followed by 'Coco' (1,557), 'Kongi' (1,465), and 'Dubu' (1,234). For cats, the names 'Coco' (211), 'Leo' (187), and 'Bori' (185) were tallied. 'Bori' was identified as a popular name for both dogs and cats.
For both dogs and cats, the subscription share from the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions accounted for over 50%. The most common reason for payouts in dog insurance claims was external ear inflammation (16,521 claims), followed by gastroenteritis (14,495), vomiting (10,325), and otitis externa (9,415) in terms of the number of claims.
Examining the payout amounts, approximately 7.3 billion won was paid out due to patellar dislocation. This is interpreted as reflecting the characteristics of small dogs being commonly raised indoors in Korea. Insurance payouts were also high due to cruciate ligament injuries and tears (2.39 billion won), gastroenteritis (1.98 billion won), and external ear inflammation (1.97 billion won).
For cat insurance claims, the most common reasons were vomiting (1,033 claims), gastroenteritis (766), and conjunctivitis (662). In terms of payout amounts, the highest were for foreign body ingestion (180 million won), vomiting (170 million won), and gastroenteritis (150 million won).
In cats, it is estimated that vomiting and neurogenic gastritis and enteritis are frequently caused by grooming (licking and arranging fur) leading to 'cat hairballs.' The habit of drinking little water also makes them prone to cystitis.