During the past five years, the average annual growth rate for pet insurance was 23.4%, according to the 2021 State of the Industry by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). At the end of 2020, more than 3 million pets were insured in North America. Total premiums written in the U.S. reached nearly $2 billion during 2020, NAPHIA reported, noting average annual growth was 24.2% from 2016-2020. A strong majority (93.4%) of policies written in the U.S. were combined coverages that included accident and illness coverage as well as "embedded wellness," which might include early screening diagnostics, nutrition consultations and vaccinations. "Last year, we saw the stay-at-home and work-from-home measures introduced during the pandemic create even closer bonds between pet owners and their pets," Kristen Lynch, executive director of NAPHIA, said in a release. "We believe these strong human-animal relationships are driving pet owners' desire to address financial uncertainty by mitigating unexpected veterinary costs, contributing to our record 2020 results, in a year that also saw new pet purchases and adoptions reach record levels." The above slideshow reveals the most common pet insurance claims, according to Embrace Pet Insurance.   The pet insurance provider also dived into its database to uncover the top 10 dog and cat breeds of 2021:

Top dog breeds: Mixed Labrador retriever Golden retriever German shepherd French bulldog Goldendoodle Yorkshire terrier Boxer Great Dane Shih Tzu

Top cat breeds: Mixed Maine coon Persian Ragdoll Siamese Sphynx Bengal British shorthair Russian blue Siberian

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• 5 most common and 5 most expensive pet insurance claims