Lemonade is betting on the strong bonds forged between humans and pets during the pandemic. It’s launching dog and cat health plans that start at $12 per month, and to sweeten the offer, it will donate leftover premiums to animal-focused charities.

Why should we care?

Pets are a big market: Americans spent $75B on them last year. Lemonade is using the new vertical to grow its customer base and help existing ones get stickier. Adding pet plans lets it compete with other players in that space --  including Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Petplan, and Nationwide -- both on price and CX. The 5-year-old company, which went public this month, started with renters and homeowners insurance. It prides itself on its ability to onboard, underwrite and pay clients digitally with a few clicks via AI chatbots. Lemonade cedes 75% of premiums to reinsurers so it can focus on tech. If the rapid rise of its share price is any indication, investors are bullish on its prospects. The company, which reported a $36.5M net loss in Q1, will still need to prove it can become profitable.