ManyPets initiative will support customers to ’take control’ over pet healthcare – Luisa Barile

With veterinary costs continuing to outpace general inflation, ManyPets’ has decided to include broader health support into its cover for 2026 while also “controlling the cost of care”.

This is according to the insurtech’s chief executive Luisa Barile, who said she believes that pet insurance customers are increasingly seeking to “take more control” over their policies.

During Insurtech Insights Europe 2026 earlier this month (19 March 2026), Insurance Times sat down with Barile to discuss how the firm is navigating a market where veterinary costs are rising faster than premiums can keep pace with customer affordability.

She explained that the firm’s data across breeds and vets, from applied treatments and its outcomes, presents a “possibility” for it to be utilised to reduce the number of smaller veterinary visits via a symptom checker or remote consultations.

This approach can have a “high impact on the experience of customers”, she added, without disturbing the relationship between patients and vets.

She said: “We are investing in using technology to enable people to make better choices.

“Surfacing that information to the customer means that we can help them assess the different options available and take control over their health pathway.”

Since Barile spoke to Insurance Times, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the conclusion of its investigation into the veterinary market and said it would introduce a range of measures and cap prescription fees later this year.

Reducing complaints

For Barile, using technology to reduce the cost of vet pricing is critical in a market where most of the complaints originate from “disappointment” around pricing.

According to Insurance DataLab analysis, published in March 2026, pet insurance complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) have the second highest upheld rate across the UKGI marketplace at 45%.

The market intelligence firm also revealed that these complaints reached 532 cases in Q3 2025 – with over 67% relating to the claims process.

In her view, Barile said that pet market complaints stem from pricing changing drastically differently from year to year.

As a result, she explained that, at the point of claim, policyholders often discover that they “didn’t get the cover they should have got”.

Insurtechs have a significant role in providing the technology to reduce the operational costs that drive pricing hikes and policy exclusions, Barile noted.

She explained that ManyPets’ technology has the potential to enable customers to receive more affordable cover, not from removing features of the policy, but by allowing a “slightly higher loss ratio” and “squeezing the expense ratio to the core”.

She continued: “We’re definitely at an inflection point, so it will become more difficult to compete in the industry compared to the past and it will require more investment in data and technology.

“The companies that can crack that will be in a win-win position where they’re providing better outcomes for the customer and can play a good role in the market share as a business.

“I’m excited about the future because it’s an interesting time to navigate, but I hope that we can provide better care for the customers.”