One-in-three Fortune 500 companies as well as thousands of other employers are now offering health care plans for their workers' pets.
According to Veterinary Pet Insurance's president Scott Liles, the America's oldest and largest pet insurer are offering their policies to around 3,400 companies and associations across the nation, the New York Daily News reported.
Other organizations, such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, also offer insurance through employers, but the number of people who sign up remains small.
California-based VPI has 61 percent of the niche market with only a half million pets insured nationwide.
It offers insurance to employers with more than 100 workers, who can choose payroll deductions or direct billing.
Charles J. Sebaski, an insurance analyst for BMO Capital Markets in New York told the publication that like any kind of health care offering, pet insurance is viewed as an employee enticement and retention tool.