Company benefits are going to the dogs

Pet-related perks like pet insurance and bring-your-dog-to-the-office days are becoming more popular as workplaces look to offer benefits that appeal to pet owners

The following article appeared in the June 12, 2024 edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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WORKPLACE

To appeal to a younger workforce, employers are ramping up pet-friendly benefits, such as pet insurance, ‘pawternity’ policies and even pet-bereavement leave

by Cristina Bolling

Big V Property Group in SouthPark is what you might call a “pet-positive” office — a dog named Solo comes in with his owner every other Wednesday, and bosses are cool with other well-mannered canines popping in on occasion.

So when employees asked the company’s human resources director, Buffy Farnsworth, if they could add pet insurance to their buffet of benefits last year, Farnsworth found a way to make it happen. 

Now, discounted pet insurance is part of Big V’s benefits hub, offering employees a savings of about 10% or 15%, Farnsworth said. Big V has about 80 employees, half of which are based in Charlotte and come into the company’s offices every weekday. 

Pet insurance is on the rise as a company benefit nationally, as employers use it as both a recruitment and a retention tool that often can be offered at little to no cost to companies. 

Often, it costs employers nothing to offer the benefit, because pet insurance companies discount their plans when employers sign their employees up as a group, and that savings is passed on to pet owners who want the benefit.