Swedish owned pet insurer, Agria, acquires Capstone and speeds up its international growth
The Swedish pet insurance company, Agria Djurförsäkring continues its international growth strategy by acquiring the Irish company, Capstone Financial Services Limited. Capstone currently trades under the brands Petinsure in Ireland and Zoopo in the Netherlands.
Only three months after launching Agria Tierversicherung in Germany, Agria is now acquiring the Irish based company which offers insurance for dogs and cats in Ireland and the Netherlands.
“I see huge potential to increase the level of insured pets in Europe and I am pleased to accelerate our international growth strategy by adding Ireland and the Netherlands to our operations. We have an ambitious growth plan and Capstone is a profitable and well-functioning company that fits perfectly into our business portfolio,” says Agnes Fabricius, CEO at Agria Djurförsäkring.
For Agria, the acquisition of Capstone facilitates an immediate commercial footprint in the Irish pet insurance market. Agria will strive to further develop Capstone, already a very successful company, with a view to ultimately increasing the number of insured pets in Ireland. There are about 455,000 dogs and 325,000 cats in Ireland with a market penetration for insurance of approximately 10 percent. This can be compared with Sweden where 90 percent of the dogs and 50 percent of the cats are insured.
” Our overall mission is to create security for pets and peace of mind for their owners by making it possible to access qualified veterinary care treatment when needed”, says Agnes Fabricius, CEO at Agria Djurförsäkring.
Michael Harty, Managing Director of Capstone says “This is great news for the Irish pet insurance market and particularly for Petinsure customers. Agria has an unrivalled pedigree and history in caring for pets and we are really excited to see the positive impact that Agria is going to bring to pet owners and in particular to pet insurance customers both here in Ireland and in the Netherlands”.
About Capstone
Headquartered in Cork, the brand Petinsure was founded by Capstone Financial Services Limited in 2008. Petinsure has had a strong growth curve and is today one of the leading providers of pet insurance in Ireland. In the Netherlands, Capstone operates with the brand Zoopo, offering pet insurance and a pet management tool. Capstone is a managing general agent, specialising in marketing, sales, and administration of pet insurance products for dogs and cats. Capstone cooperates with the insurance provider Arch Insurance. Gross written premium (GWP) for the full year 2021 amounted to EUR 3.8 million.
About Agria Djurförsäkring
Agria was founded by animal owners in Sweden in 1890, and is now the market leading pet insurance provider with a 60 percent market share in Sweden. Agria is now active in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. In addition to pet insurance, Agria provides a digital veterinary service that offers video consultations to pet owners through the subsidiary Agria Vet Guide. Agria employs 500 people with premium income for 2021 of EUR 513 million (427).
