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,” said 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 develop Capstone, already a very successful company, further, with a view to ultimately increase 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,” added Agnes Fabricius. 

Michael Harty, managing director of Capstone, said: “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 pet insurance customers both here in Ireland and the Netherlands.”