A New Report Puts a Number on the Coverage Gap
A new North American Pet Health Insurance Association report, covered this week by dvm360, points to a persistent insurance gap as veterinary costs continue to climb — with common conditions including gastrointestinal issues, ear infections and skin disease driving a large share of claims.
Read that list again from a groomer's chair. Two of the three most-claimed condition categories are things you see, touch and photograph every single working day.
Why This Is a Grooming Story
Most groomers have absorbed the idea that they are in a discretionary, cosmetic business — the first line item cut when a household tightens its budget. The claims data argues otherwise. Skin disease and ear infections are expensive, recurrent, quality-of-life problems, and a large share of pet owners are paying for them out of pocket because they are uninsured or underinsured.
That creates a specific commercial opening. You are not selling a haircut. You are selling regular, hands-on maintenance of the two body systems that generate the most vet bills. Framed that way, a $90 appointment every six weeks stops competing with a night out and starts competing with a $400 dermatology workup.
Stay Firmly in Your Lane
This positioning only works if you are rigorous about scope. Groomers do not diagnose, do not prescribe, and do not treat. The moment you say "that's a yeast infection" or recommend a medicated product for a condition, you have taken on risk you are not insured or licensed for.
The safe and genuinely valuable version is observation and referral: I noticed the skin behind both elbows is thickened and there's a smell in the left ear — I've photographed it and I'd get your vet to take a look. That is useful, defensible, and it is exactly what a busy owner cannot do for themselves.
Build the Service Around It
1. Make the skin-and-ear check a formal step. Add it to your groom checklist so it happens on every pet, not just the obvious cases. Coat and skin condition, hot spots, matting-related irritation, ear odour, discharge, redness, sensitivity on handling, nail and pad condition.
2. Photograph findings. Two or three phone shots attached to the pet's record. Photos protect you against "they weren't like that before" complaints and they give owners something concrete to show a vet.
3. Send a written groom report. A short after-visit note — what you did, what you observed, what you'd watch — sent by text or email after every appointment. This is trivially easy in a modern grooming CRM and remarkably rare in practice. Clients forward these to their vets, and that is free marketing.
4. Create a paid tier. A "skin and coat" service level with de-shedding, hypoallergenic or oatmeal bath options, thorough ear cleaning within your scope, and a documented condition report. Charge for it. Owners already spending on dermatology visits understand the value proposition immediately.
5. Recommend frequency honestly. For a dog with recurrent skin issues, six-week intervals genuinely help more than twelve-week ones. Say so, explain why, and let the client decide. Interval discipline is the single biggest lever on a grooming business's revenue, and this gives you a legitimate reason to raise it.
Build the Vet Referral Loop
The insurance gap means vets are also having harder money conversations with clients. A grooming business that reliably spots early skin and ear problems and sends documented, photographed observations is doing a clinic a favour.
Introduce yourself to two or three local practices. Bring a sample groom report. Ask what they would like groomers to flag and how they prefer to receive it. Offer to take their post-surgical and senior patients with appropriate handling. Referral relationships built on professionalism last far longer than any advertising spend.
The Money Conversation With Clients
When a price-sensitive client pushes back, you now have a real answer rather than a defensive one. Regular grooming will not prevent every skin or ear problem — genetics, allergies and environment do most of the work. But matted coats trap moisture and hide developing lesions, neglected ears go unnoticed for weeks, and problems caught early are cheaper than problems caught late.
Say it plainly, once, without pressure. Owners who are watching vet costs rise and know their insurance won't cover everything are unusually receptive to it right now.
What to Do This Week
Add the skin-and-ear check to your checklist. Turn on after-visit reports in your CRM. Pick one local vet practice to call. Then look at your client list for pets flagged with recurring skin issues and offer them a shorter interval.
Three small operational changes, one strategic repositioning — from a service owners cut when money is tight to one they keep because it protects something they can't afford to fix.