In 1981, the first pet health insurance was started, spear-headed by Dr. Jack Stephens. In the very beginning, VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) insurance company, not to be confused as an agency, had to start somewhere and that was in Santa Ana, California. It was in 1988 that VPI was stable enough to start expanding nationally that I “happened to bump into” veterinary pet health insurance. I jumped on a plane to Santa Ana to meet Dr. Stephens face-to-face and inquired what I could do to help.
I immediately became involved and dedicated four years – unpaid – to promoting VPI and within a few months, as a fundraiser, I was promoted from the VPI advisory board to become an actual VPI board member. I was fully engaged with VPI until 1992. At that point in time, the Attorney General of the State of California began to shut down insurance companies. Both myself and other key board members became implemental in the fight to keep VPI accessible to pet owners. VPI is now known as the Nationwide Pet Health Insurance Company.
