After one year

Pet specialist: Withdrawal from the world of insurance

Michael Hurnaus (left) and Wolfgang Reisinger (right) run the business of pet tech specialist Tractive.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel, tractive)

"Prevention is the best insurance" - this is the opinion of dog and cat insurer Lassie. Tractive is now joining forces with the company, which already has more than 100,000 customers in Germany, Sweden and France. In the meantime, the pet technology specialist from Pasching has also ended its short-term involvement as an insurer in England.

Three insurance experts were brought on board, then patience and perseverance were needed to get the license for England and get started - but after around a year, Tractive is pulling the plug on its health insurance for dogs and cats, which it had offered on the "island".

"The insurance industry ticks differently than we do"
"We were successful, but we learned very quickly that the insurance industry works very differently to us," says Tractive co-founder Michael Hurnaus, who runs the company together with Wolfgang Reisinger. Complex regulations meant that the focus on the core business was neglected. The result: "We decided to sell the insurance business in England."

Traditional insurance companies are often far too rigid and slow to actually get anything on the road. Lassie also sees itself as a disruptive technology company and was therefore a perfect match for Tractive.

Michael Hurnaus, Geschäftsführer Tractive

However, the company from Pasching, which offers trackers in combination with concentrated software expertise for dogs and cats, has learned a lot from its foray into the insurance business: "We now know in which areas we can use our data to help optimize insurance," says Hurnaus.

Cooperation with Scandinavian insurer 
Instead of positioning themselves as a provider, the Upper Austrians are now focusing on partnerships. A cooperation was entered into with the Scandinavian insurer Lassie. Active Tractive users receive a reduced premium because customers are informed about potential health risks for their pet at an early stage and also have significantly more active dogs on average.

Tractive itself has set itself the goal of helping pet owners to keep their pets safe, healthy and happy. Employees from more than 40 countries work in Pasching. The company has its own location in Seattle (USA).