EXPERT ADVICE

Dr. Jack Stephens is the founder of pet insurance in the United States and most recently Pets Best Insurance, a company providing the most comprehensive insurance plans and highest limits for pet owners. A former practicing veterinarian, Stephens is a pet enthusiast, sharing his home with multiple dogs, two cats and several horses.

In 1981, discouraged by the prevalence of economic euthanasia of pets, and with the financial assistance of over 900 Veterinary colleagues, Stephens, founded Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI). After 24 years and reaching over $100 million in annual pet insurance revenues as the CEO/Founder of VPI, Stephens decided to move on. Very soon following his departure he founded Pets Best Insurance.

Stephens’ distinguished past service to the veterinary profession includes: board member of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation; president of the Orange County Veterinary Medical Association; president and board of trustee of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, board of directors for the Western Veterinary Conference, Animal Health Foundation and Executive Vice President and board of directors of General Fire & Casualty Company. He has written and published numerous articles about pet health insurance, was a contributing author for a leading veterinary trade magazine and his story about battling cancer have appeared in two national best seller books. He is a vocal advocate for the positive affects that pets have on our lives.

In 2000, Stephens established and is chairman of the board of The Skeeter Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the positive health effects of the human-animal interaction. The Skeeter Foundation supports the local development of therapy teams of certified pets for visitations to hospitals, senior citizen facilities, schools and such other organizations where therapy pets can provide value. Volunteers with their therapy pets provide comfort and companionship by sharing therapy dogs and some other pets such as cats, rabbits and even horses with others.

Stephens received his veterinary degree in 1972 from the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine, and was named Alumnus of the Year in 1993, and distinguished Alumni for the entire University in 2003. He received the Benefactor award from the Wild Life Way Station, a wildlife and exotic rescue sanctuary in Los Angeles County, California in 2004, the President’s award from the American Humane Association in 1998. He founded six veterinary clinics in Southern California before pioneering the pet insurance industry by starting the first and largest pet insurer and now the best insurer of pets.