The Pet Insurance & Wellness Marketplace goes live on Wednesday 18th February, 2026!
Purpose
Pet Insurance & Wellness Marketplace allows clinics to offer optional pet insurance and wellness plans directly within Shepherd touchpoints clients already use, including invoices and the Pet Portal. The marketplace is enabled by default and clinics can turn it off at any time.
Enrollment, plan administration, and most client support are managed by VICoverage (powered by Vertical Insure), so your team does not need to change workflows or manage coverage details.
Where to Find Pet Insurance & Wellness Marketplace
Go to Admin → Client Communications → Pet Portal → Insurance & Wellness Marketplace.
Overview
When enabled, clients can access coverage options through:
Pet Portal
Invoice emails, where marketplace access can be included
A direct marketplace link sent manually from the client profile
Plan availability updates automatically based on your selected providers.
Enable or Disable the Marketplace
Enable Marketplace is turned on by default. Turn it off if you do not want the marketplace available to clients.
Go to Admin → Client Communications → Pet Portal → Insurance & Wellness Marketplace.
Toggle Enable Marketplace on or off.
Select Save to apply changes.
Changes apply immediately.
Manage Available Providers
Under Available Providers, toggle providers on or off to control which plans clients can view.
Providers currently supported:
Hartville
Mint Wellness
ASPCA
Odie
Providers can be enabled or disabled independently. The Available Plans Preview updates in real time based on your selections.
Client Experience in the Pet Portal
When the marketplace is enabled, clients see an Add Coverage button in supported Pet Portal locations.
Client selects Add Coverage.
A Select a Pet modal opens.
Client selects one pet and chooses View Plans.
Recommended plans display for the selected pet.
Client selects a plan and completes enrollment through the embedded VICoverage experience.
If no plans are available for a selected pet, the client is prompted to try another pet.
If a plan becomes unavailable during selection, the client is notified and asked to update their choice.
Share Marketplace Access by Email
Marketplace access can be shared when the marketplace is enabled and at least one provider is active.
Send from the Client Profile
Open the Client Profile.
Select the three dot menu in the upper right corner.
Choose Send Insurance & Wellness Marketplace Link.
An email box opens with the client and co owner email addresses prefilled. Subject and message fields are required before sending.
Include with a Manual Invoice Email
When manually emailing an invoice:
Use the Include Insurance & Wellness Marketplace Access checkbox.
Default state is enabled.
If unchecked, marketplace content is removed from the email before sending.
The email includes a marketplace access component with a direct link to the landing page.
Support and Administration
Enrollment, payment processing, claims, and most coverage questions are handled by VICoverage (powered by Vertical Insure) and the selected carrier. Clients should contact VICoverage or their chosen provider for plan specific questions.