Americans identifying as LGBTQ+

Between 2012 and 2022, as the percentage of Americans identifying as LGBTQ+ climbed steadily upward, so too did the number of pet insurance policies in force — reaching a correlation of 0.97 that statisticians describe as 'uncomfortably convincing.' One could speculate that this reflects a shared belief that the beings you love most deserve proper healthcare. Or perhaps, as acceptance of diverse identities grew, so did humanity's capacity to look a Labrador in the eye and say 'you deserve a deductible.' The data does not say which came first. The data, frankly, seems very pleased with itself.

Both trends reflect the broader cultural and economic shifts of the 2010s among younger, urban, college-educated demographics. Gallup's tracking of LGBTQ+ identification shows it rising from around 3.5% in 2012 to over 7% by 2022, driven largely by Gen Z and Millennials who are also the primary adopters of pet insurance, which grew from roughly 1.4 million policies in 2012 to over 4.4 million by 2022. These same cohorts delayed traditional family formation — meaning pets increasingly filled the role of dependents — and they carried higher disposable income combined with a willingness to spend on wellness and insurance products. The shared demographic driver is generational values around care, identity expression, and consumer health spending.

Two rising social trends sharing the same demographic engine will always produce a suspiciously tidy line on a chart. The correlation tells you something real about who was coming of age in the 2010s — just not what the slope implies.