As of November 2018, Morristown-based Atlantic Health System already had almost 170 of its employees signed up for pet insurance, also a new offering for 2019.
"This for us was a no-brainer," says Nikki Sumpter, chief human resources officer. "We saw that we had a gap in that space."
Employees expressed to Sumpter that they consider their pets as part of their family. "Many of our team members do not have human children, but they do have pet children," Sumpter said.
Last year, 22% of big employers offered pet insurance, Mercer noted. That is up from 10% in 2015.
New Jersey workers were in line with most other states' workers in saying they would like to have at least four days of paid leave to grieve for a pet, according to a survey from MyPetNeedsThat.com.