Doubtless hands its North American business to a new leader

Doubtless said on October 6th, 2026 that Karl Wiley will lead its North American business starting October 12th, taking over from Kirk Haggard, who is retiring. The release lists no pet insurance role in Wiley's background, and he takes the seat after U.S. pet insurance premiums grew 19.7% in 2025.

Wiley inherits a business Haggard helped build

The release says Haggard, whose career includes a stint as CEO of Independence Pet Holdings, was "a key leader in the evolution of the business into Doubtless." Wiley's résumé, as the company presents it, spans more than 30 years in consumer and protection businesses, with stops at Allstate, Shutterfly, Motif, eBay, Alibris and MicroPlace.

The release uses two titles, Regional President for North America in the headline and North America Regional Leader in the body. Haggard held the title North America Regional President when Doubtless announced his leadership team in July, so we use that one.

Doubtless describes itself as operating in 10 markets and protecting more than 6 million insured pets, both company-reported. The release names no brands. Our earlier coverage of how JAB folded its pet insurance brands into one name lists Embrace, Figo, Pumpkin and AKC Pet Insurance among them. CEO Dirk Beeckman credits Wiley with "operational excellence, customer focus and growth leadership."

Another senior Independence-era executive is on the way out

In August we reported that Odie Pet Insurance hired Lane Kent as its chief growth officer, describing him as most recently the CEO of Independence Pet Group. The Doubtless release lists a CEO role for Haggard at Independence Pet Holdings. These were different jobs. Independence Pet Group was the holding company's pet insurance and services division, so Haggard ran the parent and Kent ran the division.

What we can say is narrower. Two executives who led the Independence business have moved on this year, one to a competitor's growth role and one into retirement, though only Haggard is leaving a North American leadership post.

The market Wiley inherits is growing fast but remains thinly penetrated. The North American Pet Health Insurance Association's 2026 report puts U.S. gross written premium at about $5.7B for 2025, up 19.7%, across roughly 7.0 million insured pets. Only 4.27% of U.S. pets carry a policy.

By our math, that is roughly $814 of annual premium per insured pet, using the $5.68B and 6.98M figures that dvm360 reports from the NAPHIA report. It is a rough ratio of full-year premium to the pet count, not an average policy price. Doubtless's 6 million-plus is a company-reported count across 10 markets, while NAPHIA's figures cover the U.S. alone, so the two cannot be turned into a market share.

Distribution and growth targets will show his direction

The release gives no growth target, no financials and no strategy change. The forward signals are Beeckman's phrase "next chapter" and Wiley's stated aim to "continue driving growth, innovation and better outcomes for pets and their families." If we had to guess, the hire points to a mandate to grow the combined business rather than keep integrating it, but that is our reading, and the company has set no target.

Our June look at pet insurance distribution argued that reaching buyers, not demand, is the industry's growth bottleneck. Doubtless named brand heads under the North America role in July, including May Pelz as president of Pets Best. The practical tests for Wiley are visible from outside: whether that team stays, new employer or veterinary distribution partners, and any disclosure of policy growth. Operators who sell through these channels should ask which of them Doubtless intends to expand.

New leader, no stated change in direction.

Source: Doubtless via PR Newswire