CHAPEL HILL - Diva eats special food because of her allergies. Her mother schedules her play dates. And if she wanted to sleep in her mom's bed, she would certainly be welcome.

"She's my child," said Valeria Holmes of Chapel Hill, the owner of Diva, a 5-year-old Newfoundland.

So when Diva started limping, Holmes took her to the veterinarian.

Diva had torn one of her ligaments, which required an operation to refit the way the bones work together. Lucky for Holmes, Diva has a pet insurance policy that reimbursed her owner for about $1,500 of the $2,200 surgery.

"It's a nice thing to have," Holmes said. "I can't have emotional peace [if Diva is hurt] because she has to be taken care of first."

Studies show between 1 and 3 percent of pet owners have purchased pet insurance, which typically reimburses owners for a portion of the costs associated with accidents, injuries and illness covered by their policies. But that number has grown in recent years.

"It's a very exciting time for pet insurance in the U.S.," said Linda Bell, chief marketing officer of PetPartners Inc., based in Raleigh. "There are several companies now offering it whereas only a few years ago there were only a few."

Veterinary Pet Insurance, based in Brea, Calif., has about 170 policyholders in Chapel Hill alone, and North Carolina is the 13th state in number of policyholders, with 10,500.

Wally Diehl of Timberlyne Animal Clinic has been a veterinarian in Chapel Hill for more than 20 years. He said pet insurance has increased dramatically.

"In the late '90s, we would get maybe one claim form a month," he said. "Now I think it's very common for us to get five or more per week."

He tells customers that it makes sense to purchase policies when they first get a puppy or kitten -- before pre-existing conditions become a factor.

Pet insurance policies can cost from about $15 to $60 a month. Most don't cover genetic or pre-existing conditions. In addition to reimbursing policyholders a certain amount for covered accidents and illnesses, some policies include a wellness plan that covers vaccinations and annual check-ups.

Under the wellness plans, "the things that people have to do anyway with their pets in their first two years of life, so much of that is covered," Diehl said.

And if specialty care is needed or if an accident happens, he said the policy can come in handy even more.

VPI CEO Dennis Drent recently visited an animal hospital in New York where a 3-month-old puppy was intubated.

"They had a full-time nurse 24 hours round the clock who sat with this dog to make sure it was OK," he said. But along with advanced medical care comes higher bills. "It was costing that pet owner $2,000 a day to take care of that pet."

With pets more a part of the family now than they ever have been, people are increasingly willing to pay to keep their pets alive.

"It used to be the dog sat outside, and you threw scraps outside at the end of the day," said Laura Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance, based in Mayfield Village, Ohio. "Now dogs sleep on the bed, and they're taken on vacation, and they're treated as part of the family."

More than half of VPI customers polled said their pet sleeps next to them in bed.

For Holmes, the decision to insure her beloved Diva was a given.

"My pet is a family member," she said. "You wouldn't not insure a family member."

Robin Hilmantel is a senior in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Contact her at rfhilman@email.unc.edu