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Veterinary bills are no joke in the U.S.; even routine healthcare for your pet can add up to thousands annually, and an accident or emergency could end up costing you a five-figure sum.
That’s why it’s so important to get proper insurance coverage for your furry friends. Unfortunately, like most insurance, pet insurance is difficult to understand, and finding a policy that covers your needs and provides peace of mind (without ripping you off) can be quite an ordeal.
With that in mind, let’s go over everything you need to know to make an informed decision.
Deciphering the Jargon of Pet Insurance Plans
Reading insurance plan details can often feel like deciphering a foreign language. But to decide whether a given policy represents good value for you and your pet, you need to learn how to figure out what you’re actually paying for. Even if you use a pet insurance comparison tool to narrow down your choices, you still need to know what you’re looking at.
Here’s what you need to watch for as you compare your options:
Coverage Details and Benefits
You first need to understand exactly what will be covered in the event that something goes wrong.
Most plans will cover accidents, injuries, and common illnesses. However, hereditary conditions, congenital disorders, and chronic illnesses aren’t always covered (more on this below). Some plans will include extras, like coverage for behavioral issues, prescription medications, and even alternative therapies. These benefits can come in handy, especially if you have good reason to believe your pet will need them.
You should think about your pet’s lifestyle when deciding what features you need your pet insurance policy to have. Is your cat exclusively indoors? Does your dog hike and roughhouse a lot? These factors impact how accident-prone your pet is likely to be, and therefore the level of coverage you’ll require.
Accident-Only Policies
An accident-only pet insurance policy is just what it sounds like: it only covers treatment for accidental injuries, and it will not pay out for illness-related issues. These policies are typically the most basic and budget-friendly option.
Accident & Illness Policies
This is the most common type of pet insurance. Sometimes just called “comprehensive coverage” or “full coverage,” these plans cover both accidental injuries and illnesses. They’ll generally cover the vast majority of medical issues that could befall your pet, so they’re the way to go if you want broad protection and complete peace of mind.
Wellness / Preventive Care Add-Ons
Routine care (the predictable, every-year expenses like vaccinations, annual check-ups, dental cleanings, flea/heartworm prevention, etc.) are typically not covered by standard pet insurance. However, many insurers offer wellness or preventive care add-ons that you can tack onto a base insurance plan.
These are not insurance, per se, but rather benefits packages that will reimburse you up to a set amount for routine care items. For example, a wellness add-on might cover up to $500 per year for annual exams, bloodwork, vaccines, spaying/neutering, dental cleaning, and microchipping.
Exclusions and Limitations
Every pet insurance policy has at least some things it won’t pay for, so you’ll need to read the fine print (and there tends to be a lot of fine print).
The most common exclusion across the board relates to pre-existing conditions: Generally, no health issue your pet has before you buy a policy will be covered. This can depend on whether or not your pet has been formally diagnosed, so again, read the fine print.
Age limits are another common exclusion, with some insurers refusing to cover pets over a certain age. Breed-specific policy conditions are also common, and some insurers will refuse to cover issues that commonly arise in certain breeds (such as hip dysplasia in German Shepherds). If you’re not sure what kinds of issues your pet’s breed commonly suffers from, consider discussing it with your vet.
Furthermore, all pet insurance plans impose a waiting period (often around 14 days) after you purchase the policy before illnesses are covered; this is to prevent people from buying insurance right after a pet gets sick. You’ll also commonly see months-long waiting periods for specific conditions like orthopedic issues.
It’s important to compare these exclusions side by side. Download sample policies or look for “Exclusions” pages on insurer websites to get the details you need.
Cost Considerations (Premiums, Deductibles, and Value)
Your monthly/annual premium can vary based on factors like your pet’s breed, their age, your location, and the level of coverage you select. For example, large breed dogs generally cost more to insure than small cats, and vet costs in major cities are higher than in rural towns.
Other factors affecting your premium include the deductible and reimbursement percentage you choose. The deductible is the amount you pay out-of-pocket for vet bills before insurance starts reimbursing (this can either be on an annual basis or per-incident).
The reimbursement percentage is the portion of the vet bill the insurer will pay after the deductible. Many policies have annual payout limits or per-incident caps on how much they’ll reimburse, while some higher-end options offer unlimited coverage. The right choice here will depend on your pet’s circumstances and your budget.
You should also keep an eye out for discounts. Some providers offer multi-pet reductions (e.g., 5–10% off if you insure more than one pet on the same account) or discounts for paying annually instead of monthly.
Remember, the “cheapest” policy isn’t necessarily the best; if it doesn’t cover what you need, your final vet bills could work out to be very, very expensive.
Finding the Right Provider
There are plenty of providers for you to choose from in the pet insurance market, including:
- Spot
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
- Pets Best
- Embrace
- Healthy Paws
- Trupanion
- Nationwide
- Fetch
- Lemonade
- Figo
Despite what their ads and marketing content might say, none of these companies is markedly different than any of the others.
And since there’s no single provider that’s better than the rest, the right choice for you will always depend on your individual needs and the policy that best meets them. So be prepared to shop around.
How to Choose the Perfect Policy
As you can tell, there are a lot of balls to juggle when weighing pet insurance plans against one another. So, how do you actually do it?
First, decide whether you want accident-only or comprehensive coverage. An accident-only plan might be suitable for a very young pet that’s less likely to get sick or a pet that usually stays indoors. Some people also choose accident-only for older pets that no longer qualify for illness coverage. If price is the sticking point here, some quick online research should give you a rough idea how much each option would cost.
Next, pick four to six providers and list them in a spreadsheet, noting their options, add-ons, etc. If a provider offers multiple potentially relevant plans, give each plan a separate entry on the spreadsheet. Then, get sample policies for each of these plans and read them (leave a link to each plan in your spreadsheet for easy access later). Finally, list monthly premiums, reimbursement rates, coverage inclusions and exclusions, deductibles, annual limits, and additional notes.
Once you have all this data in front of you, it’ll be much easier to work out which options represent the best value — and which one is the most relevant for your pet.
Use Pet Insurance Comparison Tools to Narrow Down Your Choices
If the above method sounds like too much work, you’ll be glad to learn that there’s a simpler way. There are a few pet insurance comparison tools online that will automate this process for you, and they’ll even take your specific details into account to generate accurate premium estimates.
The best of these tools, in my opinion, is BestMoney.com. It allows you to enter your pet’s details (age, breed, etc.) and get quotes from multiple pet insurance companies for you to compare — complete with key details like coverage, approximate costs, reimbursement levels, support, etc. You can even read full reviews of each provider to see what others are saving.
Other tools include PolicyGenius and PetInsuranceReview; however, I think BestMoney’s interface is the cleanest and easiest to use.
These tools can save a lot of time (especially if you’re not fluent in insurance-ese), so I’d highly recommend going down this route.
Choosing the Right Insurance for You (and Your Pet)
Especially if you’ve recently welcomed a new pet into your home, insurance might be the last thing on your mind. However, it’s wise to sort it out as soon as possible so you’re not caught unprepared by any unfortunate surprises. Finding the right policy can take time, but it’s well worth the peace of mind and any possible savings on keeping your furry friend as healthy as possible.
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