A significant portion of animal ownership expenses is veterinary costs. One trip for a dog can be in the neighborhood of $200+ and can easily be higher if your pet experienced an injury or illness. If your pet needs surgery that can be at least $400+.
Managing the cost of owning your pet and being prepared for any unexpected veterinary emergencies is a good reason to enroll your pet into an insurance plan. Policies are usually low monthly bills, but can pay out up to tens of thousands of dollars in an unexpected veterinary bill. This could be a live-saving operation for your beloved pet.
With so many insurance plans on the market, we wanted to round up the best plan using a scoring system that evaluates what the policy offers, the value, pricing, their customer service and much more. We found these to be the best option from research.
9 Of The Best Pet Insurance Plans For 2021
- Best Overall: Pet Assure
- Best for Routine Care: PetFirst
- Best for Discounts: GEICO
- Best for Emergencies: Embrace
- Best for Multiple Pets: ASPCA
- Best for Holistic Care: Figo
- Bst for Older Dogs: Hartville
- Best for Chronic Conditions: 24PetWatch
- Best for Service Members: USAA
COMPANY | BEST FOR | STAR RATING | ESTIMATED COST | ANIMAL TYPE | DEDUCTIBLE | Annual Limits |
Pet Assure | Overall | 4.14 | $11.95/monthly | Dogs, Cats, Exoctics | $0 | No Cap |
PetFirst | Routine Care | 4.05 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $250 | $2,000 to $10.000 |
GEICO | Discounts | 4.04 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $200 to $1,000 | $5,000 to $30,000 |
USAA | Service Members | 3.99 | Must be a member Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | Must be a member to access | Must be a member to access |
Embrace | Emergencies | 3.99 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $200 to $1,000 | $,5000 to $30,000 |
Hartville | Older Dogs | 3.99 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $100 to $500 | $5,000 to No Cap |
24PetWatch | Chronic Conditions | 3.98 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $100 to $1,000 | $3,000 to $20,000 |
Figo | Holistic | 3.98 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $100 to $750 | $5,000 to No Cap |
ASPCA | Multiple Pets | 3.96 | Request Quote | Dogs, Cats | $100 to $500 | $3,000 to $10,000 |
Best Overall – Pet Assure
Best For Routine Care – PetFirst
Best For Discounts – GEICO
Best For Emergencies – Embrace
Best For Multiple Pets – ASPCA
Best For Holistic Care – FIGO
Best For Older Dogs – Hartville
Best For Chronic Conditions – 24PetWatch
Frequently Asked Questions
How Exactly Does Pet Insurance Work?
Pet insurance is a policy that will help protect you financially in the unexpected event of veterinary expenses. Each month a premium is paid to the insurance company for coverage. Should your pet get injured or sick, you submit the veterinary bill to the insurance company for full or partial payment according to your insurance plan. Your plan cold have a deductible that needs to be paid before the insurance company starts to cover costs. After that, eligible vet costs will be covered up to your policy’s annual limit.
How Exactly Does Pet Insurance Work?
Pet insurance is a policy that will help protect you financially in the unexpected event of veterinary expenses. Each month a premium is paid to the insurance company for coverage. Should your pet become injured or sick, you submit the veterinary bill to the insurance company for full or partial payment according to your insurance plan. Your plan could have a deductible that needs to be paid before the insurance company starts to cover costs. After that, eligible vet costs will be covered up to your policy’s annual limit.
In a recent interview with Dr. Doug Kenney, a retired veterinarian and moderator of the Your Pet Insurance Guide blog, he said “Pet health insurance is technically property and casualty (P&C) insurance and not in the health insurance category. Despite this, it is health insurance. The current model is reimbursement insurance. You pay the veterinarian, file a claim and the insurance company will reimburse you an amount minus the deductible and copay and any uncovered expenses.”
What Does Pet Insurance Cover?
Depending on the plan you choose, pet insurance covers different types of treatments. Accident-only policies only pay for bills that result from an injury, for example, if your pet is hit by a car or ingests a foreign object. Accident and illness policies cover these injuries in addition to most illnesses, from common viruses to serious diseases like cancer.
There are some insurers who give pet parents the option to add on wellness coverage. This pays for some or all of your pet’s preventive care costs like vaccinations and annual checkups. Without a wellness rider, however, these treatments generally aren’t covered by a standard policy.
Is Pet Insurance Tax-deductible?
In most cases, it is not. An exception that may occur is if you rely on a guide dog or service animal for a disability. According to the IRS, the costs of feeding and caring for a legitimate service animal fall under tax-deductible expenses, which can include an insurance policy that helps pay for veterinary expenses. This rule doesn’t apply to emotional support animals though.
Is Pet Insurance Worth The Cost?
That is a tough question. It is very hard to say if pet insurance will pay for itself because of an unpredictable future. In a perfect world, your pet should not suffer any major illnesses or injuries that would require an extensive vet care. However, with all insurance, paying a nominal fee to be covered will eliminate the risk of needing to pay thousands in the unlikely event that a critical emergency happens. Many pet owners consider it is worth the cost knowing they’ll never face a time that they can’t afford a life-saving procedure for their beloved four-legged family member.
It should also be noted that pet insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of insurance. Make sure you choose the pet insurance company and policy that fits the best needs of the pet, what the owner wants and the available budget for the pet’s health expenses.
An example could be that your pet gets hit by a car and you rush it to the nearest vet hospital. After an emergency surgery, your total bill comes to $2,500. If you don’t have pet insurance, you would have to pay the full amount out of your pocket. In the event you have insurance and had a mid-tier policy with a $500 deductible and an 90% rate of reimbursement, you’d only be responsible for approximately $900 out of your pocket.