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Mike Miller is a writer with a decade of experience producing product and service content to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in creative advertising. In his spare time, Mike enjoys riding and fixing motorcycles, reading a good book and spending time with his wife and two cats.
Sabrina Lopez is an editor with over six years of experience writing and editing digital content with a particular focus on home services, home products and personal finance. When she is not working on articles to help consumers make informed decisions, Sabrina enjoys creative writing and spending time with her family and their two parrots.
Whether you’re a dog or cat owner, the best cheap pet insurance companies tend to be the same for both species. If you’re looking for minimum coverage, the pet insurance company that provides the cheapest accident-and-illness plans is Pets Best, charging $7.79 monthly for a 4-year-old medium mixed dog and $4.06 monthly for a 4-year-old mixed breed cat.
However, if your goal is to get mid-range coverage while saving money, Lemonade charges $23.22 and $13.22 for the same dog and cat profiles — the cheapest among our analyzed providers.
Though paying monthly premiums for a product you hope not to use can be challenging, a cheap pet insurance policy can reduce the financial impact of emergency vet care when your pet needs it most. At the Marketwatch Guides Team, we analyzed some of the best pet health insurance companies to find affordable but quality options for pet owners on a budget.
Out of the pet insurance companies we reviewed, Lemonade consistently offered some of the most affordable plans for dogs and cats. One reason we scored this provider highly (92 out of 100) is that it offers policy customization options — five coverage limits, three deductibles and three reimbursement rates to choose from — to help customers tailor pricing to their needs.
Lemonade also lets pet owners increase coverage to include items like vet visits and check-up fees, behavioral or physical therapy, and other add-ons for an additional fee of $1 to $5 per month. Providing a rare discount in the pet insurance industry, Lemonade offers customers 10% off policies when bundling with a homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy.
Lemonade offers one standard plan covering accidents and illnesses like broken bones, sprains, infections, cancers, heart disease or hip dysplasia. It pays for diagnostic tests, urinalysis, outpatient procedures, emergency care, hospitalization, surgery and prescription medications.
All sample premiums in this article are for 4-year-old medium mixed-breed male dogs and cats in North Carolina. We requested quotes for each provider’s base plan, using its minimum coverage options (highest deductible, lowest annual coverage limit and lowest reimbursement rate) for our low-end quotes and maximum coverage options for our high-end quotes. We also collected mid-range quotes by selecting coverage options in the middle of each provider’s scale.
Sample Premiums:
Lemonade also offers two tiers of preventative coverage at affordable prices. The company charges lower prices for cats’ wellness plans than dogs’. Opting into a preventative care plan adds a monthly fee of $18 to $27 for dogs and $11 to $18 for cats.
If this provider’s base plan doesn’t cover an item you’re concerned about, you may find it among its affordable plan add-ons. For a fee, you can select the following individual riders to supplement your base coverage:
To learn more: Lemonade Pet Insurance review
Spot is an affordable pet insurance provider that offers the most customizable plans of the companies we reviewed. It has options for accident-only or accident-and-illness coverage, as well as seven different annual coverage limits ranging from $2,500 to unlimited, allowing pet owners to find the right amount of coverage at an affordable rate.
One of the most reliable ways to reduce the cost of pet insurance is to adjust the policy’s customizations. Increasing your deductible or reducing your annual limit can significantly affect your premium. Strong ratings for premium cost, policy customizations and many covered treatments earned Spot an overall score of 89 out of 100.
Spot and ASPCA use the same underwriter — the United States Fire Insurance Company — so their coverage is similar. Spot’s standard accident-and-illness policy covers unexpected injuries, illnesses or other conditions, including dental disease, cancer, heart disease and more.
Sample Premiums:
Spot’s considerable customization offerings create a wide range of premium costs, with high coverage costing nearly seven times the price of its low coverage, according to our sample quotes. However, this allows pet owners to adjust coverage based on their budget without switching to a new pet insurance company.
Spot also offers an accident-only plan as a more affordable option for limited coverage. This plan covers the same treatments for injuries as the accident-and-illness plan but doesn’t cover illnesses, diseases or like conditions.
Spot offers preventative care in two tiers. The Gold Plan has an annual allowance of $250 for vaccines, fecal tests, medications, wellness visits and more. The Platinum Plan includes everything in the Gold Plan plus spay and neuter operations, bloodwork and more. It also increases the annual coverage to $450.
To learn more: Spot Pet Insurance review
Embrace’s base pet insurance premiums aren’t as low as Lemonade’s, but the company scored 90.5 out of 100 for the additional savings it offers eligible pet owners via discounts. When you enroll your pet, you might qualify for a 10% discount for each additional pet policy you purchase, a 5% military discount, and/or a 10% discount for employees of companies that offer Embrace pet insurance.
Embrace also offers the Healthy Pet Deductible, which credits $50 toward your co-payment for each year you don’t file a claim, lowering your deductible to as little as $0. However, we deducted points from Embrace’s overall score because it charges customers a $25 enrollment fee and a $1 monthly processing fee for policyholders who pay monthly (not annually).
Embrace’s accident-and-illness pet insurance covers treatments, procedures and other costs related to conditions such as dental trauma, chronic conditions, congenital conditions, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover preexisting conditions, organ transplants, breeding or pregnancy issues, elective procedures, and other exclusions.
Sample Premiums:
Although Embrace’s full-price coverage is more expensive than Lemonade’s, you could save up to 25% if you qualify for all of Embrace’s discounts. However, we noticed that Embrace’s premiums increase significantly with fully customized plans.
Embrace’s Wellness Rewards optional preventative care package provides 100% reimbursement up to your choice of a $250, $450 or $650 annual coverage limit. The plan covers typical wellness costs for spaying or neutering, microchipping, routine vaccines, acupuncture, grooming, teeth cleanings and more.
Embrace’s wellness coverage costs a flat fee of $18.75, $35.42 or $52.09 per month for its three tiers, respectively. While this doesn’t add much to your premium, it only provides about $25 in annual savings over paying out-of-pocket for wellness expenses.
Note: The Wellness Rewards plan is not available in Rhode Island.
To learn more: Embrace Pet Insurance review
Healthy Paws scored 84 out of 100 for offering unlimited coverage at a lower price than competitors like Spot and Embrace. Its policies have no annual, per-incident or lifetime payment caps, meaning the provider will reimburse the full cost of all approved claims after you hit your deductible and pay your copay. It also promises to process 99% of claims within two days.
Healthy Paws lost points for its limited policy customizations. It offers just two deductible options and doesn’t provide a 90% reimbursement rate, making it harder to customize its coverage to your budget. Additionally, it restricts its policy options for older pets. If your dog or cat is older than six, you must select from higher deductibles and lower reimbursement rates.
Healthy Paws offers one plan that covers costs for medically necessary veterinary treatments related to covered accidents and illnesses, such as congenital conditions, hip dysplasia (after 12 months), chronic conditions, cancer, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover preventive or routine care, elective procedures, preexisting conditions, exam fees or spay/neuter surgery.
*Policies that cover pets over six years old come with lower reimbursement rates (50% to 70%) and higher annual deductibles ($500 to $1,000).
Sample Premiums:
Healthy Paws offers consistently low pricing across its plans, though that may result from the lack of variance in its customizations. Its most expensive plan ($250 deductible and $80% reimbursement) for a 4-year-old mixed dog is just 31% more expensive than its least expensive plan ($500 deductible and 70% reimbursement).
When selecting the highest plan customizations for each brand for our 4-year-old mixed dog and cat, Healthy Paws’ unlimited coverage is cheaper than Spot’s and Fetch’s.
Healthy Paws doesn’t offer a preventative care plan or add-on.
To learn more: Healthy Paws Pet Insurance review
In addition to having affordable, customizable policies, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is serviced by the Crum and Forster Pet Insurance Group, which has been in the industry for over 25 years. The provider earned strong scores for offering three plan types, comprehensive coverage and a 10% multi-pet discount, earning an overall score of 90 out of 100.
This provider is an excellent choice for new and seasoned pet owners alike, offering both accident-only and accident-and-illness coverage with five coverage limit options and three reimbursement rate and deductible choices. However, it lost points for its comparatively low maximum annual coverage cap and limited policy customizations.
ASPCA offers a standard accident-and-illness plan, called the Complete Coverage plan, that covers injuries, illnesses and conditions such as cancer, behavioral issues, infections, hip dysplasia, heart disease, hereditary conditions, diabetes and more. Preexisting conditions, cosmetic procedures and breeding costs are excluded from coverage.
Sample Premiums:
Its accident-only plan covers vet bills related to unexpected injuries such as broken bones, swallowed objects, lacerations and toxic ingestions. Its cost is similar or slightly more expensive than competitors’ accident-only plans, despite its coverage capping at just $10,000.
You can extend your coverage with a wellness care add-on, which covers routine care services like wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, deworming and more. It is available at two different levels, reimbursing up to $250 or $450 annually. The Basic level is $9.95 monthly, and the Prime level is $24.95 monthly for dogs and cats.
To learn more: ASPCA Pet Insurance review
Fetch by The Dodo stands out for its generous coverage of holistic treatments for pets at an affordable price. The company’s standard plan covers chiropractic care, stem cell therapy, laser therapy, homeopathy and more up to $1,000. It also covers veterinary care related to behavioral issues like separation anxiety and hyperactivity.
Fetch also earned points for offering various discounts, including 10% off for AARP members, active and retired military and pet owners who adopted from a shelter or rescue. Overall, Fetch scored 89.5 out of 100 based on our review standards.
Fetch has one standard plan covering sick visits, vet exams, diagnostic testing and surgeries pertaining to accidents, illnesses, dental issues and breed-specific conditions. It also covers cancer treatments, provides up to $15,000 for treating behavioral issues and covers up to $1,000 per year for telehealth vet visits.
Fetch also offers a unique reimbursement if you advertise for your lost pet or cancel a vacation due to a pet injury or illness-related treatment.
Sample Premiums:
Fetch’s dog insurance ranges from $33 to $75 per month, and cat insurance ranges from $20 to $37. While Fetch is cheaper than ASPCA for $15,000 of coverage at a 90% reimbursement rate, Healthy Paws offers a cheaper policy if you want a lower reimbursement rate and unlimited coverage.
Unfortunately, pet owners with multiple fur babies can’t reduce these premiums by enrolling their whole pack. We also found that Fetch policies for older pets are considerably more expensive.
Fetch does not have wellness or preventive care options.
To learn more: Fetch Pet Insurance review
Pets Best is an affordable pet insurance provider with special attention to senior pets. In addition to offering some of the lowest premiums on this list and a 10% discount for enrolling multiple pets, the company has no upper age limit, so you can enroll your cat or dog anytime.
Pets Best stands out for its unique coverage of prescribed prosthetic devices and wheelchairs. The provider is a good choice if your pet is prone to conditions that affect its joints or ligaments. Overall, we scored Pets Best 96.5 out of 100.
Pets Best offers an affordable accident-and-illness plan. It covers accidents resulting from surgery, such as broken bones, poisoning, lacerations or car accidents. It also covers illnesses, including cancer treatments, hereditary and congenital conditions, ongoing and chronic conditions and more.
While this plan includes exam fees, acupuncture, chiropractic, physical rehabilitation and prescription medications, any coverages can be dropped to better meet your pet’s needs and budget.
Sample Premiums:
Pets Best also offers an accident-only plan for a flat fee of $9 per month for dogs and $6 per month for cats. This is an excellent way to buy coverage for things like broken legs, snake bites, foreign object ingestions and more at the cost of one or two monthly coffees.
If you want to cover expected vet bills, such as wellness visits, vaccinations, blood work and spay or neuter operations, Pets Best has two wellness add-ons to choose from. EssentialWellness includes $305 in total annual benefits and costs $16 monthly ($192 annually). The BestWellness plan includes $535 in annual coverage for the same benefits and costs $26 monthly ($312 annually).
To learn more: Pets Best Insurance review
Out of the pet insurance companies we reviewed, Lemonade consistently offered some of the most affordable plans for dogs and cats. One reason we scored this provider highly (92 out of 100) is that it offers policy customization options — five coverage limits, three deductibles and three reimbursement rates to choose from — to help customers tailor pricing to their needs.
Lemonade also lets pet owners increase coverage to include items like vet visits and check-up fees, behavioral or physical therapy, and other add-ons for an additional fee of $1 to $5 per month. Providing a rare discount in the pet insurance industry, Lemonade offers customers 10% off policies when bundling with a homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy.
Lemonade offers one standard plan covering accidents and illnesses like broken bones, sprains, infections, cancers, heart disease or hip dysplasia. It pays for diagnostic tests, urinalysis, outpatient procedures, emergency care, hospitalization, surgery and prescription medications.
All sample premiums in this article are for 4-year-old medium mixed-breed male dogs and cats in North Carolina. We requested quotes for each provider’s base plan, using its minimum coverage options (highest deductible, lowest annual coverage limit and lowest reimbursement rate) for our low-end quotes and maximum coverage options for our high-end quotes. We also collected mid-range quotes by selecting coverage options in the middle of each provider’s scale.
Lemonade also offers two tiers of preventative coverage at affordable prices. The company charges lower prices for cats’ wellness plans than dogs’. Opting into a preventative care plan adds a monthly fee of $18 to $27 for dogs and $11 to $18 for cats.
If this provider’s base plan doesn’t cover an item you’re concerned about, you may find it among its affordable plan add-ons. For a fee, you can select the following individual riders to supplement your base coverage:
Spot is an affordable pet insurance provider that offers the most customizable plans of the companies we reviewed. It has options for accident-only or accident-and-illness coverage and seven different annual coverage limits ranging from $2,500 to unlimited, allowing pet owners to find the right amount of coverage at an affordable rate.
One of the most reliable ways to reduce the cost of pet insurance is to adjust the policy’s customizations. Increasing your deductible or reducing your annual limit can significantly affect your premium. Strong ratings for premium cost, policy customizations and many covered treatments earned Spot an overall score of 89 out of 100.
Spot and ASPCA use the same underwriter — the United States Fire Insurance Company — so their coverage is similar. Spot’s standard accident-and-illness policy covers unexpected injuries, illnesses or other conditions, including dental disease, cancer, heart disease and more.
Spot’s many customization offerings create a wide range of premium costs, with high coverage costing nearly seven times the price of its low coverage, according to our sample quotes. However, this allows pet owners to adjust coverage based on their budget without switching to a new pet insurance company.
Spot also offers an accident-only plan as a more affordable option for limited coverage. This plan covers the same treatments for injuries as the accident-and-illness plan but doesn’t cover illnesses, diseases or like conditions.
Spot offers preventative care in two tiers. The Gold Plan has an annual allowance of $250 for vaccines, fecal tests, medications, wellness visits and more. The Platinum Plan includes everything in the Gold Plan plus spay and neuter operations, bloodwork and more. It also increases the annual coverage to $450.
Embrace’s base pet insurance premiums aren’t as low as Lemonade’s, but the company scored 90.5 out of 100 for the additional savings it offers eligible pet owners via discounts. When you enroll your pet, you might qualify for a 10% discount for each additional pet policy you purchase, a 5% military discount, and/or a 10% discount for employees of companies that offer Embrace pet insurance.
Embrace also offers the Healthy Pet Deductible, which credits $50 toward your co-payment for each year you don’t file a claim, lowering your deductible to as little as $0. However, we deducted points from Embrace’s overall score because it charges customers a $25 enrollment fee and a $1 monthly processing fee for policyholders who pay monthly (not annually).
Embrace’s accident-and-illness pet insurance covers treatments, procedures and other costs related to conditions such as dental trauma, chronic conditions, congenital conditions, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover preexisting conditions, organ transplants, breeding or pregnancy issues, elective procedures, and other exclusions.
Although Embrace’s full-price coverage is more expensive than Lemonade’s, you could save up to 25% if you qualify for all of Embrace’s discounts. However, we noticed that Embrace’s premiums increase significantly with fully customized plans.
Embrace’s Wellness Rewards optional preventative care package provides 100% reimbursement up to your choice of a $250, $450 or $650 annual coverage limit. The plan covers typical wellness costs for spaying or neutering, microchipping, routine vaccines, acupuncture, grooming, teeth cleanings and more.
Embrace’s wellness coverage costs a flat fee of $18.75, $35.42 or $52.09 per month for its three tiers, respectively. While this doesn’t add much to your premium, it only provides about $25 in annual savings over paying out-of-pocket for wellness expenses.
Note: The Wellness Rewards plan is not available in Rhode Island.
Healthy Paws scored 84 out of 100 for offering unlimited coverage at a lower price than competitors like Spot and Embrace. Its policies have no annual, per-incident or lifetime payment caps, meaning the provider will reimburse the full cost of all approved claims after you hit your deductible and pay your copay. It also promises to process 99% of claims within two days.
Healthy Paws lost points for its limited policy customizations. It offers just two deductible options and doesn’t provide a 90% reimbursement rate, making it harder to customize its coverage to your budget. Additionally, it restricts its policy options for older pets. If your dog or cat is older than six, you must select from higher deductibles and lower reimbursement rates.
Healthy Paws offers one plan that covers costs for medically necessary veterinary treatments related to covered accidents and illnesses, such as congenital conditions, hip dysplasia (after 12 months), chronic conditions, cancer, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover preventive or routine care, elective procedures, preexisting conditions, exam fees or spay/neuter surgery.
*Policies that cover pets over six years old come with lower reimbursement rates (50% to 70%) and higher annual deductibles ($500 to $1,000).
Healthy Paws offers consistently low pricing across its plans, though that may result from the lack of variance in its customizations. Its most expensive plan ($250 deductible and $80% reimbursement) for a 4-year-old mixed dog is just 31% more expensive than its least expensive plan ($500 deductible and 70% reimbursement).
When selecting the highest plan customizations for each brand for our 4-year-old mixed dog and cat, Healthy Paws’ unlimited coverage is cheaper than Spot’s and Fetch’s.
Healthy Paws doesn’t offer a preventative care plan or add-on.
In addition to having affordable, customizable policies, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is serviced by the Crum and Forster Pet Insurance Group, which has been in the industry for over 25 years. The provider earned strong scores for offering three plan types, comprehensive coverage and a 10% multi-pet discount, earning an overall score of 90 out of 100.
This provider is an excellent choice for new and seasoned pet owners alike, offering both accident-only and accident-and-illness coverage with five coverage limit options and three reimbursement rate and deductible choices. However, it lost points for its comparatively low maximum annual coverage cap and limited policy customizations.
ASPCA offers a standard accident-and-illness plan, called the Complete Coverage plan, that covers injuries, illnesses and conditions such as cancer, behavioral issues, infections, hip dysplasia, heart disease, hereditary conditions, diabetes and more. Preexisting conditions, cosmetic procedures and breeding costs are excluded from coverage.
Sample Premiums:
Its accident-only plan covers vet bills related to unexpected injuries such as broken bones, swallowed objects, lacerations and toxic ingestions. Its cost is similar to or slightly more expensive than competitors’ accident-only plans, despite its coverage capping at just $10,000.
You can extend your coverage with a wellness care add-on, which covers routine care services like wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, deworming and more. It is available at two levels, reimbursing up to $250 or $450 annually. The Basic level is $9.95 monthly, and the Prime level is $24.95 monthly for dogs and cats.
Fetch by The Dodo stands out for its generous coverage of holistic treatments for pets at an affordable price. The company’s standard plan covers chiropractic care, stem cell therapy, laser therapy, homeopathy and more up to $1,000. It also covers veterinary care related to behavioral issues like separation anxiety and hyperactivity.
Fetch also earned points for offering various discounts, including 10% off for AARP members, active and retired military and pet owners who adopted from a shelter or rescue. Overall, Fetch scored 89.5 out of 100 based on our review standards.
Fetch has one standard plan covering sick visits, vet exams, diagnostic testing and surgeries about accidents, illnesses, dental issues and breed-specific conditions. It also covers cancer treatments, provides up to $15,000 for treating behavioral problems and covers up to $1,000 per year for telehealth vet visits.
Fetch also offers a unique reimbursement if you advertise for your lost pet or cancel a vacation due to a pet injury or illness-related treatment.
Sample Premiums:
Fetch’s dog insurance ranges from $33 to $75 per month, and cat insurance ranges from $20 to $37. While Fetch is cheaper than ASPCA for $15,000 of coverage at a 90% reimbursement rate, Healthy Paws offers a more affordable policy if you want a lower reimbursement rate and unlimited coverage.
Unfortunately, pet owners with multiple fur babies can’t reduce these premiums by enrolling their whole pack. We also found that Fetch policies for older pets are considerably more expensive.
Fetch does not have wellness or preventive care options.
Pets Best is an affordable pet insurance provider with special attention to senior pets. In addition to offering some of the lowest premiums on this list and a 10% discount for enrolling multiple pets, the company has no upper age limit, so you can enroll your cat or dog anytime.
Pets Best stands out for its unique coverage of prescribed prosthetic devices and wheelchairs. The provider is a good choice if your pet is prone to conditions that affect its joints or ligaments. Overall, we scored Pets Best 96.5 out of 100.
Pets Best offers an affordable accident-and-illness plan. It covers accidents resulting from surgery, such as broken bones, poisoning, lacerations or car accidents. It also covers illnesses, including cancer treatments, hereditary and congenital conditions, ongoing and chronic conditions and more.
While this plan includes exam fees, acupuncture, chiropractic, physical rehabilitation and prescription medications, any coverages can be dropped to meet your pet’s needs and budget better.
Sample Premiums:
Pets Best also offers an accident-only plan for a flat fee of $9 per month for dogs and $6 per month for cats. This is an excellent way to buy coverage for things like broken legs, snake bites, foreign object ingestions and more at the cost of one or two monthly coffees.
If you want to cover expected vet bills, such as wellness visits, vaccinations, blood work and spay or neuter operations, Pets Best has two wellness add-ons. EssentialWellness includes $305 in total annual benefits and costs $16 monthly ($192 annually). The BestWellness plan includes $535 in annual coverage for the same benefits and costs $26 monthly ($312 annually).
If cheap plan premiums are your most important factor when choosing a pet insurance company, you align with 44.2% of respondents from our 2021 pet owner survey. Their budgets are seemingly being met, too, as 93% of respondents said pet insurance was worth it to them.
Use the tables below to easily compare the cost of mid-range coverage from our picks for the cheapest pet insurers.
Here are the best affordable pet insurance plans for dogs, in order from least to most expensive. Quotes represent mid-range coverage for a 4-year-old mixed dog in Raleigh, N.C.
Here are the cheapest cat insurance plans, from least to most expensive. Quotes represent mid-range coverage for a 4-year-old mixed cat in Raleigh, N.C.
Pet insurance is a contract with a pet insurance company that pays for unexpected veterinary care costs related to emergencies, accidents and illnesses for your pet. Having a policy can greatly reduce your out-of-pocket expenses on covered claims.
Pet health insurance works a bit differently than your personal health insurance. You pay for the full cost of care at the vet’s office, then submit a claim to your insurer. For a covered claim, your provider will reimburse you a percentage of the bill (the reimbursement rate you selected during enrollment) minus your deductible. One benefit to this arrangement is the ability to go to any licensed veterinarian in the U.S. instead of being limited to a provider network.
Most pet insurance policies cover costs related to major accidents and injuries, including general sicknesses, infections, injuries, wounds, cancer, genetic conditions and hereditary conditions. Costs from hospitalizations, surgeries, medications and diagnostic tests are typically covered up to your selected annual limit, which is the total amount your provider agrees to pay each year.
Pet insurance is a contract between you and an insurer that pays for unexpected vet bills in exchange for monthly premiums. It can make available financially demanding care options when you pet needs them most.
Understanding the different types of pet insurance plans is important before purchasing a policy. Most companies offer accident-and-illness plans, but some offer more affordable accident-only plans. Additionally, many top pet insurers offer preventive care coverage as an optional add-on.
Here’s a breakdown of each type of plan, what it includes and who it’s good for:
According to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association’s (NAPHIA), 2022 State of the Industry Report highlights, a standard accident and illness plan costs an average of $48.66 for dogs and $19.93 for cats.
Pet insurers consider the following factors when determining the cost of a policy:
There are more ways to find the cheapest pet insurance than simply shopping for the lowest premiums. Here, we offer tips and tricks for minimizing your monthly bill without minimizing the peace of mind that your furry friend has access to affordable vet care.
Your veterinarian can help you determine which affordable pet insurance plan best fits your pet’s needs without exceeding your budget. For example, a vet can help you pinpoint common conditions your pet’s breed faces and ensure they are covered in the plan you buy.
No pet insurer will cover preexisting conditions, which are injuries or illnesses a vet notices before your coverage starts. Insuring your animal at an early age is the best way to maximize your coverage and avoid denied claims. Our 2022 pet insurance survey showed that 77% of pet owners insured their pets before age two, but we recommend insuring your pet even earlier if possible. For example, Fetch offers an advantage by allowing coverage to start when your pet is just six weeks old — typically before many health issues present themselves.
According to NAPHIA’s 2022 State of the Industry Report, you can expect to pay $28.57 for dogs and $10.85 for cats monthly. That amounts to savings of about $20 for dogs and $9 for cats over accident-and-illness coverage.
Although accident-only plans have limited coverage, they’re perfect for some pet owners’ needs and budgets. For example, if you have a vaccinated indoor cat, you may not be as worried about the probability of illness. An accident-only plan would still cover accidental injuries from chewing cords, falling from heights, eating poisonous houseplants and more at a lower cost.
Most pet insurers allow you to customize components of their policies, enabling you to adjust the amount of coverage you receive and the policy cost. Here are the key levers of pet insurance policies and how they affect your bottom line:
Just ensure you don’t make changes that will drastically limit your coverage’s effectiveness. “Keep in mind that a lower coverage level means a lower premium, but it also means less protection for your pet and more out-of-pocket costs if your pet becomes ill or injured,” said Becky Simmonds, professional dog trainer and behaviorist at Breed Advisor.
Whether you have multiple furry friends or a history of military service, you can save money on pet insurance by selecting a provider with discounts that match your qualifications. The following are common pet insurance discounts:
Every pet insurance plan will have different costs, coverage options and features, so it’s important to take your time and research which provider is the best fit for you. We recommend you get a quote from at least three pet insurance providers on this list.
In addition to price, consider other features that may be important to you, like a mobile app, a 24/7 emergency vet line, or a robust wellness plan. Dr. Jamie Whittenburg, veterinary director with Senior Tail Waggers, emphasized the importance of learning about each policy’s finer details.
“Understanding what is and is not covered, claim procedures and turnaround times, and reimbursement policies are especially important,” Whittenburg said.
Yes, pet insurance is worth the cost for most pet owners. To illustrate this, let’s look at an example scenario.
According to Care Credit, treating a foreign object in a dog’s stomach costs $3,262. You consent to the treatment and file a claim.
Your insurance company pays $2435.80 once the claim is approved, leaving you with a bill for $826.20 (your $500 deductible plus 10% of $3,262).
In this example, you pay a total of $1,994.04 for pet insurance and the cost of the claim. That’s $1,267.96 cheaper than the out-of-pocket expenses for this emergency without pet insurance.
We recommend all of these affordable pet insurance providers to pet owners on a budget. Though Lemonade consistently offers lower prices than many competitors, it isn’t available in every state. We recommend getting a pet insurance quote from at least three companies on this list so that you can find the best pet insurance for your dog or cat. ASPCA offers more experience in the pet insurance industry than Lemonade, and Embrace provides a wider variety of discounts.
The providers on this list offer high-quality pet insurance at affordable prices, making it easy to find an excellent policy in your price range. Lemonade consistently offers low prices across multiple states, but Spot or ASPCA may be a good choice for pet parents who want affordable accident-only coverage.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average annual premiums for dog insurance in 2020 were $218 for accident-only insurance plans and $594 for an accident-and-illness plan.
Yes, wellness care add-ons can be worth it. Based on our 2021 survey of 1,000 pet owners, 70% of those without pet insurance paid between $200 and $1,000 for routine care services each year. A preventive care add-on covers wellness care such as vaccinations, blood work, flea and tick treatment, heartworm prevention and spay/neuter surgery. Additionally, the average annual price of a preventive care add-on is less than these combined services.
There are pet insurance policies without deductibles. However, remember that some pet insurance policies with no deductible require a much higher premium.
Our review of pet insurance companies is based on in-depth industry research that includes reading hundreds of customer reviews, scoping quotes and purchasing processes by secret shopping, speaking to representatives on the phone to assess the customer service experience, and surveying 1,000 dog and cat owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage. We scored each provider on a 100-point scale based on those elements. We then divided this final score by 20 to calculate an overall star rating out of 5.0 stars. Here are more details about each factor and how it’s weighted:
- Monthly pricing (25%): The best pet insurance companies combine comprehensive coverage and plan options with affordable rates.
- Plans (15%): The top pet insurance companies offer accident-and-illness plans, accident-only plans and wellness or preventive care add-ons to give customers the option to choose a plan that’s best for their pet.
- Covered treatments (15%): We scored companies based on the treatments and procedures they cover. Companies with a breadth of included treatments and unique coverages received more points than providers with more standard or general policies.
- Customization options (10%): Providers with more annual-limit, deductible and reimbursement-rate options earned the highest scores.
- Customer care (10%): We scored companies on their website accessibility and overall usability, customer service availability, mobile apps (if any), money-back guarantees and veterinarian telehealth options, awarding points to the insurers with more customer experience offerings.
- Industry reputation (10%): We reviewed up-to-date ratings and accreditation information from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and scored companies on their years of experience in the industry and their state availability.
- Waiting periods (10%): Companies with shorter accident, illness and orthopedic waiting periods between the sign-up and coverage start date scored higher than companies with longer waiting periods.
- Eligible age (5%): Some companies don’t offer policies for pets that are over a certain age. We deducted points from providers that have age limits for covered pets.
We use our rating system to compare and contrast each company against key factors to help us determine the best pet insurance companies in the industry. To learn more, read our full pet insurance methodology for reviewing and scoring providers. A.M. Best Disclaimer
Mike Miller is a writer with a decade of experience in various editorial roles. Before joining our team, he wrote for several high-profile clients producing content in the digital space. He has extensive experience producing product and service content to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in creative advertising. In his spare time, Mike enjoys riding and fixing motorcycles, reading a good book and spending time with his wife and two cats.
Sabrina Lopez is an editor with over six years of experience writing and editing digital content with a particular focus on topics in home services and products, as well as personal finance. Prior to her editorial experience, Sabrina earned her bachelor’s degree and a certificate to teach English for middle and high school. When she is not working on articles to help consumers make informed decisions, Sabrina enjoys creative writing and spending time with her family and their two parrots.
Dr. Patrik Holmboe lives in Amsterdam and currently serves as Head Veterinarian for Cooper Pet Care, the leading veterinary telemedicine provider in the Netherlands. He has previously worked for over five years as a companion-animal vet in Australia, Dubai and the Netherlands.
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