Best pet insurance plans and options
Responsible pet owners know all too well the cost of properly caring for an animal. Aside from day-to-day care and grooming, there are the constantly mounting costs of wellness checks, emergency vet visits, pet medications and everything else it takes to keep your furry friend healthy and happy.
Fortunately, the availability of pet insurance eases some of the financial burdens of pet care. Unfortunately, choosing the best from among all the options available to you can be overwhelming. Get started by determining precisely which insurance benefits are most important to you, and go from there.
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Pet insurance is typically utilized for emergencies and illnesses, while pay for your pet’s wellness checks and routine healthcare out of your own pocket. You can often add preventive care if you’d like, but, of course, your premiums will go up. So first decide what your needs are when it comes to keeping your furry friend healthy. Then dig around for a pet insurance plan that offers the best coverage and reimbursement. Let’s sniff out the top contenders.
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Lemonade
This insurance company has a base pet plan that covers accidents and illnesses — specifically, the diagnostics, procedures and medications involved, whether your dog or cat breaks a bone, swallows a Lego or develops hip dysplasia — after various waiting periods that range from two days to six months. Lemonade also offers add-on options and preventive packages that kick off immediately. This company prides itself on reimbursing claims quickly (up to 90%), depositing funds directly into your bank account. Plans start at $10 a month, and deductibles and copays may apply.
Careplus by Chewy
The beloved pet supply brand offers both wellness and emergency/illness insurance plan options that make your life as a pet parent easier. They pay the vet directly, offer unlimited lifetime coverage and cover prescriptions 100 percent. Chewy even offers telehealth services.
Trupanion
Trupanion will reimburse the vet directly up to 90 percent, offers unlimited annual coverage and flexible deductible options, and their customer service agents are there for you 24/7. They cover accidents, illnesses — even those developed through breeding — and add-ons such as boarding and third-party property damage. However, Trupanion doesn’t offer preventive care.
Fetch
Fetch (formerly PetPlan)is the only insurance option that offers the option of 100 percent reimbursement to all veterinarians in the U.S. and Canada. Other reimbursement amounts are available for pet owners looking to control their premiums. And Fetch covers all accidents and illnesses with no restrictions for hereditary or congenital conditions. They even cover acupuncture!
Healthy Paws: The experts at ConsumerAdvocates.org selected Healthy Paws as the best of the best. Not only does this insurance cover your sick or injured pet, it also provides first-rate coverage for animals with chronic (but not pre-existing) conditions.
PetPlan: PetPlan is the only insurance option that offers the option of 100 percent reimbursement. Other reimbursement amounts are available for pet owners looking to control their premiums. And PetPlan covers all accidents and illnesses with no restrictions for hereditary or congenital conditions.
Unlimited lifetime benefits
Some insurance plans place a limit on the benefits you can receive. Those limits can be based on time (e.g., maximum payout per year is $14,000), on your pet’s age (i.e., the older the pet, the lower the benefits limit) or on any other of a variety of factors. If you have a dog that’s accident prone or subject to spending a lot of time at the vet, then an unlimited deductible is the way to go.
Healthy Paws: Healthy Paws offers unlimited lifetime benefits, and there is no cap or limit on individual claims.
Trupanion: Trupanion places no limits on claims or incidents per year or lifetime payouts — a particular benefit for someone who has an unlucky pet or one with lifelong health conditions.
Flexible deductibles
When you budget for pet insurance, it’s important to determine how much you can afford to pay out of pocket. “Healthy issues can arise at any stage in your pet’s life,” says Dennis Drent, a member of the board for the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. “Young pets are prone to injuries, older pets are more likely to develop a disease and treatment for these health issues can range up to $15,000.” If you don’t have access to this kind of money when an emergency arises (and you don’t want to run up the balances on your credit cards), then insurance with an affordable deductible is a no-brainer.
Healthy Paws: Your deductible is annual and not per incident, so it’s a money-saver for anyone whose pet spends a lot of time at the vet. And you can customize your deductible based on what you’re willing and able to afford out-of-pocket.
PetPlan: You get excellenct coverage with a choice of a $50, $100 or $200 deductible.
Trupanion: Once your pet has been approved for insurance coverage, Trupanion will work with you to adjust your deductible as needed.
Coverage for routine health care
If you’re one of the lucky owners whose pet requires just routine care, then you may want to select a policy that covers wellness exams, vaccinations, dental care or spaying/neutering.
Embrace: An A-plus rating from the BBB and an optional wellness plan makes Embrace an ideal option for owners of young, mostly healthy pets.
Trupanion: Trupanion makes it easy for pet owners. You pay one monthly premium to cover all of your pet’s examination fees and routine preventative care.
VPI: With VPI’s CareGuard Plan, you will get reimbursed for the costly routine care your pet needs to stay healthy.
Get a quote
Healthy Paws: Quotes are available online or by calling 1-800-453-4054.
PetPlan: Fill out a brief online questionnaire to obtain a quote.
Embrace: Request a quote online or at 1-800-511-9172.
Trupanion: Visit the website or talk directly with a customer care partner at 1-888-615-8318.
VPI: Get started with an online enrollment questionnaire or call 1-888-899-4VPI.
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