Best Pet Insurance Plans • For Cats and Dogs

You probably already know you can purchase health insurance and home insurance, but did you know that you can also purchase a pet insurance plan to help cover Fido or Fluffy’s medical bills as well?

Though pet insurance policies date back to the year 1890 (and were first used to protect horses and other forms of livestock), the increasing cost of veterinary treatment has seen a resurgence of pet insurance enrollment, particularly from millennial pet owners. But, which pet insurance policy is right for you and how can you determine if you even need pet insurance at all? Use this guide to find out more. And if you’d like to learn more about pet insurance before you start your search, check out this Benzinga resource: What is Pet Insurance? A Complete Guide.

Benzinga compiled a list of the best pet insurance. Get quotes from the carriers of your choice and compare to see who offers the best premium for your pets!

Lemonade offers easy-to-understand coverage options for dogs and cats. It’s even better for those who already have Lemonade renters or homeowners insurance as you get a discount for bundling your policies. 

Insurance companies keep extra dollars for profit, but Lemonade is unique in that after it pays your claims and its expenses, it gives any remaining premiums to a charity that you choose when you sign up for a policy. You can select charities like the American Red Cross, the Trevor Project, and many pet-centric causes.

Wagmo is a pet insurance plan that works for both dogs and cats, and while it offers a range of customizable features, its best attributes include:

• Short, 15-day waiting period
• Can cover up to 100% of emergency care
• Robust wellness programs
• All-online service and support
• A massive range of emergency coverages
• A powerful mobile app
• Mobile claims and reimbursement services

When you use Wagmo, you can go on the website right away and enter all the information for your pet, get a quote, customize that quote to suit your monthly budget and/or reach out to the customer service team for more information. Additionally, you can make adjustments to your coverage at any time, add more pets and enjoy a streamlined process that allows you to tend to your furry family members instead of juggling paperwork.

Look no further than Pumpkin for one of the best pet insurances on the market. You can get a traditional pet insurance and optional preventive care coverage. Pumpkin’s site notes that all of Pumpkin Pet Insurance’s policies come with a 90% reimbursement rate. 

Pumpkin offers policies for both dogs and cats and covers a wide range of situations. Your best bet is to get a sample quote, where you can find exclusions clearly laid out. 

Pumpkin’s customer service team can be reached by:

• Calling 1-866-ARF-MEOW (1‑866‑273‑6369), Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST
• Emailing help@pumpkin.care

Watch out for Pumpkin’s chat feature — coming soon!

Chewy Care Plus is a robust and comprehensive wellness and insurance plan for cats and dogs. Wellness coverage includes preventative care, routine vet visits, vaccines and assorted medications.

Accident and illness coverage helps your pets when they are sick and need to go to the vet on an emergency basis. This might include sickness, injuries and orthopedic issues. Additionally, your pets might need care for age-related conditions, chronic conditions, digestive issues and more. 

Best for regular checkups, you can get 24/7 customer care and unlimited access to licensed veterinarians. 

Spot Pet Insurance is a leading pet insurance provider featuring coverage for cats and dogs. Some insurance highlights:

• Up to 90% reimbursement on eligible vet bills
• No age cap on coverage
• Plans start as low as $1 a day* — that’s less than a cup of coffee!

You can customize your coverage and can even add special Spot-On coverage. Coverage options include accidents, behavioral issues, dental disease, illnesses, preventive services and even hereditary and congenital conditions. 

Spot’s claims service is easy. Just visit your vet (don’t forget to give your pet a treat on the way out!), send Spot the bill and get reimbursed. Plus, there’s a 24/7 vet helpline provided by VetConnect.

Take 30 seconds to fetch your free quote now. 

*Rates vary based on plan type, species, breed, age and location

Making vet visits simpler and offering an easy claims process, Trupanion helps you protect your furry family members with several options that include:

• Simplified claims process
• Covers congenital conditions
• Covers diagnostic tests
• Injuries and illnesses
• The pet owner assistance package
• The recovery and complimentary care rider

In addition to these highlights, Trupanion stands out from the crowd because:

• Trupanion can pay the veterinarian directly at the time of checkout
• $0 deductibles are available
• There’s a range of deductibles that help you affect your premiums
• It’s available in all 50 states—no hangups about your coverage

With the common $200 deductible, Trupanion makes it affordable to meet your deductible and maintain your coverage in an affordable way. If you’re looking for a different kind of pet insurance that’s not like any other carrier on the market, Trupanion is for you.

Pet insurance plans cover veterinary bills, either fully or in part, when a pet goes in for a check-up, is injured or develops a chronic illness and requires prescriptions or medications.

Many pet owners have difficulty understanding how pet insurance plans work because they think of it as analogous to human health insurance — that is, that the insurance covers the entirety of costs associated with care after a deductible has been reached, less the cost of associated co-pays.

However, pet insurance is classified as a type of property insurance and works basically the same way as auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance; you must cover the costs of care, then you submit a claim to your insurance provider, who then provides reimbursement. 

For very high bills (surgeries or emergency treatments), some veterinarians will allow you to put off payment until the insurance claim is filed, though specific policies for these types of instances vary depending on the veterinarian. Like human health insurance plans, most pet insurance plans require you to reach a certain deductible before they begin to pay out for care, regardless of the fact that pets are classified as property.

There are two main types of pet insurance policies: lifetime and non-lifetime. As its name suggests, lifetime insurance covers ongoing issues that persist throughout a pet’s life; if an issue is claimed in the first year of insurance, it will not be excluded from claims the following year.

Non-lifetime insurance policies cover claims for a single policy year but, upon completion of the policy year, exclude claims previously made. It’s important to note that even lifetime insurance policies place limitations on “per condition” payouts. Some policies may also limit payouts on a “per condition, per year basis.” 

Pet insurance policies also often feature add-on coverage for non-medical expenses, including boarding costs should the pet be found and placed in a pound or shelter, dental coverage, and even costs for a “safe return reward” if a pet runs away or gets lost. These add-ons may be purchased after you enroll or included as a comprehensive coverage package.

The most important consideration you’ll need to make when deciding whether or not pet insurance is worth it for your pet is breed. Some cat and dog breeds are more prone to illnesses and chronic conditions thanks to years of selective breeding.

This means that there are certain breeds that are more likely to incur higher veterinary bills over the course of their lifetimes, which makes the purchase of pet insurance more worth the cost to the buyer. If you own one of the following dog or cat breeds, you may want to consider enrolling in a pet insurance plan:

• Pugs and French bulldogs: Most pugs and French bulldogs develop breathing issues thanks to their short snouts, narrow nasal passages and unique head shape. Brachycephalic airway syndrome is the most common of these issues, which can lead to infections and allergic reactions. 
• Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Cavalier King Charles spaniels tend to develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the walls of the heart become overly thick. 
• Retrievers and Bernese mountain dogs. Retrievers and Bernese mountain dogs may be loyal and lovable, but they’re also two of the most common victims of histiocytic sarcomas, an incredibly aggressive and fast-acting form of blood cancer. Golden retrievers are the most common victims of this type of cancer, and veterinarians estimate that one in three golden retrievers will develop histiocytic sarcomas.
• Ragdoll cats. Like golden retrievers, cats from the ragdoll family are often susceptible to histiocytic sarcomas, as well as bladder and kidney infections. 
• Siamese cats. Siamese cats are known to be susceptible to a host of hereditary diseases, ranging from the mildly innocuous crossed eyes to respiratory issues that cause labored breathing and allergies, as well as multiples types of heart disease and cancers. 
• Scottish Folds. Scottish Folds are also susceptible to a range of genetic conditions due to how they are bred. Some may suffer from colds and allergies while others may have joint issues.

You may also want to consider investing in pet insurance if you have an exotic bird or other animals as a pet, as these types of animals typically need special veterinary care. However, before you sign up for a policy, you’ll want to make sure that your insurance provider of choice ensures exotic animals – many limit coverage to dogs and cats.

When choosing a pet insurance provider, you’ll want to consider a few key factors, including:

• Limits on specific conditions. The best pet insurance providers do not place limitations on how much you can spend on a specific medical condition. After all, if you pay for $20,000 worth of coverage and your dog develops cancer that requires $20,000 worth of treatment, you won’t want a plan that dictates that only $10,000 annually can be spent on cancer treatments. 
• Benefits models vs. actual veterinary bill reimbursement. You’ll want to choose a pet insurance plan that reimburses you based on the actual amount you’ve spent rather than a schedule of benefits or “usual and customary” benefits, both of which cap the amount of money that you can receive for veterinary care. 
• Animals that the insurance package does and does not cover. Some insurance providers cover exotic animals, while others limit their coverage to dogs and cats. Your insurance package may also have age limits for enrollment, so be sure to read all the fine print before you sign up. 
• Prescription drug coverage. Even if you don’t opt for comprehensive pet insurance, you’ll want to make sure that your insurance package covers prescription drug costs at least in part. Painkillers or eye drops can add up over time.
• Customer care. Because you’re filing claims yourself, you need to know that the customer care you get from the carrier is worthy of the money you’re spending.

It’s difficult to define which pet insurance provider is “best” because each policy offers its own set of benefits and drawbacks. For example, Nationwide may be the right choice if you have an exotic bird you’d like to cover, but Trupanion is probably a better choice for insuring a new puppy.