What Does Pet Insurance Cover?

2023-05-11 14:23:39 • 104 Views

Pet insurance is like human health insurance in many ways. The main difference has to do with the restrictions imposed on most pet health insurance policies. For example, pet insurance rarely covers preexisting conditions.

Fortunately, despite these restrictions, pet insurance can be purchased that offers a wide array of coverage, from routine care to major surgery. Coverage is provided by three broad policy types.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Pet insurance is like health insurance for humans, but with restrictions not found in human coverage.
The three main types of coverage are wellness, accident, and comprehensive.
Covered treatments and procedures vary by policy type and depth of coverage (policy cost).
Within each type of coverage, many insurers offer various levels of optional coverage.

Wellness

Wellness coverage can best be thought of as routine or preventive care. Wellness-only coverage makes up a negligible part of the pet insurance market and is most often found as a rider to a comprehensive policy (see below). Most wellness plans or riders do not have a deductible but offer a certain dollar amount (or percentage) for each type of covered procedure, which often includes the following:1 2

Spaying/neutering
Annual checkups
Vaccinations
Flea and tick control
Heartworm prevention
Certain tests
Teeth cleaning

None of the three major types of pet insurance includes a death benefit. That comes with special life and theft coverage, typically taken out on highly valuable animals.1

Accident

This type of coverage pays for treatment when your pet accidentally swallows a foreign object, gets hit by a car, or suffers another physical injury. Accident-only coverage, which makes up just 2% of the pet insurance market, is an often-used option for owners of older pets that have aged out of comprehensive coverage. Procedures covered typically include:345

Bloat
Foreign body ingestion
Hit by car
Torn cruciate ligament
Poisoning
Cuts and lacerations
Prescription drugs (for a covered event)
Insect/snake bites
Eye injuries
Sprains
Broken bones

Comprehensive (Accident and Illness)

Often referred to as accident and illness coverage, this type of plan pays for accidents and illnesses or diseases, such as cancer. Comprehensive policies make up 98% of pet insurance policies and sometimes also offer wellness coverage as an add-on or may be included with the coverage. Coverage includes everything provided by accident-only coverage plus:672

Breed-specific conditions
Cancer treatment
Chronic conditions
Diagnostic testing and imaging
ER and specialist care
Surgery, hospitalization, nursing care
Prescription drugs
Dental illness

Almost all pet insurance in the U.S. is taken out on dogs (approximately 83%) and cats (approximately 17%).8

Coverage Options

Some insurers offer additional levels of coverage within each of the main types as options, usually at additional cost. The list varies by the insurer but some common examples include:2

Emergency out-of-country treatment
Liability coverage for bites or injuries caused by your pet (typically part of homeowners insurance, but a few policies offer it as an option.)
The reward for a lost or stolen pet (typically part of life and theft coverage, but sometimes offered as an option.)
Pet boarding and care if you are incapacitated

Cost vs. Value

How much you pay for pet health insurance and whether it is worth it to you depends on a variety of factors, including the coverage you will get and how much the peace of mind you experience is worth to you.

Insurance costs vary with coverage and policy but in general:

Wellness coverage costs $20 to $25 per month.9
Accident-only coverage runs from $11 to $20 per month.10
Comprehensive coverage averages $49 per month for dogs and $29 per month for cats.10