The One About Pet Insurance

There is a growing market for pet insurance, with more and more companies throwing themselves into the mix. We can't necessarily speak to how good of a match any particular insurance company may be with you and your pet, but we can give you a list of options to help start your pet insurance shopping journey.

But first, let's break down how pet insurance works at our hospitals. This will be the same at most animal hospitals, but if you opt for a different location be sure to inquire about their specific policies and procedures for insurance claims.

The above infographic is from the AKC website, and effectively illustrates exactly how your pet insurance would work with our hospital. The AKC offers insurance themselves, which brings us to the first option we'll mention; The American Kennel Club.

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AKC Pet Insurance offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive and inclusive pre-existing condition coverage for both curable and incurable conditions after 365 days of continuous coverage. They uniquely also have a 24/7 hotline where a trained professional can help you determine if you need to go to an afterhours emergency hospital or if you can simply follow up with your veterinarian during normal business hours in the event that something happens while your normal veterinary office is closed. If you are a breeder, this may be the best option for you because you can select a plan that covers breeding costs, which if ethical breeding is your thing, you know the costs can be quite high! Some things they can cover are...

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Nationwide Pet Insurance is another common and reliable choice. They have an easy-to-use app where you can scan in your documents after each vet visit, which is super handy! All of their plans are eligible to be used for reimbursement from any licensed veterinarian, which is sometimes an issue with some insurance companies. They have a set list of things they cover, which is as follows:

• Accidents, including broken bones, sprains, lacerations and poisonings

• Illnesses, including allergies, ear infections, arthritis and cancer, etc.

• Preventive care, including checkups, vaccinations and flea/tick preventive

They do not currently offer any coverage for breeding preparedness or breeding expenses, which is one of the biggest differences between Nationwide and AKC.

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Progressive Pet Insurance is another heavy hitter in the pet insurance game. And unlike certain options, it can be bundled with other insurance packages if you happen to use them already. Like the AKC option, they also provide you with a 24/7 helpline in case of emergencies. They have three core plans to pick from which offer clearly defined coverage. Some smaller insurance companies have an age cap on the patients that can be covered, since older dogs have higher medical expenses they can deny you coverage - but not with Progressive! They have no age cap!

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Metlife is a name you may not have seen in a while, but they are still around and now offering pet insurance! They have a variety of plans to pick from and offer quick quotes on their website. They also don't have breed exclusions which some other newer insurance companies have, and that means breeds and breed mixes that are commonly discriminated against as being "high risk" can still get coverage!

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Figo is an extremely popular option featuring many of the features mentioned for the companies above, such as a 24/7 hotline and no coverage caps. They, too, offer a wide range of plans and cover a multitude of things, such as...

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Lemonade has a wide range of plans that cover a tremendous number of things. They also have vet choice, meaning you can't be forced to change vets due to your current vet being "excluded from network."

Some of what Lemonade can cover is...

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many more companies who offer insurance plans for pets, so be sure to do your homework to find which one is best for you. We hope this helps you start your journey towards complete coverage and that one of these options can ease a little bit of the financial stress that can come along with pet ownership!