How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?
One of the most common questions about pet insurance is, "How much does it cost?"
How much your pet insurance policy costs really is up to you and your pet. It all depends on the type of pet you have, their age and breed, the cost of veterinary care in your area, the policy you choose, and how many perks you want to tack onto it.
While we can't answer all of that for you, our Pet Insurance Calculator can estimate your out-of-pocket veterinary expenses for the year, so you can decide which pet insurance plan makes the most sense for your budget.
Simply type in the information of your existing (or quoted) policy, and see how your plan would handle a $1,000 vet bill and how much you could expect to spend year-to-year.
How Much Coverage Do I Need?
We recommend having enough coverage to protect your pet in an emergency or should they develop a life-long, chronic condition—but what does that look like?
To give you an idea, we collected a few sample expenses from a vet clinic based in Minneapolis, My Access Vet Care. At time of writing, these were their average starting prices to treat each condition:
- Bladder stones: $1,700
- Removal of mass(es): $300 - $1,600
- Foreign body removal (object stuck in stomach/intestines): $1,600 - $2,250
- Dental procedures: $705 - $1,555
- ACL Repair: $2,300 - $3,200
- Patella Luxation: $2,600 - $3,660
Keep in mind: pet insurance only pays for covered veterinary services and bills. Review your policy (or see our policy review tool) to understand gaps and limitations in coverage, like whether exam fees and prescription medications are covered by your policy, and whether your pet has any waiting periods or pre-existing conditions to consider.
Great - What Does This Chart Mean?
For most policies, you'll get a chart that looks something like this:
There's a lot happening here – because this chart estimates what it's like having your specific pet insurance policy from when you first get it to $12.5K in vet bills.
Let's take a look at the four stages of pet insurance:
1. Before the deductible, you're not only paying for vet care, you're also paying for the pet insurance premium. At this stage, pet insurance costs there's no cost benefit if you'd had something major did happen, you'd have help.
2. Point A is when you've completed the deductible for your policy and your pet insurance company starts contributing towards vet care costs (subject to your policy's specific terms and conditions).
3. After Point B is the exciting moment. While you'll always be responsible for some portion of each vet bill, Point B is where – overall – the pet insurance company covers the lion's share of the costs.
4. After Point C, however, represents the maximum annual benefit. Most plans have a limit on how much they're willing to pay in one policy term (in this example, it's $5,000). At Point C, you've hit that maximum and any future expenses are your responsibility.
This represents the whole lifecycle of most pet insurance policies: at the beginning, you'll pay a little more for peace of mind; in the middle, you'll benefit from having pet insurance; and if your pet has a very unlucky year, you might run out of coverage at the end.
Why Do We Keep Saying "Covered Services"?
Our calculator can only provide an estimate based on the numbers you give us. It provides a good overview of expenses, but the whole picture gets complicated.
While our pet insurance calculator does include the premiums in the total annual pet health expenses, there are a couple expenses it can't capture:
Some pet insurance policies don't automatically cover some line item expenses on a vet bill, like exam fees or prescriptions.
They might be available as monthly add-on purchases, in which case, you can add that to the "premium" to get a more accurate calculator result.
Some pet insurance policies have split-cost-share or specific upper limits for individual services or conditions.
For example, some pet insurers only reimburse you for $15 per wellness exam visit (up to two per year). Our calculator can't help you picture this data, since it changes by carrier, state, and what your pet actually needs in a year. Reviewing your policy for specific limits will give you the fullest picture of what you can expect to be reimbursed.
What about unlimited policies?
Unlimited policies (where there is no maximum annual benefit) do exist, but the premiums are a lot higher than policies with annual limits. Our calculator can help you determine if paying the right amount of coverage and the right amount of benefit from your policy.
Don't Wait Until It's
Too Late
The average emergency vet bill ranges from $2,000 to $10,000+
