An integral component of pet ownership is ensuring the animal’s health, which may need emergency or preventive care visits to the veterinarian, as well as hefty out-of-pocket costs for related treatments. When your pet is sick or hurt, it can be costly to take care of them. Pet insurance can help cover those costs. We’ve compared and contrasted the finest pet insurance for preventive care companies based on a number of criteria to help you select the right policy for your furry friend.
What Is Preventive Care for a Dog or Cat?
Wellness exams are an important part of preventative pet care because they allow your veterinarian to screen for potential problems before they become serious, such as parasites or heartworm.
Vaccines, flea and tick medicine, heartworm prevention, and dental cleanings are just a few examples of the preventative treatments and procedures available for your pet. Since emergency care is typically more costly than preventative measures, these measures can wind up saving you a lot of cash.
Your veterinarian can keep an eye on your pet’s nutrition, exercise routine, weight, and other factors with regular wellness checkups. Your pet insurance policy will cover just remember that not all preventative care for your pet.
What Do Basic Pet Insurance Plans Cover Compared to Preventive Care?
Most accident and illness insurance policies are for pets, but only partially covered standard and emergency preventative care is typically not.
You may be able to get part of the costs of routine care for your pet reimbursed if you purchase insurance that gives you the option to add preventative care. Consider how much you spend on items like bloodwork, fecal testing, bloodwork, wellness checks, and immunizations. Or the price of common puppy and kitten services like microchipping, spaying, and neutering. You may be spending more on your pet’s medical care and wellness visits than on insurance.
Is Preventive Care Important for Pet Insurance?
If your pet’s health is important to you, you should probably include preventive care for pet insurance in your policy’s coverage options. The peace of mind that comes from providing preventative care for your pet is priceless, especially if your pet is still a young adult and you want to avoid the health problems that can arise as they age.
Our pets, like cats and dogs, tend to disguise the indications of disease or injury, making regular examinations and preventative care all the more crucial. Since your furry buddy is unable to communicate with you, it may be more difficult to determine whether or not they are experiencing symptoms that could be alleviated by a dewormer.
Vets may learn a lot about your pet routine, general health, and personality from seeing them on a regular basis. Even if your pet is naturally fearful of the vet, regular wellness examinations can help establish a comfort level.
The number one responsibility of any pet owner is to provide lavish care for their animal. Frequent vet visits, not just when something looks wrong, will help your pet live longer and healthier.
Best Pet Insurance For Preventive Care
The following are the notable pet insurance preventive care companies.
#1. Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws will pay for alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, hydrotherapy, physical therapy, laser therapy, and massage therapy if a certified veterinarian recommend and perform them. However, most pet insurance policies will not.
There is only one accident and illness plan available for cats and dogs through Healthy Paws. It allows you to pick a deductible between $100 and $500 and has no per-incident, yearly, or lifetime benefit restrictions.
Using the Healthy Paws app, you can expect your claim to be completed in as little as two days. If you can’t afford the initial veterinarian charge, you might choose to pay for it directly instead of getting reimbursed.
Enrolling your pet in Healthy Paws when they’re young is recommended, as coverage options and reimbursement rates decrease with age.
#2. ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was chosen as the best pet insurance for congenital or hereditary problems since it does not exclude coverage for certain illnesses after a particular enrollment age. The 14-day waiting period means that your pet can be completely insured quickly.
The ASPCA treats cats and dogs for both accidents and illnesses, and also provides wellness exams and vaccinations. Horse insurance is also available to riders, although only in some states.
The American Society of Pet Animal Advocates (ASPCA) has competitive premiums and is more accommodating than competitors in some policy areas.
In contrast to programs that exclude coverage for preexisting ailments, ASPCA insurance will cover your pet no matter how old it is when enrolled. Also, if your pet has been symptom-free for the previous 180 days, coverage will extend to treatable preexisting diseases. It could take up to a year at certain other businesses.
#3. Spot
While opting for low or no co-payments and a small deductible does tend to drive up the cost of any policy, regardless of the insurer, we chose Spot as the best pet insurance for unlimited coverage because it so well accommodates pet parents who want coverage that maximizes peace of mind for their pet’s health. There is no upper age limit for Spot’s coverage, so it’s a good option for pets of any age.
To ensure that your pet receives the best possible protection, you may easily do so with Spot. It’s one of the few providers that offer plans with a “100% coverage” option, which means that you won’t have to pay anything toward your medical expenses out of pocket. The company’s very low ($100) deductible option will reduce even further your out-of-pocket costs for medical care.
However, you should expect higher rates if you go for either a low co-payment or a low deductible. Also, Spot’s rates are already higher than average, but the company has no maximum age limit for insuring new animals, so it could be a smart option if your pets are on the older side.
#4. Pumpkin
Since Pumpkin provides comprehensive insurance and non-insurance preventative care solutions suited to junior animals, at a low price, we have chosen it as the best pet insurance for puppies and kittens.
Pumpkin provides low-cost insurance, with the option to add coverage for preventative care packages for young cats and dogs. Preventive care packages offered by the company for puppies include things like wellness exams, vaccinations, and annual feces tests.
In addition to covering lab tests for parasites, Pumpkin will reimburse you for up to four vaccines your puppy may have gotten before being protected under the preventive pack. Not all states offer the Pumpkin Preventive Essentials package, though.
#5. Figo
Most of the competition only provides reimbursement of up to 90%. Figo offers up to 100% reimbursement and no copayments, making it the best pet insurance for reimbursement options.
FIGO’s 100% reimbursement option allows pet owners to eliminate their deductible and copayment entirely. (Other providers typically charge at least a 10% copayment.) Figo does not impose annual limits, but there is a cap on how much the firm will pay out in total for your pet’s care over its lifetime.
If you want coverage with no out-of-pocket costs or an unrestricted benefit payout, you need budget more than usual. Figo’s lack of rider alternatives and its restricted coverage of preexisting diseases are other significant negatives. Extra insurance for veterinary visits is available for purchase, but not for wellness or preventative care.
#6. Embrace
No pet owner should be without insurance when it’s needed, and that includes aged pets.. As a result of its full coverage for pets under 14 years old and accident-only coverage for creatures 15 years or older, Embrace was our top option for pet insurance.
Embrace will cover your pet for sickness and injury up to age 15! It’s possible to buy insurance beyond that point, but it’ll only cover accidents. That’s unusual because most insurance companies won’t cover pets who are 10 years old or older.
There is no wellness insurance plan available via Embrace. Instead, pet owners can enroll in the Wellness Rewards program and make a monthly contribution to help pay for preventative treatment. Unused money doesn’t roll over, so make sure annual payments cover preventative care.
#7. Pets Best
Pets Best insures pets as early as seven weeks old and provides a variety of coverage levels and deductibles. One of the few insurers to cover pet prostheses and wheelchairs.
Pets Best sells a variety of wellness plans that include coverage for preventative care in addition to accident and illness insurance.
Pets Best accepts pets as young as seven weeks old, but most insurers make them wait until they’re at least eight weeks old. There is also no maximum age requirement, so even older pets are eligible for protection.
Wheelchairs and prosthetic devices recommended by a veterinarian to treat a covered accident or disease are typically not covered by insurers, but Pets Best will pay for them if necessary.
#8. Lemonade
We chose Lemonade because of their innovative AI-powered processing, which guarantees fast claim delivery via their mobile app. Pet owners may also like the option to give a portion of the company’s earnings to a cause.
Lemonade offers full accident and illness coverage plus a preventative care rider for annual exams, immunizations, and heartworm and parasite tests. A separate rider can cover veterinary consultation costs and alternative therapies like acupuncture.
When policyholders have extra premium money, Lemonade gives it to a charity of their choice. Currently, you can purchase Lemonade in 36 different states, but if you want to know when more locations become accessible, you may sign up for updates on the website.
#9. Trupanion
Pet owners typically must front the entire vet fee before obtaining any reimbursement from pet insurance companies. Vets may now file claims in-office with Trupanion’s direct payment software and get paid quickly. Not a single dime will come out of your pocket.
They include insurance for both cats and dogs in a single Trupanion policy. In addition to diagnostics, operations, hospital stays, and medications, alternative therapies, dental ailments, prosthetic equipment, and prescription meals are covered.
It is unnecessary to submit a claim if they set your vet up with Trupanion’s direct payment software; the company will pay the vet automatically. As with most pet insurance, policyholders don’t have to pay upfront or file claims.
#10. Nationwide
Since Nationwide provides protection for so many unique species, we believe they are the finest exotic pet insurance, provider. A quality insurer pays up to 90% of pet medical, surgical, and preventative care expenditures.
When it comes to pet insurance, Nationwide is the only major provider that includes coverage for exotic pets. Goats and pot-bellied pigs are included in the list of small mammals that can be protected. (However, venomous and endangered animals, as well as any animal not specifically listed on the Nationwide website, are ineligible.)
FAQs
What is a preventive for dogs?
Disease prevention in dogs can be achieved by a variety of medicinal interventions.
What preventatives do dogs need monthly?
We advise monthly dosing with Trifexis or Sentinel for canines, and a topical solution called Revolution for felines.
What is a preventive care plan?
Routine health care such as screenings, treatments, and counseling are all part of what is known as preventive care (sometimes spelled “preventative care”), which aims to keep patients healthy and free of disease.
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