Pet insurance covers accidents, illnesses, surgeries, and emergency care—but coverage varies wildly depending on the plan. Extensive plans handle everything from broken bones to cancer treatments, including diagnostics and prescription meds. Accident-only plans just cover injuries like burns or poisoning. Wellness plans focus on preventive stuff like vaccinations and routine exams. Pre-existing conditions? Forget it. Those are excluded across the board. The details matter more than most pet owners realize, and understanding what’s actually reimbursable versus what gets denied can save serious headaches down the road.
Design Highlights
- Extensive plans cover accidents, illnesses, surgeries, diagnostics, and prescription medications, including hereditary and chronic conditions diagnosed after purchase.
- Accident-only plans specifically cover accidental injuries like broken bones, burns, poisoning, and related emergency care and surgeries.
- Wellness plans focus on preventive care including vaccinations, routine exams, spaying, neutering, dental care, and flea and tick preventatives.
- Pre-existing conditions, elective procedures, behavioral treatments, and alternative therapies like acupuncture are typically excluded from coverage.
- Policies reimburse actual veterinary bills from regular vets, specialists, and emergency centers for covered accidents and illnesses.
Pet insurance isn’t exactly straightforward. There are different types of coverage, and what you get depends entirely on which plan you pick. Extensive plans are the heavy hitters. They cover accidents, illnesses, surgeries, diagnostic testing, and prescription medications.
Extensive pet insurance plans are the heavy hitters, covering accidents, illnesses, surgeries, diagnostics, and prescription medications.
Accident-only plans do exactly what the name suggests—they cover accidental injuries like broken bones, poisoning, or lacerations. That’s it.
Then there are wellness plans, which focus on preventive care like vaccinations, flea and tick preventatives, routine exams, and dental care. They usually don’t cover accidents or illnesses, though they might include spaying, neutering, and microchipping.
When it comes to illnesses, extensive plans typically cover common conditions like infections, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, allergies, epilepsy, and urinary tract infections. Some policies even cover hereditary and congenital conditions such as hip dysplasia, luxating patella, and glaucoma.
Chronic conditions diagnosed after you buy the policy can be covered too. This includes associated lab tests, imaging like X-rays and MRIs, pathology work, and chemotherapy for cancer. But here’s the catch—pre-existing conditions are excluded. If your pet had it before coverage started, you’re out of luck.
Accident coverage handles injuries like broken bones, burns, accidental poisoning, foreign object ingestion, and animal bites. Emergency care for accidents, including surgeries and hospital stays, is generally covered.
Plans pay actual veterinary bills, including specialist and emergency center visits. Some policies even cover accidents during hunting or service work. However, certain exclusions apply. Injuries from motor vehicle accidents or aggressive behavior might not be covered under some plans.
Diagnostic procedures like blood tests, MRIs, CAT scans, X-rays, pathology reports, and ultrasounds related to covered accidents or illnesses are typically reimbursable. Surgery coverage includes emergency operations, mass removal, foreign body surgery, and cancer-related surgeries.
Hospitalization from covered conditions is usually reimbursable too. Elective or cosmetic procedures don’t make the cut. Neither does diagnostic testing during waiting periods or for pre-existing conditions. Since pet insurance operates on a reimbursement model, most comprehensive plans require you to pay upfront and submit a claim for reimbursement later.
Prescription medications prescribed for covered illnesses and injuries are generally covered. Some policies include chronic medications for conditions like diabetes or arthritis.
Alternative therapies like hydrotherapy and acupuncture are often excluded. So are behavioral treatments for anxiety or aggression. Preventive medications—heartworm, flea, tick preventatives—usually aren’t covered under illness and accident plans but might be included in wellness plans.
Prescription diets and vitamin supplements are commonly excluded. Some plans also cover prosthetic devices and wheelchairs when prescribed by a veterinarian for your pet’s medical needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Is the Typical Waiting Period Before Pet Insurance Coverage Begins?
Pet insurance waiting periods vary by what you’re covering.
Accidents? Usually 0 to 15 days—some companies like MetLife and Lemonade offer immediate coverage.
Illnesses typically require 14 days, though Trupanion makes pet owners wait 30.
Orthopedic conditions? That’s where insurers really drag their feet—6 months to a full year.
Wellness care often starts immediately with no wait.
Bottom line: most standard coverage kicks in around two weeks, but read the fine print.
Can I Use Any Veterinarian or Am I Limited to Specific Networks?
Pet insurance has no network restrictions.
Any licensed veterinarian in the United States works. No need to check if the vet “accepts” the insurance—they don’t have to.
Coverage follows the policyholder’s plan, not the vet’s participation. Traveling? Emergency vet at 2 a.m.? Covered.
The process is simple: pay the vet bill upfront, submit a claim, get reimbursed.
Geographic limitations are rare and spelled out in policy terms.
It’s invigoratingly straightforward compared to human health insurance nonsense.
Does Pet Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Conditions My Pet Already Has?
Most pet insurance companies won’t cover pre-existing conditions—meaning illnesses or injuries that showed symptoms before coverage started or during waiting periods. That’s pretty standard across the industry.
However, some curable conditions might get covered after a symptom-free period, usually 12 months. Chronic stuff like diabetes or arthritis? Excluded indefinitely.
The good news: pets with pre-existing conditions can still get insured for new, unrelated problems that pop up later.
What Is the Average Monthly Cost of Pet Insurance Premiums?
Pet insurance premiums average around $62.44 monthly for dogs and $32.21 for cats with full accident and illness coverage.
That’s a pretty wide gap. Accident-only plans are way cheaper—about $16.10 for dogs and $9.17 for cats.
Overall, costs range from roughly $10 to $73 per month depending on your pet’s species, breed, age, location, and coverage level.
French bulldogs hit $92/month. Ouch.
Can I Purchase Pet Insurance for Older or Senior Pets?
Yes, pet insurance is available for senior dogs. Many insurers now accept dogs of any age—some like Pumpkin, MetLife Pet, and ASPCA have ditched age limits entirely.
But here’s the catch: premiums jump considerably as dogs age. A 7-year-old runs about $61 monthly, while a 20-year-old hits $186. Some providers still cap new enrollments at 10 years old.
Dogs typically hit “senior” status around age 7, though breed and size matter.
