Jeffrey Wade
Pet insurance is a financial contribution towards your pet's medical care. It covers unexpected accidents and illnesses, including injuries from car accidents, falls, or bites from other animals. While accident-only plans are available, comprehensive plans cover a wider range of prescription medications and treatments for chronic conditions. Some plans also cover alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and physiotherapy, and wellness plans that cover preventive care. However, pet insurance typically does not cover pre-existing conditions, cosmetic procedures, or costs related to breeding, pregnancy, and birth. In terms of diagnostic testing, some plans cover eligible tests for unexpected accidents and illnesses, including blood tests, X-rays, and ultrasounds. Therefore, it is important to understand the types of diagnostic testing covered by different providers and their policy options before selecting a pet insurance plan.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What does pet insurance cover? | Accidents, injuries, illnesses, medication, surgeries, hospitalisation, diagnostic tests, alternative therapies, and treatments. |
| What does pet insurance not cover? | Pre-existing conditions, congenital or developmental disorders, elective procedures, cosmetic procedures, breeding or pregnancy costs, grooming costs, and experimental treatments. |
| What about biopsies? | Biopsies are considered diagnostic tests, which are often covered by pet insurance plans, especially if they are related to accidents or illnesses. However, it is important to check with your specific insurance provider and plan, as coverage may vary. |
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What You'll Learn
Pet insurance usually covers accidents, with additional coverage for illnesses
Pet insurance is a great way to ensure that your pet gets the best care possible. It usually covers accidents, and you can also get additional coverage for illnesses and wellness care. The exact coverage depends on the insurer, and it's important to read the fine print to understand what is included.
Accident-only pet insurance covers costs associated with accidents, including emergency veterinary expenses. This can include broken bones, bite wounds, cuts, swallowed objects, and toxic ingestions. It may also cover diagnostic services and treatments related to accidents, such as X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds, blood work, sutures, medications, hospitalization, and surgery. Accident-only plans are generally more affordable than those that include illness coverage, but they may have financial caps on reimbursement amounts per claim.
Accident and illness pet insurance provides broader coverage, including chronic diseases, breed-specific conditions, infections, and cancer. This type of plan tends to be more popular among pet owners as it covers unexpected health issues. It typically covers diagnostic and treatment expenses related to accidents and illnesses. Illness coverage can provide reimbursement for eligible costs of major and minor illnesses, such as cancer, arthritis, hypothyroidism, ear infections, digestive problems, and urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Wellness plans are often sold as add-ons to accident-and-illness pet insurance or purchased as standalone policies. They usually cover routine vaccinations, annual checkups, senior checkups, heartworm testing, and parasite prevention medications. These plans can help spread expenses across a full year, encouraging pet owners to schedule all their pet's preventive care. However, some wellness plans don't cover dental care, while others may only cover cleanings and not tooth extractions.
It's important to note that pet insurance typically doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, elective procedures, or procedures related to breeding. Preventive medications, such as flea, tick, and heartworm treatments, are usually covered, but this may require adding preventive care coverage to your plan at an additional cost. Most plans also cover a wide range of prescription medications for covered conditions.
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Preventative care is often not covered by pet insurance
Pet insurance typically covers accidents, with additional coverage available for illness and wellness care. However, preventative care is often not included in base insurance plans and must be added separately. For example, ASPCA® Pet Health Insurance's Complete CoverageSM plan does not include preventative care, but you can add it to your base plan for a little extra each month. This will cover routine services like dental cleanings, wellness exams, heartworm prevention, blood screenings, vaccines, and more.
Similarly, pet insurance from Nationwide does not include routine care in its base plans, but you can add preventative care coverage to your accident and illness plans. This includes dental cleanings, wellness exams, vaccinations, and other routine services as recommended by a veterinarian.
Pet wellness plans are different from pet insurance as they do not cover unexpected accidents or illnesses. However, they can be worth the price as they offer assistance with bills related to routine care that can help prevent or hinder serious diseases. For example, AKC Pet Insurance offers the Defender add-on for $15 a month, which covers wellness exams, microchipping, urinalysis, rabies, deworming, heartworm testing, FELV screening, vaccinations, titers, heartworm prevention, blood, fecal, and parasite exams.
It is important to note that preventative care coverage may have a fixed maximum annual benefit amount, meaning there is a limit to how much the plan will pay out in a policy year. Additionally, certain procedures and treatments may not be covered by preventative care plans, such as elective procedures like tail docking, ear cropping, and claw removal, or costs related to breeding or pregnancy.
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Cancer treatment is covered by some pet insurance plans
Cancer is the number one disease-related killer of pets. Cancer treatment for pets can be extremely expensive, with costs easily exceeding $10,000 for several treatment sessions. Pet insurance can be extremely helpful in covering these costs. Some pet insurance plans do cover cancer treatment, but it is important to carefully review the terms of the insurance policy. Comprehensive pet insurance plans typically cover cancer treatment costs because they include coverage for illnesses. However, pet insurance generally does not cover pre-existing conditions, so if your pet develops cancer before you buy a policy, the treatment costs will not be covered.
Accident-only insurance plans will not cover cancer treatment costs. Some alternative treatments for cancer, such as acupuncture, rehabilitative therapy, and hydrotherapy, may be covered by certain insurance providers. It is important to contact the insurance provider to ask which plans include cancer care and to check whether they cover diagnostics and testing.
When choosing a pet insurance plan, it is important to consider the specific needs of your pet. For example, certain breeds may be more prone to developing cancer, so it may be worth investing in a plan that covers cancer treatment. Additionally, some insurance plans have caps on annual or lifetime claim payouts, which could impact the coverage of cancer treatment. It is also important to note that some procedures, such as cloning or any treatment that does not meet accepted veterinary medicine standards, are generally not covered by pet insurance.
Overall, while some pet insurance plans do cover cancer treatment, it is important to carefully review the terms and conditions of the policy to ensure that you have the right coverage for your pet's needs.
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Alternative therapies are covered by some pet insurance plans
Alternative therapies are becoming increasingly popular in veterinary medicine, with many vets touting their benefits for treating certain medical conditions in pets. Some pet insurance plans cover alternative therapies, but it is important to carefully research what each provider offers and compare coverage options to ensure that you get the coverage that suits your pet's needs and your budget.
Some insurance plans cover a range of alternative therapies, including acupuncture, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, rehabilitative therapy, hydrotherapy, and low-level laser therapy. These treatments are often used to help pets recover from injuries or illnesses and can be reimbursed by certain insurance providers if they are used to treat a covered condition. For example, ASPCA's Complete CoverageSM reimburses you for alternative therapies used to treat a covered condition, while other providers offer this as an optional add-on.
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance includes alternative medicine for pets in its base plans, covering treatments such as acupuncture and chiropractic therapy. Figo Pet Insurance also offers coverage for a variety of alternative and holistic therapies, while Lemonade Pet Insurance is more limited in its alternative therapy options, offering only an optional physical therapy add-on.
Some insurance plans may also cover herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and massage therapy, although these treatments are less common and may be advertised by insurers. For example, while Healthy Paws does not cover herbal medicine treatments, it does include acupuncture and chiropractic therapy in its covered treatments when performed by a licensed veterinarian to treat a new injury or illness.
It is important to note that coverage for alternative therapies may depend on the specific provider, plan, and availability in your area, and some treatments may be covered only if they are prescribed or administered by a veterinarian for a covered condition.
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Pet insurance covers prescription medications
Pet insurance typically covers accidents, with additional coverage available for illness and wellness care. The exact coverage depends on the insurer and the policy. Most plans provide coverage for prescription medications, although there are some exclusions to keep prices affordable. For example, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance covers prescription medication, but only reimburses alternative therapies if they are used to treat a covered condition.
Prescription medications for dogs and cats can add up quickly, so it is important to have pet insurance that covers the cost of medication. For example, Pets Best offers plans that cover a wide range of common prescription medications for both dogs and cats. Their Accident Only plan includes prescription coverage for medications linked to the treatment of a covered accident, while their Accident and Illness plans include prescription medication coverage as a supplemental benefit that can be added or removed from the plan. Lemonade also offers pet insurance that covers prescription medication, although it does not cover alternative medicines or prescription food.
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance covers prescription medication for eligible conditions, which are part of almost every veterinary bill. Their Complete Coverage plan includes reimbursement for alternative therapies used to treat a covered condition, as well as prescription food and supplements when they are used to treat a covered condition (not for general maintenance or weight management).
Wellness plans can also be added to pet insurance policies to cover part of the cost of preventive care, such as vaccinations and wellness exams. Preventive medications, such as flea, tick, and heartworm medications, are typically covered by wellness plans.
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Frequently asked questions
It depends on the insurance provider and the policy. Some pet insurance plans cover eligible diagnostic testing that is prescribed for unexpected accidents and illnesses. However, some providers do not cover diagnostic testing and only cover accidents and illnesses.
A deductible is your financial contribution toward your pet's medical care. Deductibles can be per-incident or annual. Per-incident deductibles require you to pay a deductible for each new condition or accident, while annual deductibles reset only once a year, regardless of the number of incidents.
Most pet insurance plans do not cover pre-existing conditions, cosmetic procedures, or costs related to breeding, pregnancy, and birth. Grooming costs, cloning, and treatments that do not meet accepted veterinary medicine standards are also typically excluded.
Pet insurance typically covers accidents, injuries, emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, and medication. Many plans also cover prescription medications, alternative therapies, and treatments for chronic conditions. Some providers offer wellness plans that cover preventive care, such as vaccinations and wellness exams.
