Pet Insurance Comparison
Comparing pet insurance policies is like comparing apples to oranges. No two companies offer the same plan, so how do you get a valid comparison? We've put together a pet insurance comparison so you can see how pet insurance companies stack up against each other. Each of these companies offers a variety of plans. See below for details about what we were looking for in a policy. The comparison below is for a 7 year old labrador retriever and the prices were obtained from the pet insurance companies' websites. When you are ready to price out a policy for your pet, please go to the websites of the pet insurance companies that you are interested in and get a current quote for your pet and your geographical location.
Company |
% Covered / Basis |
Deductible |
Per Incident Max |
Hereditary Conditions Covered |
Premium |
Multiple Pet Discount |
| ASPCA | 80% / R&C* | $100 | $1,500 | No | $27.50 | 10% |
| Pet Plan | 80% / Actual | $100 | $8,000 | Yes | $59.05 | 10% |
Pet's Best |
80% / R&C* | $100 | $7,000 | $200 | $42.97 | 7-15% |
| VPI | 90% / Benefit Schedule** | $50 | $2,500 | No | $33.67 | 5% |
*R&C = Reasonable & Customary
**VPI publishes it's reimbursement schedules on its website. Different levels apply to different policies.
All of the pet insurance companies have a waiting period, usually 14 to 30 days. Also, none of them covered pre-existing conditions. Some have annual and/or lifetime maximums.
Many pet insurance companies put an age limit on new enrollees. For example, VPI will not take any new dogs over the age of 10. However, if you have your pet insured from before they reach that age, most companies will allow you to renew the policy when your pet gets older.
Pet Insurance Comparison Criteria
Each of these companies offers a variety of plans. Some plans have very low premiums, but when you research them, you find out that they don't cover much. We looked for a plan that covered unexpected expenses due to illness or injury. We did not look at plans that included well pet care. See why here. We looked for plans that covered at least $5,000 per incident. Here's why. Some pet insurance companies don't offer such plans, and others offer them only when you buy a policy that includes well care.
Overall, the policies we looked at offered very similar values. The least expensive policies have a low per incident maximum. This means that on average, they'll pay out less in claims. If you want to make sure that surprises are covered, the price goes up. One of the most important differences we found was whether hereditary problems are covered. If you have a purebred dog, the chance that they will have a hereditary condition is higher. If you have an alley cat, you probably aren't worried about this.