If you own a dog or cat, investing in a pet insurance policy can be a smart way to avoid massive and unexpected veterinary bills in the future. However, choosing the right insurer and plan can be tricky — especially if you aren’t sure whether or not you need pet insurance with wellness options.
In this post, we’ll give you a quick overview of wellness plans for pets to help you determine if these higher-tier insurance policies are right for you. We’ll also highlight a few of the top pet insurance with wellness providers so you can conduct your own research and sign up for a policy.
What is pet insurance with wellness?
Across the United States, the majority of pet insurance plans do not include wellness care for routine veterinary visits. Instead, these standard pet insurance policies cover things like accidents, illnesses, and injuries. If you would like preventative care included in your policy, then you should add pet insurance with wellness on top of your existing plan.
With these types of plans, you’ll need to pay for the care up-front and then submit a claim for reimbursement. Your insurer will have a set cost that they will pay for each policy. Before you take your pet in for care, it’s a good idea to understand how much your plan will cover.
What is included in pet insurance with wellness?
As we’ve just mentioned, routine veterinary care is included with wellness plans. However, other types of care and procedures are also offered within these policies. In general, wellness insurance covers:
- Preventative vet care and exams
- Vaccinations (including rabies)
- Microchipping
- Deworming
- Spaying or neutering
- Grooming procedures
- Heartworm preventatives
- Nail trimming
Keep in mind that the above items are typically covered in wellness insurance plans, but individual policies and inclusions will vary from provider to provider. Also, some providers have multiple levels of wellness coverage, so you’ll need to choose the one that fits your budget and requirements.
Which insurers provide this type of coverage?
In the United States, there are a number of providers that offer pet insurance with wellness. However, not every region is covered by every insurer. You’ll need to confirm with an individual provider whether or not they sell policies in your location. With that said, some of the most popular wellness plan providers include:
- Trupanion
- Nationwide
- AKC Pet Insurance
- Embrace Pet Insurance
- Banfield
If you already have a pet insurance policy through one of these providers, you should be able to easily add on wellness care coverage. Get in touch with your insurer to learn more about upgrading your plan. On the other hand, if you don’t yet have pet insurance, check out this post about how to compare providers and what to look for in a policy.
While wellness insurance isn’t compulsory, it can make sense in certain scenarios. If you can cover the expense (roughly $15 – $30 per month on top of your standard pet insurance), then it might be worth it.
For more resources and tips on pet ownership, check out the PetPonder blog.
