Pet insurance is a great way to make sure your four-legged friend will always have the care they need without blowing your budget.
Before buying pet insurance, it's important to familiarize yourself with the different types of coverage available. Some common types include accident-only policies, which, as the name implies, only cover new accidents and injuries to your pet. Similarly, accident and illness policies would cover what an accident-only policy would cover, plus any new illnesses your pet may experience.
A pet insurance policy with wellness or routine care includes many of the annual costs associated with keeping them healthy, covering things like annual wellness checks, teeth cleanings, microchipping, vaccines and even some testing. While these costs can generally be anticipated in advance, a wellness add-on could help make them more manageable by spreading them out over the year in the form of pet insurance premiums.
Here, CNBC Select rounds up some of the best pet insurance companies that offer wellness plans. (Read more about our methodology below.)
Best pet insurance wellness plans
- Best overall: Pets Best
- Runner-up: Metlife
- Best for unlimited coverage: CarePlus by Chewy
- Best for discounts: Lemonade
- Best for senior pets: Spot Pet Insurance
Best overall
Pets Best Pet Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Available in all 50 states, Pets Best is a standout for its affordable rates. While wellness policies are available, Pet's Best focuses on accident-only policies and accident and illness policies.
App available
Yes
Standout features
Pet's Best offers coverage to cats and dogs as young as 7 weeks old, and has no maximum age limit. An option to pay your vet directly is available.
Pros
- Affordable premiums for accident and illness and accident-only coverage
- Deductible options as low as $50
- No maximum age limit
Cons
- Only two levels of annual maximum coverage are available: $5,000 and unlimited
Pets Best wellness plans cover most exam fees and offer a variety of deductibles, reimbursem*nt limits and maximum annual coverages to make your policy fit your needs and budget. The insurer has some of the strongest customer satisfaction ratings of the companies we reviewed according to its profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and offers a 5% discount when insuring multiple pets. Pets Best is also a top choice for pet insurance for older dogs as it doesn't have an upper age limit for enrollment.
Runner-up
MetLife Pet Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Metlife pet insurance offers a variety of limits on maximum annual coverage, reimbursem*nts limits, and deductibles to make policies fit your budget. Discounts are available to shelter personnel, military members and healthcare workers, as well as a monthly internet purchase discount for buying online.
App available
Yes
Standout features
Standard policies include coverage for hospitalizations, surgeries, diagnostic tests, exam fees, and holistic care for new accidents and illnesses.
Pros
- Holistic care and alternative therapies are included in a standard plan
- Wellness plans are available
Cons
- Unlimited annual coverage is not available
MetLife Pet offers both a preventive care add-on, which covers routine veterinary care and parasite prevention and treatment, as well as a wellness plan add-on, which can reimburse you for vaccines and spaying/neutering. The insurer also offers several discounts to help cut costs and processes most claims within 10 days. Some insurers have long waiting periods before coverage kicks in, but with MetLife, accident coverage begins at midnight EST on the day you purchase your policy. Illness coverage begins after 14 days, which is common.
Best for unlimited coverage
CarePlus® by Chewy Pet Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
CarePlus by Chewy offers coverage backed by Trupanion and Lemonade. With customer care and an online veterinarian telehealth service offered seven days a week, CarePlus will help you make sure all of your questions are answered.
Standout features
No annual limits are available through Trupanion policies. Wellness plans are available with an accident-only or accident and illness policy, or as a standalone policy.
Pros
- Can buy standalone wellness coverage
- Coverage can include prescription coverage for medications or prescribed diets
Cons
- Not available in five states
CarePlus by Chewy can help you cover a variety of conditions with coverage backed by Trupanion or Lemonade. Trupanion's coverage can pay vets directly and also offers standalone wellness coverage. And, preventative care through CarePlus can cover things like vaccinations, and flea, tick and heartworm medications.
Best for discounts
Lemonade Pet Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Lemonade offers affordable pet insurance options for base accident and illness coverages, while wellness options are available for an extra cost. There are a variety of additions you can make to a policy, including things like coverage for behavioral conditions, coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic care, and coverage for dental illnesses.
App available
Yes
Standout features
A special puppy/kitten preventative care package is available for an extra cost, which can help pay for the cost of vaccines, parasite testing, microchipping and spay or neutering procedures. Lemonade also offers injury coverage with a short 2-day waiting period.
Pros
- Available option to bundle with homeowners or renters insurance
- 2-day waiting period for injury coverage
Cons
- Only available in 37 states
Lemonade gives you the flexibility to add coverages that you want and opt out of ones that you don't, making it very customizable. It offers a basic Preventative package and a more comprehensive Preventative+ plan. Its policies are affordable, and can even be more affordable for those who bundletheir pet insurance with theirrenters insuranceorhomeowners insurance — we've rated Lemonade's coverage highly for both. You can get up to a 10% discount for bundling policies, as well as a 5% discount for paying annually and for insuring multiple pets.
Best for senior pets
Spot Pet Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Spot Pet Insurance offers accident and illness and accident-only coverage for cats and dogs. It has a variety of choices of reimbursem*nt rates, annual limits (including an unlimited policy), and deductibles to cater your coverage to your needs and budget. The option to cover preventative care procedures and exams (including a dental cleaning and wellness exam) for an extra fee is available.
App available
Yes
Standout features
There are no upper age limits for new enrollments to Spot and plans include coverage for microchipping. Spot also offers access to a 24/7 veterinary helpline to address questions about wellness and health concerns.
Pros
- Accident and illness plans are available, with wellness options available
- Access to a 24/7 veterinary helpline included with coverage
- 10% discounts for additional pets
Cons
- Pets must be eight weeks old to enroll
- A 14-day waiting period applies for coverage
Spot Pet Insurance is ideal for insuring senior pets because it doesn't have any upper age limit for enrollment. It offers a variety of maximum annual coverages, deductible options and reimbursem*nt choices, allowing you to tailor the policy to your needs. Spot's preventive care coverage can cover things like routine exams and screenings, teeth cleanings and spaying or neutering (with Platinum Preventative add-on). The insurer is also rated very highly for customer satisfaction by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
FAQs
- What does wellness dog insurance cover?
- What are the benefits of pet insurance?
- Does pet insurance cover flea treatment?
- Do pet wellness plans cover pre-existing conditions?
What does wellness dog insurance cover?
Wellness coverage in pet insurance generally covers preventive care, such as annual vet visits, vaccinations, routine dental care and tests. Each insurance company covers different things, and some include flea, tick and heartworm medications or spay/neuter procedures. Read your policy to see what your wellness plan covers.
What are the benefits of pet insurance?
Pet insurance can be a helpful way to cover your pet's medical expenses, whether you expect them or not. A wellness pet insurance policy will cover preventative health expenses, while accident and illness coverage can help you pay for anything new that happens to your pet.
Does pet insurance cover flea treatment?
Some wellness pet insurance plans cover flea and tick treatment for dogs and cats.
Do pet wellness plans cover pre-existing conditions?
Pet insurance, including wellness coverage, almost never covers pre-existing conditions or those that your pet has when you purchase the policy.
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Bottom line
If you're considering pet insurance, opting for wellness coverage could take one more expense off your plate when it's time for annual vet visits or other routine care. While it will add to the cost of your pet insurance, it could be a good way for pet owners to make sure their dog or cat can see a vet every year without breaking the bank.
Read more
The best pet insurance companies to cover your vet expenses
Is pet insurance worth it? Here's what you need to know
Here are the best pet insurance companies for older dogs to help make the costs more manageable
Here's how to save money on insurance policies for home, auto, travel and pets
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every pet insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of pet insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. Seeour methodologyfor more information on how we choose the best pet insurance wellness plans.
Our methodology
To determine the best pet insurance wellness plans, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of pet insurance companies based on price, coverage, availability and flexibility.
We focused on pet insurance companies offering a wellness policy, as not all pet insurers offer this type of coverage. We then focused on the cost with an accident and illness and wellness policy for a $10k annual coverage limit, $250 deductible, and 80% reimbursem*nt rate for two sample pets:
- A 1-year-old, 50-pound mixed breed dog living in 10017
- A 1-year-old, 9-pound domestic shorthair cat living in 10017
We also considered the options for deductibles, reimbursem*nt rates, and maximum annual coverage available, whether or not the plan covered exam fees, any discounts available and customer satisfaction ratings from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
From there, we sorted our recommendations into the best overall and runner-up, best for unlimited coverage and best for discounts.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
