It’s a good idea to invest in a pet insurance policy even if your pet is healthy now. If it gets sick or injured unexpectedly, you could wind up forking over hundreds or even thousands of dollars for expensive vet bills. Pet insurance can help cover these unplanned costs.
Though a pet insurance policy comes with a monthly fee, it’s worth it to ensure your furry companion will receive the care it needs during an emergency. We at the Guides Home Team analyzed some of the best pet health insurance companies available to find cheap but quality options for pet owners on a budget. Keep reading to compare coverage, pricing and plans.
Lemonade: Most Affordable Plans
Out of all the pet insurance picks we reviewed, Lemonade consistently offered the most affordable plans for dogs and cats. The provider scored the highest in our review for its performance on customization options, customer care and covered treatments. Pet owners can also get 10% off their Lemonade policy by bundling with a homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy from the company.
Lemonade may not be a fit for pet owners in the following states, as it currently excludes coverage in these areas: Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Pros and Cons of Lemonade Pet Insurance
+ Provides a discount if you bundle your pet insurance with Lemonade homeowners or renters insurance
+ Covers routine vet visits through optional add-on coverage
+ Provides a preventive care plan specifically for puppies and kittens
– Doesn’t provide dental coverage
– Doesn’t cover treatment of behavioral issues
Coverage: Lemonade offers one standard plan covering items related to an accident or illness, such as a broken bone, sprain, infection, cancer, heart disease or hip dysplasia. This includes coverage for expenses such as diagnostic tests, urinalysis, outpatient procedures, emergency care, hospitalization, and surgery and prescription medications. Lemonade’s policies don’t cover preexisting conditions, elective procedures and issues related to pregnancy. Read a sample policy from Lemonade to review its full list of coverage and excluded items.
Add-ons: Lemonade offers three add-ons for optional coverage: One for coverage on vet visit fees, one for coverage on physical therapy treatments and one for preventive care at two different monthly premiums and coverage levels. The preventive care add-on covers your dog or cat’s routine care and includes a wellness checkup, fecal test, three vaccines, blood test and heartworm or feline leukemia virus (FeLV) test.
Customizations: You can customize your Lemonade coverage and pricing by selecting from the following options:
- Deductibles: $100, $250 or $500
- Annual coverage limits: $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000 or $100,000
- Reimbursement rates: 70%, 80% or 90%
To learn more: Lemonade Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: Use Lemonade’s easy online quote tool to get an instant quote on your pet’s policy.
Spot: Most Customizable
Spot is an affordable pet insurance provider that offers the most customizable plans of the companies we reviewed. It has options for accident-only or accident-and-illness coverage, as well as seven different annual coverage limits ranging from $2,500 to unlimited.
Pros and Cons of Spot Pet Insurance
+ Provides 24/7 telehealth assistance
+ Offers two optional preventive care plans
+ Doesn’t have an age limit on coverage for older pets
– Charges a $2 fee to process each monthly payment
– Doesn’t provide customer support on the weekends
Coverage: Spot offers two plans. Its accident-only coverage covers vet bills related to injuries, swallowed objects, toxic ingestions and other unexpected accidents. Its accident-and-illness plan covers accidents plus illnesses and conditions such as gingivitis, behavioral issues, hip dysplasia, heart disease, cancer, respiratory infection, diabetes and more. Read a Spot sample policy to review the company’s full list of coverage and exclusions.
Add-ons: You can add preventive care coverage to your policy for items such as dental cleanings, a wellness exam, a fecal test and deworming at two per-item coverage levels with total annual amounts of $250 per year or $450 per year.
Customizations: You can customize your policy’s coverage options and pricing by selecting from the following options:
- Deductibles: $100, $250, $500, $750 or $1,000
- Annual coverage limits: $2,500, $3,500, $4,000, $5,000, $7,000, $10,000 or unlimited
- Reimbursement rates: 70%, 80% or 90%
Note: Spot’s Accident-Only Plan’s premiums don’t change based on your pet’s age or breed.
To learn more: Spot Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: Customize a policy for your dog or cat when getting a quote from Spot by filling out this simple online form.
Embrace: Our Pick for Savings
As another cheap pet insurance company, Embrace stands out for its savings opportunities. It offers a 5% military discount, a 10% discount for multiple pet policies and a 10% discount for employees of companies enrolled in Embrace’s benefits program.
Embrace also offers the Healthy Pet Deductible, which credits $50 toward your co-payment for each year you don’t file a claim, lowering your deductible to as little as $0.
Pros and Cons of Embrace Pet Insurance
+ Covers routine vet visits through optional add-on coverage
+ Will reduce your deductible when you go 12 months without filing a claim
+ Provides online customer support via live chat
– Doesn’t reimburse supplements or prescription food, even when recommended by a vet
– Has a $25 enrollment fee
Coverage: Embrace pet insurance offers an accident-and-illness plan covering treatments, procedures and other costs related to conditions such as dental trauma, chronic conditions, congenital conditions, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover preexisting conditions, organ transplants, breeding or pregnancy issues, and elective procedures. Read a sample policy from Embrace to review its full list of coverage and exclusions.
Add-ons: Embrace offers preventive care coverage through its optional Wellness Rewards Plan, which provides 100% reimbursement up to your choice of a $250, $450 or $650 annual coverage limit. The plan covers typical wellness costs for spaying or neutering, microchipping, routine vaccines, cremation, acupuncture, grooming, teeth cleanings and more.
Note: The Wellness Rewards plan is not available in Rhode Island.
Customizations: You can customize your Embrace policy with the following options:
- Deductibles: $200, $300, $500, $750 or $1,000
- Annual coverage limits: $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $30,000
- Reimbursement rates: 70%, 80% or 90%
To learn more: Embrace Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: Visit Embrace’s website to get a free quote on your pet’s policy.
Healthy Paws: Our Pick for Unlimited Coverage
Healthy Paws is a cheap pet insurance company that offers unlimited annual, per-incident and lifetime coverage. Its policies can be more expensive for older pets, but it consistently offers lower premiums than other providers do for unlimited coverage plans. Healthy Paws doesn’t offer an option for preventive care, so it’s probably not a fit for pet parents wanting to cover routine vet costs.
Pros and Cons of Healthy Paws
+ Covers acupuncture, chiropractic care and other alternative treatments
+ Promotes a two-day turnaround on claims
+ Offers a money-back guarantee if you cancel your policy within the first 30 days
– Will not cover hip dysplasia for the first 12 months of your policy
– Reduces reimbursement levels for older pets
Coverage: Healthy Paws offers one plan that covers costs for medically necessary veterinary treatments related to covered accidents and illnesses, such as congenital conditions, hip dysplasia (after 12 months), chronic conditions, cancer, injuries and more. It doesn’t cover any preventive or routine care, elective procedures, preexisting conditions, exam fees or spay/neuter surgery. Read a sample policy from Healthy Paws to review its full list of coverage and exclusions.
Customizations: Coverage for pets over 6 years old comes with either a $500 or $1,000 annual deductible and a 50% or 70% reimbursement rate. If your pet is younger than 6 years old, you can choose from the following options to customize your policy:
- Deductibles: $250 or $500
- Annual coverage limits: Unlimited
- Reimbursement rates: 70% or 80%
To learn more: Healthy Paws Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: Get an online quote from Healthy Paws by filling out this quick form.
ASPCA: Most Experienced
In addition to having affordable, customizable policies, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is serviced by the Crum and Forester Pet Insurance Group, which has been in the industry for more than 25 years. It’s an excellent choice for new and seasoned pet owners alike, offering both accident-only and accident-and-illness coverage with five coverage limit options and three reimbursement rate and deductible choices.
Pros and Cons of ASPCA Pet Insurance
+ Offers a 30-day money-back guarantee
+ Provides coverage for microchipping and behavioral issues in its base plan
+ Doesn’t have an upper age restriction for coverage
– Has a 14-day waiting period for accidents
– Doesn’t offer customer service or vet tech support on weekends
Coverage: ASPCA offers two plan options: accident-only and accident-and-illness. Its accident-only plan covers vet bills related to unexpected injuries such as broken bones, swallowed objects, lacerations and toxic ingestions.
The accident-and-illness plan, also referred to as the Complete Coverage plan, covers the injuries mentioned above plus illnesses and conditions including cancer, behavioral issues, infections, hip dysplasia, heart disease, hereditary conditions, diabetes and more. Preexisting conditions, cosmetic procedures and breeding costs are excluded from coverage.
Add-ons: Pet owners can extend their coverage with a wellness care add-on, which covers routine care services such as wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, deworming and more. The wellness add-on is available at two different levels, reimbursing up to $250 or $450 annually.
Customizations: You can customize your ASPCA pet insurance coverage and pricing by selecting from the following deductible, coverage limit and reimbursement rate options:
- Deductible: $100, $250 or $500
- Annual coverage limit: $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $7,000 or $10,000
- Reimbursement rate: 70%, 80% or 90%
To learn more: ASPCA Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: Get a free pet insurance quote by filling out ASPCA’s online form.
Fetch by The Dodo: Our Pick for Therapy Coverage
Fetch by The Dodo stands out for its coverage of holistic treatments such as chiropractic care and acupuncture. The company’s standard plan also covers veterinary care related to behavioral issues, such as separation anxiety and hyperactivity. Fetch offers a variety of discounts, including up to 10% off for AARP members, active and retired military, and pet owners who adopted from a shelter or rescue.
Pros and Cons of Fetch
+ Covers up to $1,000 each for telehealth vet visits and up to $15,000 for treatment of behavioral issues
+ Reduces premiums by up to 30% for customers who don’t file a claim for at least 12 months
+ Provides discounts for paying premiums quarterly or annually, rather than monthly
– Doesn’t have a multi-pet discount
– Has a longer claim processing period than most pet insurance companies
Coverage: Fetch has one standard plan for both accidents and illnesses. Coverage includes sick visits, vet exams, diagnostic testing, surgeries and cancer treatment. Treatment of dental issues, breed-specific conditions and behavioral problems are also covered.
Add-ons: Fetch does not have wellness or preventive care options, but its standard plan does have some additional perks not offered by most other pet companies. For example, Fetch will reimburse you if you have to advertise for your lost pet or cancel a vacation due to a pet injury or illness-related treatment.
Customizations: You can customize your Fetch coverage by selecting from the following options:
- Deductible: $250, $300 or $500
- Annual coverage limit: $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000
- Reimbursement rate: 70%, 80% and 90%
To learn more: Fetch by The Dodo Pet Insurance review
Get your quote: To receive your free quote from Fetch, visit the company’s website.
Wagmo: Most Wellness Plan Options
Wagmo is the only provider on this list that offers cheap pet insurance coverage in addition to stand-alone wellness coverage. Its wellness plans are offered in three tiers, so you can choose which option best suits your pet’s needs.
Pros and Cons of Wagmo
+ Offers a 100% reimbursement option
+ Provides one month of free wellness if you pay the annual cost up-front
+ Reimburses pet owners via Paypal, Venmo or direct deposit
– Limits coverage to $10,000 per incident
– Requires a 30-day waiting period for cancer treatment
Coverage: Wagmo allows pet parents to purchase a wellness plan, an accident-and-illness plan, or both. Its accident-and-illness plan covers diagnosis and treatment for your pet’s injuries or conditions, including surgery, cancer treatments, hospital stays, diagnostic testing, prescription medications and end-of-life care.
Wagmo will reimburse up to $10,000 for each incident, up to $20,000 annually, and up to $100,000 over your pet’s lifetime. Keep in mind that there’s a 15-day waiting period for accidents and illnesses and a 30-day waiting period for cancer treatments.
Add-ons: Wagmo doesn’t offer add-ons. Instead, it has three stand-alone wellness plans. Each has a different price and annual limit:
- Value: $20/month and reimburses up to $350/year
- Classic: $36/month and reimburses up to $650/year
- Deluxe: $59/month and reimburses up to $1,100/year
Wagmo’s wellness plans cover routine wellness exams, vaccinations, blood work and more. Coverage varies across tiers, so be sure to carefully review each option to ensure you’re getting the preventive care you want.
Customizations: You can customize your Wagmo coverage by selecting from the following options:
- Deductibles: $250, $500, $1,000
- Maximum coverage limits: $10,000 per-incident cap; $20,000 annual cap; $100,000 lifetime cap
- Reimbursement rates: 90%, 100%
Get your quote: Visit Wagmo’s website
Which Cheap Pet Insurance is Best For You?
We recommend all of these pet insurance providers to pet owners on a budget. Though Lemonade consistently offers lower prices than many competitors, it’s not available in every state. We recommend getting quotes from other affordable pet insurance companies, such as ASPCA or Embrace, If Lemonade doesn’t serve your area or you’re looking to compare prices across a few companies.
What is Pet Insurance?
Pet insurance is a policy you can purchase for your pet that covers veterinary care costs related to emergencies, accidents and illnesses. Having a policy prevents you from paying for expensive out-of-pocket treatments. You pay at the vet’s office and your provider will reimburse you for the percentage of the bill you selected during enrollment.
Most pet insurance policies cover costs related to major accidents and injuries, including general sicknesses, infections, injuries, wounds, cancer, genetic conditions and hereditary conditions. Costs from hospitalizations, surgeries, medications and diagnostic tests are typically covered up to your selected annual limit, which is the total amount your provider agrees to pay within each year.
Types of Pet Insurance Plans
It’s important to understand the different types of pet insurance plans before purchasing a policy. Most companies offer accident-and-illness plans, but some offer more affordable accident-only plans. Additionally, many top pet insurers offer preventive care coverage as an optional add-on.
Here’s a breakdown of each type of plan, what it includes and who it’s good for:
- Accident-only plan: This plan covers accidents such as bite wounds, broken bones and sprains. It’s less comprehensive than an accident-and-illness plan and typically more affordable. Of the providers listed in this review, Spot is the only one that offers an accident-only policy.
- Accident-and-illness plan: This plan is more comprehensive than an accident-only plan. It typically covers your pet’s accidents and injuries in addition to illnesses and other conditions, such as congenital conditions, chronic conditions, cancer, digestive issues, hip dysplasia and skin conditions. We recommend this option if you want the most well-rounded policy and reimbursement for a wide range of emergencies.
- Preventive care plan: Since preventive care is never included in standard pet insurance policies, many companies offer it as an add-on for an additional monthly fee. Most preventive care plans cover routine vet visits and treatments such as wellness exam fees, fecal tests, blood work, vaccines and dental cleanings. Chyrle Bonk, an expert veterinarian and consultant for Excitedcats.com, says that having a wellness plan encourages regular veterinary care. “[It] can also help prevent many of the costly issues that a pet can run into down the road.”
How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?
When we surveyed pet parents, 44% said that monthly premium costs significantly influence whether or not they purchase pet insurance.
You can anticipate paying $20 to $150 per month for a pet insurance plan. The final price depends on the following factors:
- Age: Your pet’s age indicates its susceptibility to various accidents or injuries, so policies are typically more expensive for older pets. Your premium may also increase each year that your pet gets older. Our 2022 pet insurance survey showed that 77% of pet owners insured their pets before age two. Insuring your animal at an early age is the best way to mitigate increasing prices and avoid having claims denied for preexisting conditions.
- Breed: If your pet’s breed is more likely to contract certain illnesses or conditions, it will generally be more expensive to insure. For instance, golden retrievers and Maine coons are both known to have health issues and typically have higher pet insurance premiums.
- Location: Local and state regulations on insurance and the overall estimated costs of vets in your area will determine your policy’s pricing. If a provider determines that your ZIP code has expensive vets, it may charge higher premiums.
- Species: Cat insurance can be considerably less expensive than dog insurance, since cats are less prone to accidents and injuries and feline veterinary costs are usually lower than those for dogs.
You’ll want to consider these factors when selecting a pet insurance policy. Veterinarian Dr. Shannon Barrett says this is one of the most important investments a pet owner can make.
“I remind [pet owners] that there is no way to protect [your pets] from everything. Pets will inevitably eat something they shouldn’t or take a tumble playing with the dog next door,” Barrett says. But while your pet’s injuries and illnesses can cause understandable stress, pet owners can alleviate financial worries, “because they know they have pet insurance to help them out.”
Cheapest Overall Pet Insurance Plans
We pulled multiple pet insurance quotes for dogs and cats from several companies to find the cheapest plans. When possible, the plans were pulled for 4-year old mixed breeds and included a $250 deductible, $5,000 annual maximum and 80% reimbursement level.
Compare the Cheapest Dog Insurance Rates
*The monthly cost is based on sample quotes for accident-and-illness plans for a 4-year-old mixed dog in Columbia, S.C.
Compare the Cheapest Cat Insurance Rates
*The monthly cost is based on sample quotes for accident-and-illness plans for a 1-year-old mixed cat in Columbia, S.C.
Other Insurance Resources
Methodology: Our System for Ranking the Best Cheap Pet Insurance Companies
Our review of pet insurance companies is based on in-depth industry research that includes reading hundreds of customer reviews, simulating the quote and purchasing process, speaking to representatives on the phone to assess the customer service experience and surveying 1,000 dog and cat owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage. We have scored each provider on a 100-point scale based on those elements.
Here are more details about each factor and how they’re weighted:
- Monthly pricing (25 points): How much each company charges for its pet insurance plans is an important part of a customer’s decision. The best pet insurance companies combine comprehensive coverage and plan options with affordable rates.
- Plans (15 points): The top pet insurance companies offer accident and illness plans, accident-only plans and wellness or preventive care add-ons to give customers the option to choose a plan that’s best for their pet.
- Covered treatments (15 points): With this factor, we scored companies based on the treatments and procedures they cover. Companies with a breadth of included treatments and unique coverages received more points than providers with more standard or general policies.
- Customization options (10 points): Customizing your policy is a valuable way to ensure you only pay for what your pet needs. Providers with more annual-limit, deductible and reimbursement-rate options earned the highest scores.
- Customer care (10 points): We scored companies on their website accessibility and overall usability, customer service availability, mobile apps (if any), money-back guarantees and veterinarian telehealth options, awarding points to the insurers with more customer experience offerings.
- Industry reputation (10 points): To determine each company’s industry reputation, we reviewed up-to-date ratings and accreditation information from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and scored companies on their years of experience in the industry and their state availability.
- Waiting periods (10 points): Companies with shorter accident, illness and orthopedic waiting periods between the sign-up and coverage start date scored higher than companies with longer waiting periods.
- Eligible age (5 points): Some companies don’t offer policies for pets that are over a certain age. We deducted points from providers that have age limits for covered pets.
We use our rating system to compare and contrast each company against key factors to help us determine the best pet insurance companies in the industry. Additionally, we keep our research up to date and revisit our reviews on a regular basis.
