Top 10 dog insurance plans

Owning a dog can bring extra joy and happiness to your life but it is not all sunshine and rainbows! One important thing you have to pay attention to is your dog’s health.

Health insurance for dogs can be a fancy thing for pet parents, but really think of it, are you prepared every day to pay an unexpected vet bill? What if your dog had an accident one day?

At the end, you won’t leave your dog suffering if it had an accident or if it developed any kind of illness, so having medical insurance for your dog can wind your brain.

Now, you may ask, what is the top 10 dog insurance plan? And how much does dog insurance cost? Well, the answer to those questions depends on different factors, so before you dive into the rest of the article take a breath and think of these.

First, you have to know how pet insurance work. In most cases, you sign for a pet medical insurance by paying a monthly premium, if your pet got sick or had an accident, the company will pay part of the vet’s bill.

Paying is usually done as a reimbursement, you pay the bill first and send a claim to the company and they will reimburse you part of the bill according to the pre-agreed percentage.

The claiming process may take days or weeks according to each company’s procedures and policies.

Some companies will require you to pay a deductible before they start reimbursing you with the bills you pay at the vet.

Deductibles are sometimes annual, you have to spend the same amount of money each year before taking any reimbursement, and other time deductibles are paid once in a lifetime.

Several companies have annual limits, which means they can reimburse you till you reach the pre-determined limit, after that you will have to pay all the bills yourself.

Secondly, think of what your dog actually needs. Comprehensive medical care or an accident-only insurance plan.

Different pet insurance companies offer different plans, some plans will provide you with reimbursement on any bill whether it is an accident or any kind of illness, while others will reimburse you for specific illnesses only.

There are other plans too which include wellness care routine, these services may include grooming, nail trimming, and things like that.

After that you will need to decide which company works best for you and your dog, you have to know all their offered plans, the procedures and what is covered in each plan.

And the last thing of course is how much are you willing to pay for all of these?

This is your part, and from our side, we have taken our part and prepared a compiled list of the top 10 dog insurance companies we think can give you the best health insurance plan comparison.

• Healthy paw
• American Kennel Club
• Progressive
• Figo pet insurance
• ASPCA
• Petplan
• Pets Best
• Trupanion
• Hartville
• Nationwide

1.HEALTHY PAWS

Healthy paw pet insurance comes on top of this list for simply providing all that a pet owner needs for a dog medical insurance plan at affordable prices.

The company’s most distinctive feature is that they have no caps on claim payouts nor per accident, and there is no benefit limits for annual and lifetime plans.

Another advantage we found only at Healthy paw is the quickest claim processing ever which takes 48 hours, the process is so easy, you just visit any licensed veterinary, picture your bill and send it over to get your reimbursement.

If you don’t want to bother yourself with so many details, then go for the basic plan starting from 20$ monthly and customize the deductible and reimbursement as per your needs.

Speaking of reimbursement, they offer 70%, 80%, and 90% according to the deductible you pay once yearly which goes from 100$ to 500$.

The plan covers almost everything like injuries, illness, cancer, prescriptions, medical tests, congenital conditions, and hereditary conditions.

Another common illness covered by the plan is hip dysplasia on condition that you enrolled your dog before 6 years.

Pre-existing conditions which are any symptoms of illness that appear on your dog before the insurance or during the waiting period are excluded from the plan.

Plans will also exclude examination fees, checkups, dental care, and vaccinations.

Healthy paw doesn’t offer wellness or preventive care either. These include teeth cleaning, hair trimming, and parasite or bacterial control.

For your dog to be applicable for medical insurance at healthy paw he must have at least 8 weeks and less than 14 years.

Your dog will have to have a full medical test to determine if he has any pre-existing conditions or not.

The exam should have been done no more than 12 months before enrollment for dogs less than 5 years and no more than 30 days before enrollment for dogs 6 years and older.

You still have a waiting period of 15 days for illness and 12 months for hip dysplasia active from the date of your dog’s enrollment. After that, you will be able to submit any claims.

Perhaps one of the recognizable things for healthy paw is the foundation they have for homeless pets from 2009.

They decided to take social responsibility towards homeless pets and donate to shelters and rescues for each pet insurance plan paid to them.

2.AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB

If you have more than one dog and you need health insurance for both at the lowest possible rates, then American Kennel Club is your choice.

AKC offers a 5% discount if you have more than one pet, moreover upon registering for dog insurance you receive a 30-day coverage at no additional cost with a 100$ deductible and a 500$ limit.

You have to wait 1 day in case of accidents and 5 days for illness.

After you benefit from the 30-day coverage, you can extend your dog’s insurance and choose from the available plans. Plans’ policies are different according to the state you are living in.

The accident care plan covers accidents only after a period of 2 days from the date of purchasing dog insurance.

The other plan is a companion care plan which covers both accidents and illness. You will have to wait 14 days for illnesses.

Like most of the pet insurance companies, they don’t cover preventive care, hereditary conditions, and some other illness conditions related to infections, and examinations, but you can have several options to add for an extra cost.

Teeth care, fleas and tick prevention, microchipping, heartworm testing, and vaccinations all can be added in a defender coverage plan, and you will get reimbursement but with a maximum limit for each condition.

Reimbursement takes place without spending all the deductible for these conditions.

For support plus coverage, you will be reimbursed for death-related expenses like necropsy and others.

You have an exam plus coverage for covering physical examinations and an alternative plus option for covering alternative therapy and behavioral problems. The waiting period for this optional add is 30 days.

The last option you can get is covering hereditary conditions after 30 days waiting period too.

The very basic coverage can start at 20$ per month, the highest one is nearly 60$.

The deductible amounts start from 100$ up to 1000$ with reimbursement rates of 70%, 80%, and 90% with an annual policy cap according to your plan.

There is no maximum age limit for the pets to have accident coverage, however, the illness coverage is for dogs less than 9 years old.

Claims take about 14 days, the waiting period for illness is 14 days too but it can go as long as 180 days for cruciate ligament conditions.

3.PROGRESSIVE

Can you protect your dog with just 1$ per day?

According to progressive pet insurance, the answer is yes!

Your dog insurance premium can be that little covering illness and accidents. They have one of the lowest age criteria as you can enroll your 7 weeks dog and there is no age limit for dog medical insurances.

Progressive offers an affordable accident-only plan starting at 9$ monthly premium and an accident and illness plan for a minimum of 26$ per month.  

For comprehensive accident and illness plans, injuries from accidents are covered as well as emergency situations, infections, behavioral problems, and prescription medications.

You can also have a wellness routine care plan that covers extra things like vaccination and examination, you can add wellness coverage to your basic plan with an additional premium cost.

Wellness coverage includes vaccinations, regular checkups, and dental care.

You don’t have to pay premiums every month, you can pay it quarterly or yearly, whatever your choice is.

The monthly premium is determined upon several factors including your location as vets in different states have different rates, the age of your dog as older dogs costs more than younger ones and breed where some dog breeds are vulnerable to illnesses and diseases than others so they will cost more.

Preventive care, boarding, prescribed diets or food, and grooming are not covered under any plan, besides pre-existing conditions.

The deductible ranges are from 50$ to 1000$ with 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement options and an annual limit of 5000$, you have unlimited annual benefits option too.

All of these options will determine how much you will pay monthly for your dog insurance.

The waiting period is 2 weeks from the date of opting to a dog insurance plan, after that you can file claims.

The claims are reimbursed within 5 days maximum which is a relatively short time.

To file a claim you can contact the company via mobile or send a claim report using their website. You can track your claims using its reference number on their website too.

Their website allows for paying your monthly premiums and requesting quotes. There is a mobile application to make things easier too.

Like AKC, progressive offers a 5% discount for owning two or more pets.

So progressive can be a budget-friendly option if you are going to opt for an accident-only or accident & illness plan.

4.FIGO PET INSURANCE

The only company with 100% reimbursement you will find on this list is Figo pet insurance.

Aside from offering this 100% money back, Figo’s whole process is tech-friendly. You can process a claim using their pet cloud and you will get the reimbursement within 10 days.

Claims can be sent using emails, fax, or phone too.

Adding to their innovative features, you can consult a vet via video chat and you have a 24/7 customer service available via chat too.

They have a mobile application and a cloud where you can store all your dog’s records. You can connect with other dog parents via your account on this app too.

Figo has compiled 3 basic plans for puppies insurance; the essential one of a 5000$ annual benefit limit, the preferred plan which they claim to be the most popular one with 10000$ limit, and an unlimited plan which is actually not unlimited.

The maximum benefit for lifetime insurance is 200,000$ and for an annual one is 20,000$.

All three plans have wide coverage of the basic things like injuries, accidents, hereditary and congenital conditions, cremation in case of death, accidental dental care, hip dysplasia, cancer, chronic treatments, and prescription medications with the rehabilitation and exam fees as options.

Figo doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions or behavioral therapy in any of their plans, wellness benefits can be added with extra cost and they have a maximum reimbursement limit.

There is no cap per incident on any plan, and no upper age limit for opting your dog to any plan too, but he must be 8 weeks old.

You can also customize your own plan with deductibles ranging from 100$ to 1500$.

The monthly premium starts at 20$ and it can go high according to your chosen plan, reimbursement, and deductible.

As for waiting periods, they have a 3-days waiting for accidental injuries and 14 days for illnesses.

Your dog doesn’t have to take a full medical test to enroll, however, if your dog had a full medical test within 10 days before the insurance date, the waiting period may be reduced or canceled at all if the test was done by one of their participating vets.

Perhaps the most annoying thing you can face is that you have to wait for up to 1 year for knee problems which is a pretty long time compared to other companies.

5.ASPCA

ASPCA stands for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the organization offers pet insurance that can serve a dog owner with the lowest budget.

You can just ease your mind with a full-coverage plan and enjoy a no-waiting period, in some cases, and also you don’t have to pay all the deductible before the plan is effective.

The wide range of plans goes from accident-only plans starting at 10$ monthly to full coverage plans starting at 16$ covering everything including prescriptions and vaccinations but excluding preventive care.

The full-coverage plan covers accidents, illnesses, hereditary conditions, dental diseases, food and supplements prescriptions, alternative therapy, behavioral issues, and microchipping.

If you want to add preventive care as an option, this is available, you will get reimbursed for teeth cleaning, regular checkups, vaccinations, ticks and fleas treatment and heartworm prevention.

Wellness care options are not subjected to deductibles or waiting periods, reimbursements occur based on a schedule of a maximum annual limit.

You have two plans to choose from based on the annual limit you want and what wellness services you want to cover. As the annual limit and coverage options increase, your monthly premium will increase too.

You can easily customize your dog health insurance plan according to what you think your dog will need and what you can afford.

Deductibles ranges are 100$, 150$, and 250$ per year, the reimbursement is 70%, 80%, or 90% of the vet cost who can be any licensed vet in town.

Claims take about 2 weeks, you have to submit the claim using their app or to send it by mail or fax to get your reimbursement.

ASPCA has annual limits starting from 3000$ to 15000$ and they can go unlimited for lifetime dog insurance. You can change this limit on the day of renewal or ask to change your plan but this will make any conditions your dog have now pre-existing conditions for the new plan.

If any pre-existing condition is cured and your dog doesn’t show any symptoms of this disease for 180 days, the disease will no longer be considered as a pre-existing one. The occurrence of these diseases after this period will be covered by your plan if applicable.

The minimum age to enroll your dog is 8 weeks, while there is no maximum age limit for dogs to enroll in any insurance plan.

6.PETPLAN

Have you ever thought of what you are going to do with your dog if you, not your dog, got sick?

Petplan offers you full coverage of dog boarding fees for four days or more if you felt unwell and had to go to the hospital at any time. The maximum annual limit of this coverage is 1000$.

To enroll your dog, you don’t have to pay any enrollment fees, however, you need to do a checkup for your dog to be applicable for enrollment, and you have to repeat the checkups every year.

Puppies can be medically insured starting from the age of 6 weeks with no age limits, making Petplan the company with the lowest age criteria on this list.

With Petplan, you can rest assured that your dog will get injuries, examination fees, hereditary conditions, chronic conditions, rehabilitation, cancer, holistic and dental injuries reimbursement. There is no age limit for dogs having hip dysplasia.

But the most noticeable coverage option is the online vet visits, your dog can be cured online and Petplan will get you covered with no deductible at all.  

Petplan medical insurance covers also things like advertisement or rewards in case your dog is stolen or missing, the price you paid for your dog in case he dies, and vacation accommodation if you cancel your vacation because your dog is injured.

All of these coverages are limited to 1000$ reimbursement annually.

Preventive and routine care is not covered in any plan, pre-existing conditions are not covered either and they aren’t even offered as separate plans.

Monthly premiums start from 20$ up to 100$ which is an average price relative to other dog insurance companies.

Deductibles range from 100$ to 1000$, while reimbursements go from 70% to 90%.

Claims may take up to 90 days to be processed. To file a claim you have to visit the website and download a claim form, fill it and send it back to them. There is a mobile application for the claiming process too.

If you are going to treat your dog from a disease that will cost you a lot of money, there is a pre-authorization option. You will need to download the pre-authorization form available on their website and fill it in then send it back to make sure that you will get reimbursed before starting the treatment of your dog.

7.PETS BEST

Having a wide range of options can get you overwhelmed, but it can give you a space to find out the perfect fit for your dog.

Pets Best nailed it by offering three basic plans with numerous additional options and four annual limits.

The plans are accident only, accident & illness, and wellness coverage.

Accident plans start from 6$ monthly, this plan covers injuries resulting from accidents only.

The accident & illness plans include the accidents covered by the first plan besides illnesses, cancer, hereditary conditions, prescription medications, and behavioral conditions.

Examination fees, rehabilitation, and chiropractic coverage are options you can add to your accident & illness plan.

Still, there are more options; you can have a wellness and routine care coverage.

Wellness coverage plans have two options a 16$ per month with no deductible option and a 26$ one with no deductibles either. Both of them have an annual limit reimbursement schedule.

For the first option of wellness coverage, they will cover things like rabies vaccination, fleas, ticks and heartworm prevention, wellness exams and checkups, vaccination, and microchipping.

The second option covers all of these plus dental care, and you enjoy a higher annual limit on most of the covered wellness services.

The four available annual limits are $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, and unlimited.

Adding to the endless options, Pets Best offers one annual deductible which can be as low as 50$ and the highest one is 1000$, you can choose between 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursements.

You have the option to downgrade, upgrade, or change your plans at any time. But. In all cases, you need to contact the company so they can check your eligibility to do so and you will need to create a new policy with new waiting periods.

Waiting periods are the usual ones, three days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses, and 6 months for the cruciate ligament. Upon continuous renewal of the plan, there won’t be any waiting periods.

Claims have to be sent using the claim form on their website within 180 days of the treatment. The company will require your dog’s medical reports and vet’s bill.

The minimum age for dog enrollment is 7 weeks with no upper age limit.

All of these benefits are available at pets Best with a 24/7 pet helpline to help you discover what will work best for your puppy.

8.TRUPANION

Looking for a long-lasting dog insurance company? Trupanion can serve well here.

Trupanion can have a zero deductible and zero upfront reimbursement pay.

You don’t have to bother yourself with claims anymore as they are filed by the vets, not by the pet parents.

If you visited any of their partner vets or hospitals, the hospital will fill in the claim form for you once you are there with your dog for treatment. You will get your reimbursement while still there.

On the other hand, if you are treating your dog at any hospital or vet who doesn’t use their system, you can still fill the claim report and send it to Trupanion and you will get the reimbursement as soon as possible.

The deductible can be anywhere from 0 to 1000$. You can increase your deductible anytime, but you will only be able to decrease it within the first 30 days of the dog insurance.

You have an option for a lifetime deductible, this works per condition meaning you pay one deductible once in a lifetime for a particular condition.

While reimbursement is 90% with no limits. You pay your 10% share and the company will pay the rest to the vet or hospital directly.

As for plans and coverage, plans are customizable according to the reimbursement with a little higher monthly premiums compared to other companies.

Plans cover illnesses, injuries, medications, hereditary and congenital conditions. They offer additional coverage for alternative therapy and rehabilitation.

Plans don’t cover examination fees, pre-existing conditions nor do they offer wellness plans or routine care as the claim they don’t save money and you can do them at any hospital.

The premium is determined upon, among other factors, the age, location, and deductible you choose to pay.

The waiting period is 5 days for injuries resulting from accidents, and 30 days for illnesses. You will enjoy a waived waiting period in case of having a full medical test for your dog and get a certificate for that before opting for any dog insurance plan.

The Age of here is the signup age not the actual age of the dog, so monthly premiums don’t get high for older dogs. However, for each year you insure your dog the premium will increase by about 20%.

If your dog is 14 years and more, unfortunately, you can’t opt for any plan at Trupanion as their policy states.

9.HARTVILLE PET INSURANCE

Having a dog at the golden age and older can be a pain at the back for pet parents if they never applied for a dog health insurance. Most dog insurance companies have age limits.

On the contrary to Trupanion, Hartville has no upper age limit for dogs, you can enroll your dog at any age but he must be 8 weeks old to enroll.

Hartville pet insurance has accident-only plans starting at 10$ per month and complete coverage plans with a minimum of 16$ premiums.

Your Complete Coverage premium is calculated using your location and the species, breed, and age of your pet. It covers accidents, illness, hereditary conditions, Hip dysplasia, behavioral issues, prescription food, or supplements to treat any of the applicable illnesses, alternative therapy, and microchipping.

You can also add preventive care and vaccination, but you don’t have pre-existing conditions and cosmetics procedures options.

For preventive care, exams, tests, and vaccination will be covered with a maximum annual limit, if you want to increase this annual limit or increase the provided services you can opt for a higher wellness plan with a higher monthly premium.

Preventive and Wellness Care reimbursements are calculated based on a schedule of fixed rates for all available services, while complete coverage reimbursements are a percentage of the invoice.

Deductible ranges are $100, $250, or $500 with 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement rates.

The annual limits start from 5000$ up to unlimited, as the annual limit increase, your monthly premium will increase too.

Claims must be submitted within 270 days from the date of treatment, you have the option to ask your vet to fill in the claim form and submit it for you. If the claim was accepted, the company will pay your vet directly.

The waiting period is fixed for all illnesses, 14 days from the date of the policy to start filing your first claim. While the wellness plan has no waiting period.

Submit your claim, get a quote, review your benefits, locate the nearest vet, and get any of Hartville’s services easily, all of these can be done online.

When you enroll, you become part of the member center where you will be able to add all your information and dog’s information.

You will see your saved quotes and claims on the member center. You can track your claims online via this platform too.

10.NATIONWIDE

If you are an employee at Nationwide, don’t think too much about your dog insurance.

Nationwide values its employees and offers discounts and exclusive plans for them.

But if you aren’t you can still apply for a dog health insurance and choose from the three available plans.

The first plan is wellness coverage which itself includes two options.

The two options cover vaccination, flea and heartworm prevention, behavioral treatment, nail trimming, and microchipping.   

The first options start at 12$ per month, while the second one starts at 17$. The main difference between the two is the maximum reimbursement you can get for each service and the maximum annual limit.  

The plans are effective just after 24 hours. Bear in mind that wellness plans are not available in all states so check before you apply.

The second plan is major medical care that covers accidents and injuries including some hereditary conditions, chronic diseases, dental diseases, and holistic and alternative therapy starting at 36$ premium per month.

Finally whole pet with wellness which covers both, it can get a bit costly depending on what you will include in your plan.

Both plans, the major medical care and the whole pet with wellness have a waiting period of 14 days excluding the hereditary conditions which will have a waiting period for up to 1 year.

Boarding and pre-existing conditions are not covered in any plan.

The annual deductible is 250$ fixed for all plans, annual benefits differ according to your plan with unlimited annual benefits for the top ones.

The reimbursement process is a little bit different; for a wellness plan, they will reimburse you 90% of your bill, but for the other plans you will be reimbursed according to a schedule of benefits which means you only get a limited amount of money for each service.

Nationwide promises not to drop any dog from their dog insurance service as long as he is enrolled before the age of 10.

The major drawback is that claims take a long period up to 30 days before reimbursement, on the other hand, you can visit any licensed vet or emergency specialist in any country to get your reimbursement.

The company has a service separate from dog insurance named vet helpline. The service is available only to the members for 150$. It is basically a live vet help for your dog, whom you can ask any questions related to your dog’s health and emergencies.

Final thoughts

Getting a dog is adorable but it is also a real responsibility, the last thing you want to do is to get a dog and then feel you are not worth it.

Now that you know almost everything about dog insurance, you can make up your mind and decide whether you will go for a flexible customizable plans as offered Pets Best or comprehensive coverage as Nationwide.

If you want to customize every single detail you have the additional plans offered by AKC, where you can include and exclude whatever you think is suitable for your dog.

And when you have a dog with behavioral issues and you think this will cause you a problem, don’t opt for companies that don’t cover behavioral issues at all like Figo or companies which offer this as an additional service with an extra cost like AKC.

You have better options where behavioral problems are part of the basic plans, progressive is one of those companies which will serve your dog well in his case.          

Having a tight budget won’t prevent you from opting for a good reputable dog health insurance too, progressive solved the problem. You can have a perfect dog insurance plan at an affordable price as well.

If you and your partner have dogs, you can go for one like AKC or progressive to benefit from the 5% discount, it will make a difference to the total payment.

Never think that it is too late to have medical insurance for your old dog, Hartville will be your best choice if your dog is 14 and more.

Different dog insurance companies cover different illnesses and provide different services. Think of what your dog usually suffer from, but bear in mind that pre-existing conditions are not covered by any of the companies.

Some medical insurance companies will give you exclusive options not available in any other company, like the ones regarding reimbursement for ads or rewards or even the price of the dog itself when stolen, provided by Petplan.

These may be good options but don’t just enroll your dog in medical insurance for extra exclusive coverage. Maybe you will never use them at all.

So, the final say is you have to compare everything mentioned here from annual deductibles, reimbursement, coverage, plans, annual limits, claiming process, and claiming period.

You may want to call the customer service of the company to check how helpful they are too.

Remember to ask about the final price before you enroll in any company because the initial quote you get is not always what you will pay. There may be administration fees, application forms, annual checkups, and others.

Insurance companies work differently in different states, so check the policy, terms, and conditions applied in your state and never be shy to ask about every single detail.

Dog insurance can be a perfect solution to protect your dog and protect you against extra costs, so give yourself peace of mind and give extra care and love for your dog.