15 Best Pet Insurance That Covers Routine Care | 2022

However, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to help offset the cost of basic routine care, like standard veterinary checkups and treatments.

The good news is that some pet insurance companies offer wellness rewards (reimbursement) as a supplement to cover routine visits and procedures, which is beneficial for all pet owners, including those with older pets or those with hereditary conditions.

However, is the extra cost justified?

Pet wellness plans are different from regular pet insurance in that they cover different types of care, but they both serve the same purpose.

A wellness plan will cover some of the costs of routine veterinary care and give you peace of mind when you take your pet to the vet.

Above all, your pet will always have access to the routine veterinary care it requires to stay happy and healthy.

We’ll look at how pet wellness plans work, why it’s so important to have them as part of your pet insurance policy, and the best pet insurance that covers routine care in 2022.

What does routine care cover?

Routine Care Coverage is included in Primary Medical Coverage and will help with routine care items that are necessary for your pet’s health, such as vaccinations and deworming.

What is a Pet Wellness Plan and how does it work?

A wellness plan reimburses you for routine veterinary costs, such as those incurred during a routine checkup at the vet.

Wellness plans are also known as “preventive plans” because they help you pay for preventive services like teeth cleaning, immunizations, heartworm tests, and more.

Some veterinary practices specialize in puppy wellness and preventive care plans, while most pet insurance companies offer supplemental health insurance and wellness plans for dogs and cats.

What is the difference between pet wellness plans and pet insurance?

A pet wellness plan is similar to regular pet insurance in that it covers expenses associated with normal treatment.

After you pay your vet for services, standard pet insurance reimburses you for covered charges. Most insurance programs are intended to help you with unexpected veterinary expenses related to treating accidents and illnesses that have been diagnosed.

If your pet is lethargic and your vet wants to run tests to find out what’s wrong, your pet insurance provider should reimburse you for those fees if they’re covered. Treatments related to covered illnesses and injuries will also be reimbursed.

Accident/injury policies are what they’re called. The most common type of pet insurance is this. Depending on the plan, they may cover the cost of X-rays, CT scans, treatments, surgeries, emergency veterinary care, and even dog medications.

What do pet wellness plans cover?

Most pet health plans cover the price of routine vet visits, like a physical exam. Your veterinarian will examine your pet during a wellness exam to look for anything unusual.

They can examine your pet’s heart and lungs, as well as take their temperature and weigh them.

Wellness programs do not cover emergency medical treatment or treatment costs for illnesses and injuries; pet insurance yes

Also, no pet insurance plan covers pre-existing conditions (although some policies include alternatives for curable conditions), so it’s best to sign up for a pet insurance and wellness plan as soon as possible.

Your wellness plan will cover routine care diagnoses and treatments, such as those listed below, depending on the type of wellness plan you choose and the insurance company you choose:

blood tests

The complete blood count (CBC) test is the most common blood test performed on both humans and animals.

This test tells the vet about the various types of cells in the animal’s blood, such as the number of red blood cells in a sample.

If the animal’s blood count is abnormal, it could be a sign of underlying disease.

Teeth Cleanings

A dental cleaning usually includes a dental exam as well as the removal of plaque and tartar from the animal’s teeth.

To detect any signs of dental disease, the veterinarian will examine the animal’s teeth and gums. Your pet may need to undergo general anesthesia for a dental cleaning.

deworming

Initially, your veterinarian will test for the presence of parasitic worms, such as roundworms and tapeworms.

Then, to get rid of the parasites, your pet will be given oral medications. This could require repeated treatments.

fecal exams

Your veterinarian will request a small sample of your pet’s stool, and most veterinarians agree that the exam should be done once a year.

They will use a specific solution to see if there are gastrointestinal parasites in the sample. They may also use a microscope to examine your pet’s stool.

Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention

Most pet owners treat their pets with flea, tick, and heartworm preventives on a regular basis.

Some welfare programs will pay for some of these drugs.

Certificates of good health

A pet health certificate, often referred to as a veterinary inspection certificate, is sometimes covered by various wellness plans (CVI).

This is a government-issued certificate that your pet is disease-free. Your certificate may also state that your pet has received all of its vaccinations.

To register your pet in some cities, towns, or counties, you may require a pet health certificate. If you plan to travel internationally with your pet, you may also need a pet health certificate.

Heartworm tests

Heartworms are commonly detected with a blood test, which is often covered by pet insurance health policies.

If your veterinarian identifies heartworms in your pet, additional treatments may be required, which may be covered by your basic pet insurance plan.

Microchip

A tiny microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted under your pet’s skin during this surgery.

The microchip serves as your pet’s identification. Rescuers can scan your pet’s microchip to get information about where you live and who you are if you get lost.

Castration and sterilization

Some welfare programs cover the cost of spaying and neutering.

If you recently adopted a pet that hasn’t been fixed yet, you should consider signing up for a wellness plan as soon as possible to make sure the surgery is covered.

Urinalysis

A urinalysis is a standard test that examines the chemical composition of your pet’s urine.

Although your veterinarian may require a urinalysis to discover other abnormalities, it is primarily used to check the general health of your pet’s kidneys and urinary system.

Vaccines

Routine immunizations, such as DHLPP shots, titer shots, and rabies shots, are included in many pet wellness plans.

Younger animals generally require multiple vaccinations before being declared fully immunized.

If you are adopting a puppy or kitten that has not yet been vaccinated , a welfare plan may pay for the costs of the vaccinations.

What is not covered by a pet wellness plan?

Accidents, illnesses and injuries are often not covered by pet welfare policies.

They are not pet insurance, so you will be responsible for paying exorbitant veterinary fees if something goes wrong with your pet’s health, unless you include them in a legitimate pet insurance plan.

We recommend that you obtain an accident and injury plan for your pet, as well as a wellness plan.

Most of us make sure healthcare is within our budget when we welcome a new pet into our home, but when the unexpected happens, we run into trouble.

Best Pet Insurance That Covers Routine Care: Best Wellness Plans

We compared the top pet insurance companies to see how they rated in terms of overall wellness coverage and how much each plan would cost you each month.

While most insurers offered some type of pet wellness plan, we found that some provided more comprehensive coverage than others.

Additionally, most pet insurance companies provide different levels of coverage, allowing you to tailor your policy to your specific needs.

Depending on your pet, whatever existing policies you own and your budget, there are many different pet wellness plans to consider. Here’s a roundup of the best pet wellness plans we found and what they have to offer.

1st place

Spot pet insurance covers a wide range of difficulties, including hereditary conditions, behavioral problems, alternative therapies and chronic conditions, ensuring that your pet receives the best possible medical care.

Basically, Spot was created in 2019 and is insured by Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group, a company that has been in business since 2006.

Pros:

• For people on a tight budget, it provides coverage for accidents only.
• It allows the purchase of an infinity of annual benefits.

Contras:

• Monthly premiums are on average expensive.
• Cosmetic procedures are not covered.

How does the point work?

A gold preventive care plan is $9.95 per month, while a platinum preventive care plan is $24.95 per month. Each wellness benefit is reimbursed at a specific level in each plan.

The gold plan offers a total annual reimbursement benefit of $250, while the platinum plan offers a total annual reimbursement benefit of $450.

In addition to the difference in reimbursement levels, the platinum plan provides benefits for spay/neuter, blood tests, urine tests, and deworming.

Your accident and sickness coverage costs approximately $40 for dogs and $22 for cats each month. While Spot doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, it does cover those that have been treated and symptom-free for at least 180 days.

2. Lemonade

This New York City-based insurance company offers pet insurance as well as homeowners, renters, auto, and life insurance .

Provides an easy-to-use app for submitting and verifying claims, as well as an annual deductible of $500 or less.

With its comprehensive wellness coverage, Lemonade Pet Insurance stands apart from the crowd. There are two levels of coverage available, as well as additional additional options.

The basic plan for cats is only $10 per month, and the basic plan for dogs is $15 per month. Included in this package is a wellness exam, a fecal exam or parasite test, a heartworm test, a blood test, up to three immunizations, and a medical advice chat.

All of this, plus flea and tick medication, dental cleaning, microchipping, and spaying/neutering, are included in the next level of wellness coverage.

Individual add-ons such as fees for vet visits related to accident and illness exams and benefits for physical therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care can be purchased if you want even more coverage.

Meanwhile, the reimbursement rate varies between 70 and 90 percent.

Pros:

• When you bundle your pet insurance with one of your other insurance options, you can save money.
• At just two days, it has one of the smallest accident waiting periods.

Contras:

• Regular coverage does not include medical talk.
• Not available in the 50 states.

3. hug

Embrace pet insurance has been in business since 2003, so you can be sure that they know their stuff when it comes to insurance.

Basically, Embrace offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, as well as a 10% discount for many pets and a 5% discount for military personnel.

The wellness programs offered by Embrace differ from those offered by other pet insurers. Provides a variety of reimbursement levels, ranging from $250 to $650 per year.

Out-of-pocket expenses like wellness checks, vaccinations, flea/tick prevention, spay/neuter, microchipping, grooming, teeth cleaning and prescription diet foods, training and more can be covered with this money.

The monthly fee will range from $18.75 to $52.09 per month. When her pet is a puppy or kitten, Embrace recommends starting with a higher level of wellness plan coverage and gradually lowering it as needed, which makes sense because your young pet will require many vaccinations at that age.

For dogs, the average monthly rate for accident and sickness coverage is $35 and for cats it is $18.

Pros:

• Provides coverage for treatable pre-existing conditions if your pet has been symptom-free for 12 months.
• Offers a healthy pet deductible, which reduces your annual deductible by $50 if no insurance claims are filed.

Contras:

• The amount of money that can be reimbursed to you each year is capped at $30,000 per year.
• Knee ligament problems have a six-month waiting period.

4. Healthy legs

According to its website, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance was one of the top rated pet insurance companies from 2010 to 2021. It is distinguished by its charitable contributions and fast claims processing.

In fact, most claims are processed within two days. Healthy Paws not only offers unlimited annual payments, but also unlimited payments for life, which we think is truly exceptional.

Healthy Paws is the only company on our list that does not provide any type of wellness coverage. There is really only one accident and illness insurance plan available to purchase, keeping things simple even though prices and features vary depending on the age of your pet.

Deductibles for dogs and cats under the age of five range from $100 to $500 , with reimbursement rates ranging from 70 to 90%.

Deductibles for dogs and cats six to seven years old range from $250 to $750, with reimbursement rates ranging from 60 to 80 percent.

As you can see, as your pet ages, the deductible increases and your reimbursement rate decreases.

This coverage trend continues as your pet ages, although pets may only be covered up to age 14. Cat insurance costs an average of $12 per month, while dog insurance costs an average of $39 per month.

Pros:

• 30 day money back guarantee
• Coverage can be tailored to your pet’s age and breed.

Contras:

• There are no wellness plans available.
• There are no discounts for multiple pets.

5. ASPCA

The ASPCA, which was formed in 2017, is underwritten by the United States Fire Insurance Company.

Basically, the ASPCA doesn’t require your pet to be tested before registration, and coverage starts just 15 days after your policy starts.

For knee ligament injuries and hip dysplasia, most other pet insurance companies require a waiting period of at least six months, so if your pet’s breed is prone to these conditions , the ASPCA may be the way to go to get coverage fast.

The ASPCA offers two types of wellness insurance: basic and primary. The most basic plan costs about $10 per month and contains predetermined fees for dental cleanings, wellness exams, immunizations, deworming, and fecal tests.

The main plan, which costs about $25 per month, is the next step up. Flea and heartworm treatment, a health certificate, blood tests and urine tests are included in the premium plan.

Finally, the ASPCA charges $49 for dogs and $29 for cats for accident and sickness coverage. You can adjust your deductible, reimbursement rate, and annual limit to meet your needs.

Pros:

• A 30-day money-back guarantee is available.
• When you insure many pets, you get a 10% discount.

Contras:

• Cosmetic operations or breeding fees are not covered.
• Low annual limit, maxing out at $10,000

6. Cautious Pet

Founded in 2018, Prudent Pet offers some pretty cool extras for your pet, like 24/7 vet chat and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Not only can you tailor your deductible and reimbursement percentage to fit your budget, but pet owners can also choose an accident-only plan to save even more money.

While accident and illness coverage for dogs costs approximately $39 per month and $23 per month for cats, wellness coverage costs extra. Prudent Pet offers three levels of wellness coverage, each named after the cost of the plan.

The basic plan costs approximately $7.95 per month for cats and $11.95 per month for dogs and provides a fixed payment amount for each wellness benefit.

The medium plan, which costs $13.95 per month for cats and $19.95 per month for dogs, will provide a higher level of compensation for each wellness benefit.

The premium plan, which costs approximately $19.95 per month for cats and $29.95 per month for dogs, provides the most comprehensive coverage. Includes extras like Lyme disease vaccination coverage and a wellness blood test.

Pros:

• Discounts are available for multiple pet insurance.
• Behavioral problems are taken into account.

Contras:

• For cruciate ligament injuries, there is a six-month waiting period.
• Only dogs and cats are covered.

7. Banfield Wellness Plans

Banfield specializes in pet wellness plans rather than pet insurance. Their strategies are created to help you achieve and maintain optimal pet health through preventive pet health care.

We calculated the cost of enrolling our Newfoundland in a basic pet wellness plan (the Special Care plan), which includes dental cleanings and other services like flea and tick control, at $48.95 per month.

You must use all of Banfield’s services for the monthly fee to make sense. Essential Wellness, Active Prevention and Special Care are the three wellness plans available for dogs.

Vaccines, diagnostic tests, a complete physical (two per year), fecal exams, and deworming are included in the Essential Wellness package.

The same is covered by Active Prevention, as well as dental cleanings and urinalysis. The Special Care plan includes everything in the other plans, plus preventive x-rays, eye pressure exams and ECGs, as well as a greater discount on additional Banfield products.

8. PetAssure Wellness

PetAssure is a veterinary insurance discount program that offers an alternative to traditional pet insurance.

If you have a pet with pre-existing conditions, need wellness care that your plan doesn’t cover, or just want to use a discount plan for your pet’s care needs, this is a good option.

While pet insurance can cover 75 to 90 percent of veterinary appointments, you must first meet a deductible and make sure your visit is a “covered instance.”

As a result, the PetAssure option is a good supplemental, alternative or stand-alone coverage to ensure your pets get the treatment they need.

9. VCA Care Club

VCA Care Club is a plan that offers wellness care in a benefits program that you can purchase directly from VCA.

With VCA Care Club, you can get various levels of care, depending on whether you have a puppy, adult dog, senior dog, kitten, adult cat or senior cat. Vaccinations, wellness checkups, fecal exams, and other services are generally covered, depending on the age of the animal.

VCA does not offer pet insurance, so your coverage is limited to preventive and diagnostic services. If problems are discovered, they will have to be paid for out of pocket.

10. Pumpkin

Pumpkin is a pet insurance company that provides both insurance and routine care for pets. Customers have given the company a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot as of October 25, 2021.

Your Preventative Essentials package helps you assess your pet’s current health, catch infections early, and prevent illness with year-round immunizations.

Among the 17 firms we reviewed, Pumpkin’s wellness plan received the highest rating. One of the reasons we give it such a good rating is that it doesn’t have a limit on how much you can be paid for approved items, which is unusual for preventive care coverage.

But what does a Pumpkin wellness plan cover?

Pumpkin collaborated with doctors to create a wellness plan that covers the most crucial aspects of preventive care for your pet.

While both dogs and cats are compensated for identical things, there are a few differences to note below.

Pet Wellness Plans: Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

When it comes to insuring dogs, wellness coverage offers a great investment, especially for puppies and kittens that require many immunizations and shots.

Vet visits and veterinary expenses will start to increase as adult dogs and cats get older, requiring additional coverage.

As you can see, each pet insurance company listed above has its own health care plan, so it’s just a matter of determining what perks you need at a price you can afford.

To optimize your reimbursements, look for covered extras like charges for grooming, heartworm prevention and dental treatment.

You can easily find a health plan that works for your pet, even if you’re on a tight budget.

Knowing that your pet’s required vaccinations and health checkups are covered gives you peace of mind as a pet parent.

References

• 365petinsurance.com – Best Pet Wellness Plans for Routine Care (2022)
• pawlicy.com – Are pet wellness plans worth it for routine care?
• petco.com – Pet Insurance for Routine Care