What Pet Insurance Company Has the Best Wellness Plan?
Wellness plans are add-ons to standard pet insurance plans that can cover routine items like vaccinations, exams and check-ups. We evaluated wellness plans offered by top pet insurance providers and found that Embrace offers the best wellness plan on the market. We also pulled wellness plan quotes from each of our top picks to provide estimated costs. Here is the complete list of our plan picks:
- Embrace Pet Insurance: Wellness Rewards
- Lemonade: Routine Vet Care Plus
- Spot: Platinum Plan
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance: Prime Plan
- AKC Pet Insurance: DefenderPlus
The listings that appear are from companies from which this website may receive compensation, which may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Not all companies, products or offers were reviewed in connection with this listing.
Compare Top Pet Insurance Wellness Plans
Compare the average cost of pet insurance and base-level wellness add-ons across our top provider picks in this review down below.
The listings that appear are from companies from which this website may receive compensation, which may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Not all companies, products or offers were reviewed in connection with this listing.
| Provider | Wellness Plan | Average Monthly Cost of Pet Insurance | Cost of Base-level Wellness Add-On | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellness Rewards
|
$36
|
$23
|
||
|
Routine Vet Care Plus
|
$33
|
$16
|
||
|
Platinum Plan
|
$37
|
$10
|
||
|
Prime Plan
|
$35
|
$10
|
||
|
DefenderPlus
|
$37
|
$16
|
|
| Provider | Wellness Plan | Average Monthly Cost of Pet Insurance | Cost of Base-level Wellness Add-On | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellness Rewards
|
$36
|
$23
|
||
|
Routine Vet Care Plus
|
$33
|
$16
|
||
|
Platinum Plan
|
$37
|
$10
|
||
|
Prime Plan
|
$35
|
$10
|
||
|
DefenderPlus
|
$37
|
$16
|
|
What is a Pet Wellness Plan and How Does It Work?
A pet wellness plan typically covers routine veterinary treatments, such as annual vet checkups, lab work, blood work, vaccines, dental care, physical exams and more. These routine treatments and checkups are essential to maintaining your pet’s health. A pet wellness plan often only covers preventive care and doesn’t include accident and illness coverage.
How to Use Pet Wellness Coverage
In general, you’ll schedule your pet’s services, like vaccinations and bloodwork, ahead of time. When the time comes, you’ll pay for these services up front and then submit a claim to your wellness plan provider for reimbursement.
Most preventive care plans don’t have a deductible, but be sure that you’ve read through your plan documents so you fully understand the specifics of what is and isn’t covered. In addition, keep any receipts from your vet that detail the services provided to your pet, as you’ll need them for documentation to submit your claim.
What Do Pet Wellness Plans Cover?
A complement to your base pet insurance plan, a wellness plan can offer basic or comprehensive coverage.
Basic Pet Wellness Coverage
The difference between a basic wellness plan and an upgraded or comprehensive plan depends on the specific provider. We found that basic plans cover the following services:
- Wellness visits
- Vaccines
- Fecal test
- Heartworm or FIV or FeLV test
- Deworming
Comprehensive Wellness Plans
Comprehensive and upgraded wellness plans may provide higher reimbursement rates than basic coverage and may have an expanded list of covered services, including:
- Microchipping
- Health certificates
- Spay or neuter surgery
- Dental cleanings
- Flea, tick and heartworm prevention
- Wellness blood and urine profiles
- Grooming
- Supplements
- Alternative wellness care
What Is Not Covered by Pet Wellness Plans
Pet wellness plans and pet insurance policies offer complementary coverage. As pet insurance alone doesn’t provide coverage for routine wellness services, a preventive care add-on won’t pay for expenses related to emergency veterinary care for an accident or illness.
How Much Do Pet Wellness Plans Cost?
According to our analysis, the average price for a pet wellness plan is $180 annually or around $15 per month. However, your exact costs will depend on the provider and the amount of coverage included.
When you add the cost of a wellness package to the cost of a basic pet insurance policy, you can expect to pay between $48 to $76 per month.
What is the Difference Between Pet Insurance and Pet Wellness Plans?
Pet insurance is designed to help pet parents pay for veterinary care due to an accident or illness. Pet wellness plans can help cover costs associated with planned routine care. In most cases, wellness plan service reimbursements are not subject to a deductible or copayment.
Do Pet Wellness Plans Have Waiting Periods?
Where state law permits, pet insurance policies enforce a waiting period before coverage begins, which can also apply to wellness plans. However, we’ve found that some providers, such as ASPCA and Embrace, allow you to use the plan’s benefits as soon as you enroll. If your pet needs wellness care soon, consider enrolling in a pet insurance policy with an additional preventive care plan before starting routine care to receive coverage.
Do Pet Wellness Plans Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?
No, pet wellness plans don’t typically cover pre-existing or chronic conditions. However, some routine treatments covered by these plans may help prevent or cure these conditions.
Some pet insurance plans cover accidents and illnesses related to curable pre-existing conditions, and AKC is the only provider we’ve reviewed that also covers incurable pre-existing conditions.
Some pre-existing conditions are more common among certain species and breeds than others. Dr. Rodney Steven Bagley, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM, a professor at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, suggests doing some research on your pet to learn what conditions it is particularly at risk for.
“All breeds can potentially have specific diseases, and equally, there are myriad diseases that are not breed-associate or dependent… [but] just because you find information about a disease in the breed you have doesn’t mean your dog will actually get that disease.”
Pet Wellness Plans Near Me
Looking for local pet insurance or hospitals with routine care coverage plans? Select your state below to get a full list of our top-recommended pet wellness plans near you.
Find Pet Insurance Providers in Your State
Is a Pet Wellness Plan Worth It?
According to health care financing company Care Credit, vet exams, core vaccinations, spaying or neutering and microchip implantations can total $2,800 in a puppy’s first year. The first-year cost for a kitten is nearly $2,500. A pet wellness add-on can help ease the burden of these costs for new pet owners, especially if you anticipate struggling to pay these expenses in a lump sum.
However, if you think you’ll fail to use all of the wellness services you’ve paid for by the end of your contract term, you’ll likely lose money by paying for unused benefits. A pet wellness plan may not be worth adding to your pet insurance policy in these cases.
Ask The Experts
“Establish a good relationship with a veterinarian and the clinic. When looking for a new pet, veterinarians are great resources for types and breeds that would work well for the home. Follow preventive recommendations… Also, early obedience training can encourage positive behaviors for lasting relationships for pets and their families.”
Frequently Asked Questions About Pet Wellness Plans
Below are some commonly asked questions about pet wellness plans:
No, not all pet insurance companies offer wellness plans. However, it is a common offering that most companies extend to pet owners.
With most pet insurance companies, you can enroll in a wellness plan online or over the phone. The best time to obtain this coverage is when you sign up for pet insurance or renew your policy.
Yes, many pet wellness plans cover some of the costs of neutering. However, the neuter or spay package is often included in a higher-tier preventive care plan or one made specifically for kittens or puppies. Be sure to check the coverage details of your plan before purchasing.
We ranked Lemonade pet insurance higher than ASPCA in our review of the best pet insurance companies because of Lemonade’s quick and convenient customer experience.
Methodology
Many pet insurance providers offer comprehensive insurance options for pet owners, but few companies offer quality wellness plans that will guarantee savings. The MarketWatch Guides prides itself on providing the most accurate and up-to-date pet insurance cost information by manually gathering over 14,000 quotes and comparing pet ownership costs across providers. We used the following factors to help rank our top pet wellness plans:
- Cost of wellness add-on: We analyzed the average cost to add a wellness plan to base insurance coverage for each provider. Companies with more affordable wellness care rates ranked above those offering expensive preventive care plans.
- Base plan monthly cost: Since we know cost is an important factor to shoppers, pet insurance companies with cheaper monthly premiums ranked higher on our list. Our estimated costs were determined by requesting quotes from more than 20 pet insurance companies based on 10 sample pet profiles of both mixed-breed and purebred dogs and cats across all 50 U.S. states.
- Two or more plan options: Providers that offer more than one wellness plan tier ranked higher than those with only one option. This allows pet owners who are only looking for pet wellness care coverage to select a plan more suited to their needs.
- Preventive care coverage: Providers with more comprehensive wellness care coverage, such as covering two versus one vet exam, three or more vaccines and spay and neutering procedures, ranked higher than those with more limited coverage.
- Special perks: We ranked companies that offer more perks to pet owners, such as teeth cleaning and microchipping, higher than those with basic routine care coverage.
- Money-back guarantee: Given that the industry average money-back guarantee is 30 days, any company offering a longer guarantee earned a higher score in this category.
- Our rating: Our team reviewed more than 30 pet insurance companies using our objective rating methodology. Pet insurance providers that earned higher overall scores ranked higher on this list.
For more information on how we review pet insurance companies, review our editorial guidelines.
