The Pet Treatment Index

Pet Insurance Quotes: How to Compare Three on Equal Terms

A pet insurance quote is a price based on the pet details and options shown—not a coverage promise. Compare quotes only after six groups match: coverage type, deductible, reimbursement, benefit limit, payment cost, and add-ons. Get at least three. If symptoms, veterinary advice, or treatment already exist, use the diagnosed path below.

There are no paid links on this page. The Pet Treatment Index is not an insurer, an insurance producer, or a marketplace. We are not paid if you buy a policy, and we do not send you to a quote partner.

The Pet Treatment Index Editorial Desk · Independent pet-treatment research

Published: August 21, 2026 · Last reviewed: August 21, 2026 · Last verified: August 21, 2026

Veterinary review status: Not yet completed. This page will name the reviewer, credential, scope, and date if and when a licensed veterinarian reviews it. Until then, no veterinary-review label is used.

Independent insurance or legal review: Not yet completed.

Educational information for pet owners—not veterinary advice, a diagnosis, a treatment recommendation, an insurance recommendation, legal advice, or a coverage guarantee. A veterinarian's examination and diagnosis set treatment. Current law, your policy, your pet's records, and the insurer's claim decision control coverage.

If something may be wrong with your pet right now, or you are unsure whether it can wait, contact a veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital immediately. Do not delay care to shop for insurance.

This applies to you if

  • You are in the United States, insuring a dog or a cat.
  • Your pet has no current symptoms, diagnosis, veterinary advice, or treatment need related to the problem you are planning for.
  • You have two or more quotes open and cannot tell which is actually cheaper.
  • You want to understand what you would be buying before you submit another quote form or purchase a policy.

This is not your situation if

  • Your pet already has symptoms, a diagnosis, treatment advice, or a recommendation from a veterinarian. Skip to the section below on what a new policy will not fix.
  • You are disputing a claim on a policy you already hold.
  • Your pet may need care right now.
  • You are insuring a horse, livestock, an exotic pet, or a working animal, or you are outside the United States. This page does not cover those situations.

Start in the right lane

I am planning ahead. No symptoms, no diagnosis, no veterinary advice about a problem. → This whole page is for you. Start with the next section.

My pet already has something going on. Symptoms, a diagnosis, veterinary advice, or a treatment need. → A new policy generally will not cover care tied to that existing history. → Read this first.

I already have a policy and I am thinking of switching. → Switching is not the same as shopping for the first time. A replacement policy can start new clocks and classify intervening history under a new contract. → Read this first.

What does a pet insurance quote actually tell you?

A quote tells you the premium offered for the pet details, location, and options shown at that moment. It does not settle how medical history will be classified, whether a later bill is eligible, what a claim will pay, or what renewal will cost; the issued policy, applicable law, and claim review control those answers.

That gap matters more than most quote screens suggest. Here is the whole sequence, and what each step does and does not settle.

Step What it settles What it does not settle
You enter pet and location details The rating inputs you supplied Whether every future condition or charge will be covered
The quote returns a price The displayed premium for those inputs and selected options Eligibility of any future bill, renewal pricing, or final claim payment
You buy and the policy is issued The contract, effective date, selected benefits, and stated waiting periods How a future set of facts and medical records will be applied to a claim
Records are reviewed The insurer's assessment under its current process and policy A guaranteed decision on a different future claim
Veterinary care occurs and a claim is filed The event, records, and charges submitted for review Payment until the insurer adjudicates the claim under the policy

Two policies can return the same monthly number and behave completely differently at the claim stage. The next section is how you tell them apart before you buy.

The six settings that must match before pet insurance quotes compare cleanly

A price comparison is valid only when the quotes describe the same product. Match these six groups first: coverage type; deductible amount and basis; reimbursement percentage and method; benefit-limit amount and basis; payment schedule and mandatory fees; and included add-ons.

Some of these are not shown on the quote card. You may have to open the plan details, state-specific disclosure, or policy document to find them.

The worksheet

Fill this in from your own quotes. If a cell is blank, that is the finding—you cannot compare that row yet.

Pet insurance quote comparison worksheet. Scope: U.S. accident-and-illness or accident-only policies for one dog or one cat. Fill it from quotes for the same pet, ZIP code, and date; nothing is pre-filled because a real comparison uses your current inputs and current prices.

Field Quote 1 Quote 2 Quote 3 Same across all? Where to find it
Coverage type: accident-only or accident and illness Quote screen and policy
Quoted premium and payment frequency Quote screen
Required billing, installment, or transaction fees Checkout, disclosure, or policy
Comparable annual premium: quoted annual amount, or monthly amount × 12 plus known fees Quote plus your arithmetic
Annual-payment discount or monthly-payment surcharge Checkout or billing terms
Deductible amount Quote screen
Deductible basis: annual, per condition, per incident, or other Policy document
Reimbursement percentage Quote screen
Reimbursement method: percentage of eligible charge, benefit schedule, or other formula Policy and disclosure
Benefit-limit amount Quote screen and policy
Benefit-limit basis: annual, lifetime, per condition, or other Policy document
Wellness or preventive add-on included? Quote screen and terms
Veterinary exam fees covered? Policy document
Prescription medication covered? Policy document
Accident waiting period State disclosure or policy
Illness waiting period State disclosure or policy
Orthopedic waiting period State disclosure or policy
Pre-existing-condition definition State disclosure or policy
Curable-condition provision and symptom-free period, if any Policy document
Bilateral or orthopedic exclusion or limitation Policy document
Underwriting company, which may differ from the brand Disclosure and declarations
Policy form or version, plus your state Policy document
Date you pulled the quote and any stated expiration Quote screen or email

We suggest three quotes as a working minimum, not because three is a magic number, but because a pair shows only one difference. A third can reveal whether either quote is an outlier. This is an editorial comparison method, not a legal or actuarial requirement.

Why the basis line matters more than the amount

"$500 deductible" describes two different products depending on the basis. Here is the arithmetic for one policy year with two unrelated problems, each producing a $2,000 eligible bill.

Illustrative only. Assumes every charge is eligible, the deductible is applied before the reimbursement percentage, and neither claim reaches the benefit limit. Your policy's actual calculation method controls the real number.

Illustration Policy A: $500 annual deductible Policy B: $500 per-condition deductible
Headline settings $500 / 80% / $10,000 $500 / 80% / $10,000
Deductibles applied One Two
Total eligible bills $4,000 $4,000
Total reimbursed $2,800 $2,400
You pay $1,200 $1,600

Same headline numbers. A $400 difference in this illustration.

There is a second split underneath this one. The NAIC notes that some companies reimburse a percentage of an eligible charge, while others use a benefit schedule that sets a payment amount by illness, injury, or coverage level. Those are not variations on a theme. They are different payment methods, and a benefit schedule can produce less than a simple percentage of the full veterinary bill.

What the NAIC Model Act would require where state law adopts it

The NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act is a template, not federal law and not automatically enforceable in every state. Its provisions matter only where a state has enacted them, and state text may differ, so current state law and the policy control.

Model provisions—not universal promises. Source: NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act (#633), Summer 2022 edition, read in full August 21, 2026.

What the Model Act says Rule in the model Section
Accident waiting periods Prohibited. §5.B
Illness and orthopedic waiting periods May not exceed 30 days §5.B
Waiving a permitted waiting period The contract must allow waiver after a veterinary exam; the policyholder pays unless the policy says the insurer will §5.B(1)
Proving a pre-existing exclusion The insurer carries the burden of proving the exclusion applies to the claimed condition §5.A
Returning a new policy 15 days from receipt for a full premium refund, paid within 30 days, if no claim has been filed §4.B
Renewals A condition covered under the policy cannot become pre-existing at renewal, and waiting periods cannot be reapplied to existing coverage §3.F, §3.J
Exams at renewal The insurer may not require a veterinary exam as a condition of renewal §5.C
Separate wellness programs May not be marketed as pet insurance and must be disclosed as not insurance; wellness benefits included in the insurance policy are insurance §5.D–§5.E, §6

Two model provisions deserve a moment.

Under the model, the burden of proof sits with the insurer. Most owners assume the opposite—that if a claim is called pre-existing, it is on them to disprove it. Section 5.A puts the burden on the insurer to show that the exclusion applies to the condition being claimed.

Under the model, 15 days is a real undo button. If you buy a policy and dislike what you find after reading it, Section 4.B provides a 15-day return window if you have not filed a claim. The return notice must be printed on the first page or attached to the policy, and the model calls for the refund within 30 days after return.

One trap runs the other way. Section 4.F says that if a veterinary exam is required to make coverage effective, the insurer must disclose before purchase that the exam documentation may result in a pre-existing-condition exclusion. The exam that can waive a permitted waiting period can also create a record the insurer later evaluates. That is not a reason to avoid veterinary care. It is a reason to understand the clause before relying on the waiver.

What the NAIC state chart can—and cannot—tell you

The Summer 2025 NAIC chart lists 16 jurisdictions in its Model Adoption column and four in Related Activity. It is a research starting point, not a current 50-state legal register, and Related Activity specifically does not mean substantial adoption of the model.

NAIC Model #633 state-chart snapshot. Source: Summer 2025 edition, read August 21, 2026. The chart itself directs readers to current state law for the latest answer.

NAIC classification Jurisdictions shown in the Summer 2025 chart What the classification means
Model Adoption California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington NAIC classified the cited law as adopting the current model in a substantially similar manner
Previous Version None listed No jurisdiction was placed in this column in that edition
Related Activity Idaho, New Mexico, Tennessee, Utah Activity on the topic, but not substantial adoption of the current model
No Current Activity All other jurisdictions shown that way in the Summer 2025 edition A dated chart status, not proof that no later law exists

That timing problem is not theoretical. New Jersey approved P.L. 2025, c.224 on January 12, 2026, after the chart was published. The enacted text has a delayed effective date and uses a 30-business-day free-look period rather than the model's 15 days.

We have not built a current 50-state provision register and have not read every state statute. Until a state's current text and effective date are confirmed, treat the model table as a checklist—not a right you can safely assert. We would rather show you the gap than fill it with an assumption.

The disclosure document to look for before you enter your pet's details

Where applicable law follows the Model Act, an insurer must publish a separate "Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions" and link it conspicuously from the insurer's or program administrator's main page. Even where that exact model requirement does not apply, the current state-specific disclosure, sample policy, and declarations or underwriting notice are the documents worth finding.

When it is available, the model disclosure is a direct way to compare important terms without treating a quote card as the contract.

Under the Model Act, the document would summarize, among other things:

  • Whether the policy excludes pre-existing, hereditary, congenital, or chronic conditions (§4.A(1))
  • Any provision limiting coverage through a waiting period, deductible, coinsurance, or annual or lifetime limit (§4.A(3))
  • Whether the insurer reduces coverage or increases premiums based on claim history, the pet's age, or a change in geographic location (§4.A(4))
  • Whether the underwriting company differs from the brand used to market the product (§4.A(5))
  • How claim payments are calculated (§4.C), including any benefit schedule (§4.D) or "usual and customary" formula (§4.E)
  • Waiting periods and their requirements before purchase (§4.G)

Two of those are the questions quote shoppers ask most and quote cards answer least.

Renewal repricing. "Will my premium keep going up?" is not answered by a first-year quote. The model disclosure requires an insurer to state whether claim history, the pet's age, or a geographic change can reduce coverage or increase premium.

Brand versus underwriter. The logo on the website may not be the company carrying the risk. Farmers states that Farmers General Insurance Agency, LLC is a licensed agency that does not underwrite pet insurance or pay claims and receives compensation on sale or renewal. Its current page says Pet Insurance through Farmers is provided by Pets Best and that coverage may be underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company, or MS Transverse Insurance Company; the declarations page identifies the underwriter for the individual policy.

Two storefronts can share an administrator or underwriter, so two logos do not automatically give you two independent insurance structures.

Do this before you submit another quote form: find each company's state-specific disclosure or sample policy and read the waiting periods, pre-existing definition, claim-payment formula, and underwriting company. It costs nothing and may reveal that the quotes are not describing the same product.

Why "the average cost of pet insurance" is quoted three different ways

There is no single average pet insurance price because there is no single product. NAPHIA reports separate U.S. averages for accident-only, accident-and-illness, and insurance with embedded wellness, and the categories are far apart.

U.S. average annual premium per pet, 2025 calendar year. Source: NAPHIA State of the Industry Report 2026 Highlights, report dated June 21, 2026; amounts are U.S. dollars per pet per year. NAPHIA is an industry trade association; its report says the data represent an estimated 99% of written pet health insurance premium in the U.S. and Canada, combine member and public data, may use reasonable assumptions where needed, and were compiled by Willis Towers Watson. These are category averages, not quotes for a particular pet.

Coverage category Dogs, per year Cats, per year
Accident and illness $836 $435
Accident only $190 $112
Insurance with embedded wellness $1,414 $859

For dogs, that is a spread of more than seven times between the lowest and highest category—all of it sold under the phrase "pet insurance." Dog accident-and-illness premiums rose 11.5% from 2024 to 2025; cats rose 12.6%.

Use these as a dated sanity check on your own quotes, not as a target. A national category average across breeds, ages, locations, and benefit designs cannot tell you what one pet should cost. The NAIC lists species, breed, gender, age, location, coverage, and deductible among the variables that can affect the actual price.

If your quote is far above or below these figures, first check the coverage category and the six matched groups. A different product is a more useful first explanation than calling the quote a bargain or a rip-off.

My pet already has symptoms or a diagnosis—will a new quote help?

Generally, not for care tied to what already exists. A new policy may still cover unrelated future conditions, but it is not a solution to the estimate in your hand; current state law, the policy, the medical record, and the insurer's decision control.

Under the NAIC Model Act's definition, a condition is pre-existing if, before the policy's effective date or during a waiting period, a veterinarian provided medical advice, the pet received treatment, or a verifiable source documented signs or symptoms directly related to the condition being claimed (§3.F). States and policies may use different language.

Read that first trigger again. Under the model, medical advice is enough; a formal diagnosis is not required. A documented veterinary call about a limp can matter if the record contains related signs or medical advice, even when no examination or treatment happened that day.

That does not mean insurance is pointless for your pet. It means a new quote should not be presented as a way to erase the history that already exists.

What is worth doing instead:

  • Read the policy you already have, if you have one, and ask the insurer to put its position and policy citation in writing.
  • Ask for the estimate itemized—diagnostics, anesthesia, the procedure, monitoring, medication, follow-up, and likely complication costs. Ask your veterinarian which parts are medically time-sensitive and which alternatives belong in the discussion.
  • Ask the clinic what it can do. Some practices have payment arrangements, hardship funds, or lower-cost referral options; availability is clinic-specific.
  • Look at grant programs with realistic expectations. RedRover says its urgent-care grants average around $250 and are intended to fill a small gap. Its current rules require one animal with a life-threatening condition, a current diagnosis and treatment plan, and less than $1,000 still needed to begin or continue treatment; it cannot pay for office exams or testing, and assistance is not guaranteed.
  • Read financing terms before signing anything, especially the interest rate, deferred-interest trigger, fees, and what happens after a promotional period ends.

Our full method for this branch, including the questions to ask an insurer, is in how we research pet insurance coverage.

I already have insurance—what changes if I switch?

A replacement policy is a new contract. It may apply a new effective date, new waiting periods, and its own pre-existing-condition definition to history that developed while the old policy was active, so a cheaper new-business quote does not carry your old policy's protection with it.

Companies publish different medical-record and curable-condition rules. Embrace says its medical history review is optional and must be requested; otherwise, records are not reviewed until the first claim. Its review uses records from 12 months before the policy start through the end of the illness waiting period, and Embrace says certain curable conditions may become eligible after 12 consecutive symptom- and treatment-free months. It also says increasing coverage triggers re-underwriting, waiting periods, and possible new pre-existing exclusions.

Lemonade says its current policies use a 14-day illness waiting period and a 30-day orthopedic waiting period, and that a claim medical record should cover the last 12.5 months of the pet's life, including the illness waiting period. Those are company statements read August 21, 2026, not market-wide rules; state-specific policy language controls.

Before you cancel anything, get these in writing from the new insurer:

  1. The effective date and every waiting period that would apply.
  2. How far back the medical-record review goes.
  3. How the policy defines a pre-existing condition.
  4. Whether there is a curable-condition provision, and what the symptom-free period is.
  5. How any condition already in your pet's record would be treated.

Then compare that against your current renewal—not against the headline premium.

One more note worth having: the Model Act defines "orthopedic" broadly and explicitly includes ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments, hip and elbow dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, and patellar luxation (§3.D). If your dog's record contains anything in that group, read the replacement policy's orthopedic waiting-period and bilateral-condition language before you cancel existing coverage.

What we actually verified

The legal tables, industry benchmarks, and named company examples on this page were checked against the underlying official documents on August 21, 2026. That is public-source document research, not a policy recommendation, quote test, claim review, or legal opinion.

Checked on August 21, 2026:

  • The NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act (#633), Summer 2022 edition, read in full. Every section cited on this page was checked in the model text.
  • The NAIC state page for Model #633, Summer 2025 edition, including the actual column placement of every jurisdiction listed above.
  • New Jersey P.L. 2025, c.224, including its approval date, delayed effective-date clause, and 30-business-day free-look text.
  • The NAIC consumer topic page on pet insurance, last updated April 16, 2025.
  • The NAPHIA State of the Industry Report 2026 Highlights, including the methodology, 2025 U.S. premium table, and limitations.
  • The current Embrace medical-history, curable-condition, and coverage-change pages cited below.
  • The current Lemonade waiting-period and medical-record page cited below.
  • Farmers' current agency, administrator, and underwriter disclosures for its Pets Best offering.
  • RedRover's current urgent-care grant eligibility page.

What we did not do, and are not implying:

  • We did not call, email, or interview an insurer, agency, marketplace, aid organization, or regulator.
  • We did not buy a policy, submit a quote under a real or invented owner identity, or file a claim.
  • We did not collect a first-party price dataset. The only premium observations on this page are NAPHIA's published category averages, labeled with their date and limits.
  • We did not build a current 50-state provision register or read every state statute and regulation.
  • We cannot tell you whether any specific future claim will be paid. Current law, the policy, the complete record, and the insurer's adjudication control.
  • We are not paid by any insurer, agency, marketplace, lender, aid organization, or company named here, and this page contains no compensated link.

Found something wrong or out of date? Send us a correction—include the state, company, document, policy form, and version date where you can.

Common questions

Are pet insurance quotes free? A quoted premium is commonly shown without a separate quote fee, but this page did not test every insurer or marketplace form. Before submitting contact or pet details, read the form's privacy and data-sharing terms. Public disclosures and sample policies can help you narrow the field first.

How many quotes should I compare? At least three, using the same six groups. This is our working method, not a legal requirement. A third quote can reveal whether one of the first two is an outlier; adding more helps only if you continue matching the terms carefully.

Why do two companies quote very different prices for the same pet? Partly rating: the NAIC lists species, breed, gender, age, location, coverage, and deductible among the variables that affect price. Partly product: accident-only and accident-and-illness policies are different products, and NAPHIA's 2025 U.S. dog averages differ by more than four times between those categories.

Does an instant quote mean coverage starts right away? No. A quote is a price for displayed inputs and options. Coverage begins according to the issued policy's effective date, and waiting periods may apply after that. The NAIC model caps illness and orthopedic waiting periods at 30 days and prohibits accident waiting periods, but only current enacted state law can make those model provisions binding.

Can I cancel after I buy? The policy may allow cancellation, but timing and any refund depend on the contract and state law. The NAIC model provides a 15-day free-look return for a full premium refund if no claim has been filed; states can differ. New Jersey's 2026 enacted text, for example, provides 30 business days once its delayed effective date is reached. Read the notice on or attached to the first page of your policy.

Is a wellness plan the same as pet insurance? Not necessarily. Under the NAIC model, a separate wellness program cannot be marketed as pet insurance and must be disclosed as not insurance, while wellness benefits built into the insurance policy are insurance. Check whether one quote includes a wellness product before comparing it with a quote that does not.

What to do next

Open your quotes and fill in the worksheet. Every blank cell is a question you have not answered yet. Then find each company's state-specific disclosure or sample policy and read the waiting periods, pre-existing definition, claim-payment formula, benefit limits, and underwriting company.

When those rows are full, you will know which quote is cheaper on matched settings—and which policy differences still matter before you buy. That is a decision you can make without anyone on this page selling you a policy.

If your pet already has symptoms, veterinary advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment need, none of this is your next step. Read our insurance coverage method and get the current estimate and any insurer position in writing instead.

The Pet Treatment Index is an independent pet treatment research publication. We separate regulatory status from marketing, target-species evidence from extrapolation, and a posted price from the full cost of care—then show the insurance questions, alternatives, access limits, and next steps that belong beside the treatment claim.

Not veterinary advice. Not insurance or legal advice. Not a licensed insurance producer.

Sources

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