Pets Best Pet Insurance Review 2024

Like other best pet insurance companies, Pets Best offers accident and illness plans, as well as an accident-only plan. You can also buy an optional wellness plan to pay for routine expenses like wellness exams and vaccinations.

Accident and Illness Insurance

The BestBenefit Plan is the most robust plan that Pets Best offers. This policy covers a wide range of expenses related to accidents and injuries. Pets Best offers different levels of its accident and illness plan, so you can find a policy based on your budget, but you can typically expect a plan to cover:

	Accidents Such as broken teeth, lacerations, broken bones, getting struck by a vehicle and ingested foreign objects.
	Illnesses Such as allergies, diabetes, skin infections, cancer, and congenital and genetic conditions like hip dysplasia and intervertebral disc disease.
	Hospitalizations Such as emergency care and surgeries (including anesthesia), vet/technician time and rehabilitation services.
	Specialist Care This includes veterinarians, behaviorists, oncologists and internal medicine experts. This can also include alternative therapy and rehabilitation such as acupuncture or chiropractic treatment.
	Prescription Medication This includes prescription medicine for a problem covered by your policy, such as a skin infection. It can also include prescription food if it is prescribed by your veterinarian due to a problem covered by your policy, such as digestive issues.
	Diagnostics This includes tests like blood tests, CAT scans, X-rays and MRIs.

Accident-Only Insurance

Pets Best offers an accident-only plan that strictly covers expenses related to emergencies, such as snake bites, broken bones and ingestion of a foreign object. This plan doesn’t cover illness-related vet costs, such as allergies or cancer treatment.

Pets Best Add-Ons

Pets Best offers two wellness plans and was among the winners in our evaluation of the best pet wellness plans for routine care.

Both the EssentialWellness plan and the BestWellness plan pay for expenses, such as blood work, heartworm medications, vaccinations and wellness exams. The BestWellness plan is a more expensive plan but it provides higher reimbursement amounts.

Wellness expense	Pets Best EssentialWellness plan reimbursement amount	Pets Best BestWellness plan reimbursement amount
Blood, fecal parasite exam	$50	$70
Deworming	$20	$20
Flea/tick prevention	$50	$65
Heartworm prevention	$30	$30
Heartworm test or FeLV screen	$25	$30
Microchip	$20	$40
Rabies vaccination	$15	$15
Spay/Neuter or teeth cleaning	$0	$150
Urinalysis or ERD	$15	$25
Vaccination/titer	$30	$40
Wellness exam	$50	$50
Total annual benefits	$305	$535

Source: Pets Best

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While Pets Best pet insurance covers a broad range of health-related expenses, there are some expenses it won’t. Some examples of exclusions include:

• Elective and preventative procedures like nail trimming, dew claw removal, ear cropping or tail docking
• Pre-existing conditions that begins before your coverage kicks in
• Expenses not related directly to the medical care of your pet, such as bathing and grooming, food, vitamins, supplements, waste disposal fees or any service not done under the supervision of a veterinarian
• Holistic, herbal and experimental therapies and medications
• Vitamins, special food, or supplements

Maximum Annual Limit Options

Most pet insurance companies limit the amount they will reimburse you for claims in a given year. Pets Best has two coverage limit options:

• $5,000
• Unlimited

Deductible Options

Before you get reimbursed for any health-related expense, you must pay the policy deductible toward vet costs. Pets Best offers several deductible options, including:

• $50
• $100
• $200
• $250
• $500
• $1,000

Reimbursement Options

In addition to payout limits, most pet insurance policies come with reimbursement levels. A reimbursement level is the percentage of expenses the insurer will pay out after the deductible is met. Pets Best gives you three options:

• 70%
• 80%
• 90%

FEATURED PARTNER OFFER

Lemonade

Maximum annual coverage

$5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, $100,000

Reimbursement choices

70%, 80%, 90%

Deductible choices

$100, $250, $500, $750

Compare Plans

$5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, $100,000

70%, 80%, 90%

$100, $250, $500, $750

After you buy a pet insurance policy you generally must wait a specified period of time before your coverage kicks in. This amount of time is known as the waiting period.

Pets Best has three different waiting periods for most states:

• Three-day accident waiting period.
• 14-day illness waiting period.
• Six-month cruciate ligament issue waiting period.
• No waiting period for routine care.

Pets Best has the following waiting periods in Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire and Washington:

• No waiting period for accidents.
• 14-day illness waiting period.
• Thirty days cruciate ligament issue waiting period.
• No waiting period for routine care.

You can insure any dog or cat over age 7 weeks and there is no upper age limit to buy a policy. Some insurers have an upper age limit (such as age 14 years).

Company	Accident waiting period	Illness waiting period	Special waiting period
Pets Best	3 days	14 days	6 months for cruciate ligament conditions
Embrace	Begins at 12:01 a.m. ET the day after you purchase your plan	14 days	6 months for orthopedic conditions (can be waived with an orthopedic exam)
Figo	1 day	14 days	6 months for orthopedic conditions (can be waived with an orthopedic waiver in the first 30 days of the policy
Paw Protect	Begins at 12:01 a.m. ET the day after you purchase your plan	14 days	6 months for orthopedic conditions (can be waived with an orthopedic exam)

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Pets Best pet insurance costs an average of $42 per month for a dog and $24 per month for a cat, according to our analysis of pet insurance costs. That’s for $5,000 of annual coverage, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level. The average cost of Pets Best pet insurance is $48 per month for a dog and $27 per month for a cat for unlimited coverage, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level.

Pets Best Price Comparison for Dogs

Dog breed	Average cost per month for puppies age 3 months	Average cost per month for dogs age 3 years
Beagle	$52	$49
Bulldog	$84	$79
Dachshund	$41	$39
French bulldog	$97	$92
German shepherd	$58	$55
Golden retriever	$62	$59
Labrador retriever	$61	$58
Mixed breed (large)	$45	$43
Mixed breed (medium)	$36	$34
Mixed breed (small)	$28	$26
Poodle	$54	$51
Rottweiler	$98	$100
Source: Forbes Advisor research. Costs are based on unlimited annual coverage with a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level.

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Pets Best Price Comparison for Cats

Cat breed	Average cost per month kittens age 3 months	Average cost per month for cats age 3 years
Abyssinian	$33	$32
Bengal	$25	$24
Bombay	$26	$25
British shorthair	$29	$28
Exotic shorthair	$27	$26
Maine coon	$29	$29
Mixed breed	$22	$21
Persian	$28	$27
Ragdoll	$26	$25
Siamese	$24	$24
Source: Forbes Advisor research. Costs are based on unlimited annual coverage with a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level.

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Pets Best Costs vs. Other Top Insurers

Company	Company - Logo	Forbes Advisor Rating	Forbes Advisor Rating	Average monthly cost for dog insurance	Average monthly cost for cat insurance	Learn More CTA text	Learn more CTA below text	LEARN MORE
Pets Best		5.0		$48	$27	Compare Plans
Embrace		4.5		$48	$27	Compare Plans
Paw Protect		4.5		$77	$38	Compare Plans
Figo		4.3		$60	$26	Compare Plans
Spot		4.3		$97	$46	Compare Plans
Fetch		4.1		$77	$40	Compare Plans
Healthy Paws		4.1		$55	$22	Compare Plans
Lemonade		4.1		$52	$28	Compare Plans

Source: Forbes Advisor research. Costs are based on unlimited annual coverage ($15,000 for Fetch and $100,000 for Lemonade) with a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level for dogs and cats, ages 3 months, 2 years, 5 years and 7 years.

Pets Best is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

You can file a pet insurance claim with Pets Best:

• Online: Via Pets Best online portal.
• Email: claims@petsbest.com
• Fax: (866) 777-1434
• Mail: Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC, 965 Keller Road, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714

When filing a pet insurance claim, you’ll need to include:

• Original paid invoices.
• Proof of payment (your receipt).
• Signed claim form. You can download a claim form by logging into your customer account.

After the traumatic euthanasia of a beloved dog named Buffy, veterinarian Dr. Jack Stephens launched the first pet insurance company in North America in 1981. He wanted to make health-related expenses more affordable so that pet owners could make medical decisions for their pets based on needs instead of cost. In 2005, Dr. Jack Stephens partnered with Greg McDonald (Pets Best CEO) to launch what we now know as Pets Best.

*Pet insurance coverage offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC is underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, a New York insurance company headquartered at 6100 4th Ave. S. Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98108, or Independence American Insurance Company, a Delaware insurance company located at 11333 N. Scottsdale Rd, Ste. 160, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC (CA agency #0F37530) is a licensed insurance agency located at 10840 Ballantyne Commons Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28277. Each insurer has sole financial responsibility for its own products. Please refer to your declarations page to determine the underwriter for your policy. Terms and conditions apply. See your policy for details.

To find the best pet insurance we used data provided by PetInsurer.com to score each pet insurance company based on the following:

• Pet insurance rates (40% of score): We calculated average rates for medium sized mixed breed dogs age 3 months, 2 years, 5 years and 7 years for plans with unlimited coverage, a $250 deductible and a 80% reimbursement level, or the closest options available.
• Special waiting period (10% of score): Many pet insurance companies have a special waiting period for problems such as cruciate ligament issues and hip dysplasia. Plans that had no waiting period, a waiting period of fewer than six months or the ability to have the waiting period waived scored higher.
• Direct payment to vet (10% of score): Pet insurance companies that have the ability to pay a vet directly earned points.
• 24/7 vet health line (10% of score): Insurers that provide access to a 24/7 vet health line earned points.
• Routine wellness plans (10% of score): Insurers that offer optional wellness plans earned points.
• Pays veterinary exam fees (10% of score): Plans that cover the vet exam fee received points. Not all insurers cover exam fees, even if the fee is for an illness or accident-related visit.
• Euthanasia or end of life expenses (5% of score): Insurers that cover end of life expenses, such as euthanasia, cremation or burial fees, received points.
• Multipet discount (5% of score): Many pet insurance companies offer a discount if you insure more than one pet. Insurers that offer a multipet discount earned points.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Pet Insurance Companies