Can I Keep Garden Snails As Pets

The Best Pet Insurance Companies

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Our furry friends aren't just, well, friends. They're our furry family members. We cherish them as entertaining companions, and we love them deeply for the joy they bring to our lives. It only makes sense, then, that we want to provide the best care possible for them, particularly when it comes to health issues.

Just like our own medical needs, those of pets can cost a pretty penny. And, fortunately, just as we defray some of the costs when we're sick or injured by purchasing insurance policies, our pets can also get a special version of animal health insurance to cover the costs of their veterinary care and treatments.

It's common to shop around for your own insurance, whether it's for your healthcare or your vehicle, so it makes sense to do the same for pet insurance. If you're in the market for this type of policy, it's important to do your research and learn which companies offer highly rated, comprehensive pet insurance plans. These providers and their offerings are some of the best on the market.

Nationwide

You're likely familiar with Nationwide's vehicle and home insurance policies, but this industry giant is now bringing its years of expertise in crafting policies to the pet arena, too. And it's doing an excellent job, garnering ratings across the board as one of the top pet insurance companies in the country. Nationwide focuses its policies not just on dogs and cats but also on birds and exotic pets, and it offers several different plans that depend on both the level of coverage you're looking for and the way you prefer to be reimbursed for the cost of vet bills.

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Nationwide's coverage tiers include the Pet Wellness plan, which covers the costs of services like vaccinations and regular checkups; Major Medical, which covers services like X-rays, prescription medications, surgeries and care related to chronic conditions; and Whole Pet With Wellness, which blends the provisions of the Pet Wellness and Major Medical policies. Nationwide's primary advantage is that it offers plans that cover routine care, which is less common in this industry, and that it welcomes exotic pets. Customers praise the ease of filing claims and the fact that they're reimbursed quickly without hoops to jump through.

Healthy Paws

Health insurance for humans isn't known for being too affordable, even though it's necessary. And the same can sometimes be said for pet insurance, perhaps surprisingly. If you're in the market for a more budget-friendly pet policy that still provides excellent coverage, Healthy Paws may have the right option for you.

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Although the company only offers one policy that's geared towards dogs and cats, its deductibles are affordable (you can choose from four different amounts to suit your budget) and the policy has no caps on claim payouts. This means you won't ever face any maximum limits on how much of your pet's care the company reimburses you for, whether it's for one incident, one year or even one lifetime. Unlike many other plans, Healthy Paws' policy also covers alternative care modalities like acupuncture, hydrotherapy and chiropractic services. Although you don't have options to compare and choose multiple policies from this company — and it doesn't cover preventative care or pre-existing conditions — it covers a wide scope of treatments and care at truly affordable-for-life prices. An added benefit? Every time someone requests a quote on the site, the company donates money to help homeless pets.

Embrace

Do you have a young pet that's generally healthy, but you want a bit of extra reassurance in case something unthinkable happens? Embrace's pet insurance is geared towards covering catastrophic incidents, not routine wellness visits and other more common services. It's an ideal policy to have if your pet doesn't need much extra care and you're not anticipating it needing more medical care for some time — but you still want extra assistance in case of an emergency.

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Embrace's policies don't cover routine veterinary care, but they do cover emergencies, accidents, alternative treatments, dental work, prosthetic devices, hospitalization, surgery and even after-hours boarding and care at emergency vets. Coverage is intended for pets of all ages, although those over age 15 have access just to Embrace's accident-only policy type. You can visit any facility you need to — there are no network limitations — and your deductible decreases each year you don't file a claim.

Trupanion

For over 20 years, Trupanion has provided insurance to pet parents across the country. Like Healthy Paws, it offers one plan and has no payout limits or caps on claims for your pet's lifetime. It's also able to bill vet offices directly, which removes the reimbursement element — you pay your vet bills, file an insurance claim and wait for the insurance company to send you a check — to streamline the claims process and prevent you from paying large sums out of pocket.

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Where Trupanion really shines, however, is in its coverage of hereditary and congenital conditions. Pet insurance companies often don't include these health issues in their coverage, deeming them pre-existing in many cases because, for example, it's known that a breed is prone to developing one. But Trupanion covers both conditions a pet inherited before birth and conditions that certain breeds are more likely to develop than others. Although this policy doesn't pay for costs related to alternative treatment methods, you can add on a rider to cover services like acupuncture and physical therapy.

Pet Assure

This company's program isn't an insurance plan, but it deserves an honorable mention here for its extensive coverage — it pays for services related to any animal (just not humans). Pet Assure is a discount program that involves paying a monthly fee to gain access to discounts. When it comes time to pay for your pet's care, participating veterinary offices will automatically reduce the amount of the bill if you're enrolled in Pet Assure's program . There's no need to file claims or wait for reimbursement checks, as the discount is applied at the time you're billed.

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The primary disadvantage of Pet Assure is that a veterinary office must elect to participate in the program; you can't obtain the discount at just any office you walk into. However, if you have exotic pets, this option can be an excellent cost saver. There are no deductibles to meet, and there are no exclusions whatsoever based on breed, pre-existing conditions or age. Pet Assure can help you obtain discounts on almost all types of care for your furry, finned, feathered or scaled friend, save for services like grooming and boarding.