Best Pet Insurance for Cats

As members of the family, our cats deserve the best quality of life we can provide for them. Aside from giving them love and affection, looking out for their health is of utmost importance. The best way to do so is by regularly taking them to their veterinarian for routine check-ups.

However, even with our best intentions, cats can suffer accidents or illnesses that require emergency visits to the vet. Sometimes these incidents call for costly treatments, procedures, and medications that, gradually, can become a huge financial burden for pet owners. 

Thankfully, pet insurance for cats has become a reasonable alternative to out-of-pocket, high costs for veterinary care. Many companies now offer coverage that’s broad, affordable, and accepted by most service providers. 

But what does pet insurance cover? How much does it cost? How do you choose among so many options? Before looking at the top companies that provide pet insurance for cats, let’s go over some pet insurance basics.

Types of Pet Insurance Coverage for Cats

Most insurers offer three main types of coverage: 

Accident only

This type of coverage option is generally the most basic and least expensive. It covers injuries sustained from unexpected accidents but does not cover any illness.

So, if a cat was hit by a car, for instance, the accident only option would cover the x-rays and procedures required to fix any broken bones. 

Comprehensive (accident and illness)

For more extensive coverage that includes all sorts of maladies that can befall your feline friend (including accidents and illnesses), consider applying for a comprehensive policy.

Although costlier than an accident only policy, comprehensive will cover most health problems cats suffer from unless it’s qualified as a pre-existing condition. 

Wellness Care

Sometimes known as preventative care, wellness coverage includes routine treatments and procedures such as vaccinations, flea and tick treatment, heartworm prevention, and a cat’s regular check-up.

However, most of these treatments are standard and inexpensive, so paying for those out-of-pocket might be a better option.

Many insurers also feature policies that cover either alternative treatment options - such as acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, and holistic therapy to name a few – or treatments for specific illnesses and conditions like hip dysplasia. 

All this being said, pet owners will still need to examine policy exclusions and pre-existing conditions that are not covered by pet insurers. Although much more prevalent in pet insurance for dogs than for cats, certain afflictions can leave pet owners footing the bill.

What are Benefit Limits in Pet Insurance?

Some companies will put a cap on insurance benefits, meaning that they’ll only pay up to a certain amount.

This will vary across most insurers but, by and large, they offer 4 types of benefit limits:

Unlimited Lifetime

Insurers apply no cap on coverage after you’ve met the initial deductible and will continue to reimburse you for your veterinary care expenses

Annual Maximum

Insurers establish an annual amount they will reimburse, which means that after you’ve reached that limit, the costs must come out-of-pocket until the next year. 

Annual Per Incident

Insurers will only cover up to a certain amount per year and per a specific condition or illness.

Lifetime Maximum

Insurers will only pay up to a certain amount during the pet’s lifetime, either in total or for a specific ailment. 

Before choosing an option, make sure to understand your cat’s current and future needs.

How Much Does Pet Insurance for Cats Cost?

The price range for pet insurance can fluctuate anywhere from $20 to $100, with an average between $40 and $70.

However, just like health insurance for humans, several factors influence the total cost of cat insurance.

Among these are:

• The level of coverage chosen
• The deductible you’ll cover before the insurance kicks in
• The amount, as a percentage, that the insurer will reimburse
• The cat’s age 
• The cat’s breed
• Your current location

Obviously, some of these factors such as age, breed, and location are completely out of a pet owner’s control.

However, other factors (level of coverage, deductible, and reimbursement percentage) are choices made during the enrollment process. 

For example, choosing a comprehensive coverage plan with a low deductible (say $200) and high reimbursement percentage (90%) is going to be much more expensive than if you choose an accident only, with a high deductible ($500) and lower reimbursement rates (70%).

Is Getting Pet Insurance for a Cat Worth It?

When looking at the best pet insurance for your cat, you should focus on four general areas:

1. Coverage Options - what conditions and treatments are covered by your cat’s health care provider. 
2. Costs - how much you’ll wind up paying for your cat’s health.
3. Discounts - what types of savings an insurance company provides by way of discounts.
4. Customer Service and Reputation - how the company is regarded in assisting customers and how satisfied the customers are with the company’s services.

To select the best insurance policy for cats, reflect on which aspects of coverage are most important to your specific situation.

While each company on the list below offers excellent general pet coverage, some also provide specialized plans that focus on sicknesses and injuries that are common in cats. Other companies stand out by extending greater discounts or coverage modification options. 

The four companies listed below are excellent starting points if you remain unsure about which policy is better suited for your cat’s needs.

Top 4 Cat Insurance Companies

Fetch by The Dodo

For cat insurance, Fetch by The Dodo has three different policies on offer. They cover all the basics, including medical treatment, in addition to extras such as pet-theft reimbursement. Policies such as these can also be financially modified, specifically with regards to the deductible.

Fetch also offers the deepest discounts in the industry, thus ensuring ample monetary savings. Monthly premiums can be further reduced by enrolling online, by insuring multiple pets, or by insuring medical services.

With so many avenues for saving money, Fetch by The Dodo sets itself apart from the rest. To that end, if your cat is eligible for the aforementioned discounts, then it would be wise to consider Fetch.

PetFirst

In the realm of pet insurance, Petfirst Healthcare offers both excellent coverages as well as a large variety of policy options. Petfirst offers two types of policies: lifetime and standard.

Lifetime policies have annual limits while the standard policies are limited on a per-incident basis. Furthermore, with each plan comes myriad deductible and copay options.

This ensures that all policies can be adjusted to an affordable price. Unlike Fetch and Nationwide, Petfirst doesn't offer any policies that are specifically tailored to felines. That said, by offering solid benefits for all pets, PetFirst should inspire as much confidence as its competitors.

Nationwide

Nationwide’s Feline Select plan has a low monthly fee and covers 15 common cat diseases and injuries. Also covered are chronic conditions your cat may develop while insured under the plan. With that in mind, for an additional fee, CareGuard® wellness coverage can be incorporated into the plan.

If comprehensive coverage is needed, there are additional plans that may be selected. Such plans allow visits to any veterinarian and will also pay for emergency and specialist visits. With Nationwide cat insurance, no copay is required.

There is an age restriction, however, as cats must be registered before reaching 10 years of age.

PetsBest

Pets Best is a premier supplier of cat health insurance not only due to their coverage options but because of the availability of their special feline illness add-on. If purchased, this cat-specific option provides an extra $10,000 of lifetime coverage.

This plan is a good choice if the coverage associated with a standard cat insurance plan is not what you are looking for. If a standard plan is of interest, however, Pets Best allows for easy customization, which can range from deductible and copay options to wellness coverage.

Regardless of what is selected, all Pets Best plans cover a variety of accidents and illnesses, including hereditary and congenital conditions that are deemed unavoidable.