When veterinary bills prove too high, some pet owners opt for euthanasia when their pets’ lives could be saved through proper care, simply because they cannot afford veterinary care. With a deep understanding of the profound connection between people and their pets, veterinarian Jack Stephens founded Pets Best pet insurance in 2005 as a way to help pet owners keep their pets healthy and well and keep veterinarian costs reasonable.
Pets Best pet insurance offers quality, comprehensive pet insurance coverage, fast claims payments and excellent service.
- Prompt claim payments
- Illnesses and accidents
- Online account management
- Excellent customer service
- Covers wellness visits
- Discount of 5% for adding a second pet
- Only provides coverage for dogs and cats
- Does not cover until the pet is 7 weeks old
- Does not typically pay upfront; reimbursement only
Pets Best Ratings at a Glance
Are you looking for pet insurance for your fur baby? Benzinga took a look at Pets Best pet insurance and below, you will find the Pets best Pet Insurance review along with all the information you need to make a decision about this pet insurance is right for you.
Pets Best pet insurance plans are some of the most comprehensive pet insurance plans on the market.
Here is how pet insurance works with Pets Best pet insurance. It offers three tiers of plans including Essential, Plus and Elite. You have the option of getting pet insurance coverage for just accidents or accidents and illnesses.
| Minimum Coverage | $5,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | Unlimited |
| Eligible Ages | Starting at 7 weeks old |
| Eligible Animals | Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens |
| # of Plan Options | 3 |
1. The Essential Plan
The Essential plan is the basic plan. It covers the following treatments and services:
- Treatment for accidents
- Treatment for illness
- Cancer treatment
- Treatment for hereditary conditions
- Outpatient care
- Emergency care
- Injections (other than routine injections)
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- MRIs, CAT scans and x-rays
- Specialist care
- Lab tests
- Congenital conditions
2. The Plus Plan
The Plus plan covers everything the Essential plan covers and adds coverage for accident and exam fees. This popular plan offers broad coverage for the most common unexpected events.
3. The Elite Plan
The Elite plan covers the same events as the Essential and Plus plans and adds coverage for rehabilitative care. This tier also includes acupuncture and chiropractic care. At this level, your pet’s exam fees are covered for diagnostic purposes as long as they are associated with an eligible illness or injury. If your pet needs rehabilitative services that are associated with an eligible illness or injury, those are covered too.
Regardless of which plan you choose, you can choose your deductible amount and the percentage your plan will pay for services. For example, you can choose from the following deductibles:
- $50
- $100
- $200
- $250
- $500
- $1,000
You can also choose a plan that pays 70%, 80% or 90%. Unlike other pet insurance plans, there is no maximum limit as to how much your plan will pay out. Coverage is unlimited for all tiers.
Your premium is based on your deductible, percentage of claim payment, age of pet, breed of pet, and your pet’s weight.
Optional: Routine Care
You may be wondering about routine pet insurance costs. The Essential, Plus and Elite plans are not designed to cover routine care. However, you can add routine care coverage to any of the three plans for dogs or cats for an additional premium as an option.
Pet owners have two options for routine care – EssentialWellness and BestWellness. There is no deductible for routine care services. However, there is a maximum limit the plan will cover each service according to a scale. With the BestWellness plans, the limits are slightly higher than the EssentialWellness program, and the premium is slightly higher as well.
The following services are covered under the routine care plans:
- Spaying or neutering
- Teeth cleaning
- Rabies
- Flea and tick prevention
- Heartworm prevention
- Vaccination or titer
- Wellness exam
- Heartworm test or FELV screen
- Blood, fecal, and parasite exams
- Microchipping
- Urinalysis or ERD
- Deworming
Pets Best pet insurance is so comprehensive, you may be wondering what it does not cover. As with all insurance policies, Pets Best plans exclude a few services.
Exclusions include:
- Pre-existing conditions
- Preventative care (vaccinations, deworming)
- Certain other forms of routine care (unless you have added the optional routine care coverage)
On a scale of 1-5, Benzinga gives Pets Best insurance a high rating of 5.
Most rating organizations do not provide ratings for pet insurance companies, so Benzinga was unable to obtain any information about complaints or problems.
Trustpilot gives Pets Best customer service a rating of 3.8 stars.
We discovered customer service hours are from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Customer care representatives are available by phone or online chat.
Pets Best insurance offers fast claims and reimbursement processes, which contributed to their high ranking. Policyholders can opt to have their claims payment directly deposited into their banking account. Others can expect to receive a check in the mail within 5 to 7 days.
| BBB Rating | Not rated |
| AM Best Rating | Not rated |
| NAIC Complaint Index | Not rated |
| Moody’s Rating | Not rated |
| J.D. Power Rating | Not rated |
In many ways, pet insurance costs and plans are similar, but a few nuances set Pets Best insurance apart. Most competitors have low deductibles and offer discounts for more than one pet.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, your homeowners insurance plan already covers some liability protection for biting and property damage.
Spot, Pumpkin, ASPCA and Lemonade all have limits on how much they cover for veterinary services. Embrace offers a diminishing deductible, military discounts and employee benefits discount.
With Pets Best, you can get a quote in less than a minute using a computer or mobile phone. What kind of rates can you expect? Rates start at just $6 per month for cats and $9 per month for dogs.
The premium for a 2-year-old mixed-breed male dog that weighs 20 to 55 pounds costs $17.94 per month on the Plus plan.
A 2-year-old mixed breed female cat will cost $10.62 on the Plus plan.
The cost for routine care for dogs and cats is $16 per month for the EssentialWellness plan and $26 per month for the BestWellness plan.
You have the option to pay your premiums monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
We give Pets Best a top rating of 5 for the application experience.
The online and mobile quoting platforms are easy to use. Pets Best insurance does not require a medical exam or veterinary records.
There are no delays with the application process. The policy is active as soon as you make the required payment.
Pets Best vs. Competitors
Several things make Pets Best insurance a standout compared with competitors. Notably, it has 40 years of experience in the pet insurance industry, which is the longest of all competitors.
One big benefit is the flexibility of choosing from a wide range of deductibles and coverage options, making it easy to set up an affordable plan for a dog or cat of any type or age. Pets Best insurance offers unlimited coverage on all plans, which is uncommon in the pet insurance industry.
Unlike many of its competitors, Pets Best also offers routine coverage with some limits. Also, Pets Best typically reimburses you for claims, and in some cases, it will even pay your veterinarian directly.
Lemonade is currently available in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District Of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin,
Limitations apply. For terms and conditions, visit pumpkin.care. Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc. (NPN#19084749) (“Pumpkin”) is a licensed insurance agency, not an insurer. Insurance plans underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company. Preventive Essentials is not an insurance policy, and is not available in all states.
We give Pets Best an overall rating of 4.5 for its excellent customer service, fast claims payments and flexibility in plan coverages.
If it could make any improvements, it might be to cover a wider range of pets and eliminate waiting periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth insuring a pet?
Many factors go into insuring a pet, including your pet’s age, hereditary factors and general health. If your veterinary bills are becoming cost-prohibitive, it might be worth getting pet insurance.
How much does pet insurance really cost?
Rates for pet insurance vary significantly. The best way to evaluate costs is to accurately input your pet’s data into the quoting platform. You can usually get a quote in under a minute.
What are typical deductables for pet insurance?
The typical deductable for pet insurance policies is between $100 and $500.
Sources
- Benzinga. “Pet Insurance” Accessed January 7, 2022.
- Benzinga. “How Does Pet Insurance Work?” Accessed January 7, 2022.
- Benzinga. “What Does Pet Insurance Cover?” Accessed January 7, 2022.
- Insurance Information Institute. “Facts About Pet Insurance” Accessed January 7, 2022.
User Reviews
Robert
On my very first claim Pet's Best is refusing to pay for the wellness exam. The representative I spoke with claimed that because the results of the wellness exam found ear mites in my kitten that the wellness exam would not be covered
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About Maurice Draine
Maurice Draine is a former insurance agent, broker, underwriter tech, and agent sales support rep with over 15 years of professional writing experience. Maurice helps insurance, financial, and various online and ad agencies, create the words that drive customers to their websites and keeps them there.