Takeaways
- No pet insurance covers normal training but some cover behavioral therapy
- Coverage for behavioral therapy varies by individual policy
- Behavioral therapy can be lifesaving for pets with certain disorders
- Examples of eligible behavioral disorders that may be covered include anxiety, aggression, phobias, and cognitive dysfunction
- Basic training methods like obedience classes are not covered
Pet parents with a pet insurance policy take their pet to the vet twice as often which means that problematic issues are often caught sooner than with uninsured pets. Having said that, pet insurance can be costly with expensive monthly premiums. The good news is there are various discounts and saving options that can help pet owners find cheap pet medical insurance.
Types of Pet Insurance Discounts
With great competition come great discounts! In the ever-growing, competitive pet insurance market, every insurance is vying for the pet parents’ attention. The good news is there are various discounts and saving options provided by insurance companies that can help pet owners find cheap pet medical insurance. Let’s take a look at some of the most common insurance discounts.
Multiple pets
If you live in a multi-pet household and are looking to insure all of them, there are plenty of companies that offer discounts on plans for more than one pet. The discounts can be as high as 10% for enrolling 2 or more pets. They may vary depending on the age of the pets and their health condition.
Employer-sponsored
Did you know, 11% of the employers in the US offer pet insurance benefits such as discounts and contributions (Source: Society for Human Resource Management). ASPCA, Embrace, Spot, Fetch and Figo are some of the companies that have deals with employers.
Spayed or Neutered pets
A University of Georgia study found that the life expectancy of neutered male dogs was 13.8% longer and that of spayed female dogs was 26.3% longer. They are also less prone to diseases and infections as compared to pets that aren’t spayed or neutered.
This means some companies offer discounts on pet insurance for spayed and neutered pets.
Military discounts
Some companies like Fetch offer up to 10% discount every month on pet insurance to veterans and active military service personnel.
Senior citizens
Seniors looking for flexible pricing and lower premiums on insurance may consider companies like Fetch because AARP (an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty) provides its members with a discount. These discounts could go up to 10% per month, which adds up to a substantial amount, in the long run.
Club memberships
Wholesalers like Costco can take advantage of up to 15% discount for their Costco Business and Gold Star members. Similarly, American Automobile Association (AAA) also offer discounts (up to 10%) to their members.
Certain memberships make sure their members enjoy a decent amount of savings while making sure that the premium of the first month and enrollment fees are waived.
Microchipped pets
Companies, like 24 Petwatch Pet Insurance, offer a 5% discount for microchipped pets. Microchips are small electronic devices, about the size of a grain of rice, known as radio frequency identification devices (RFID). the RFID chip when activated transmits a unique identification number back to the microchip scanner, which identifies the microchip and helps identify a lost pet.
Bundling discounts
Certain Insurance companies such as Lemonade offer discounts when purchasing more than one policy type such as pet insurance and renters’ insurance whereas some others like GEICO, Allstate and Progressive provide discounts on bundling up pet insurance and auto insurance.
Trained/service dog discounts
While there are no pet insurance discounts for service dogs in particular, multiple types of disabilities are eligible for discounts varying between 5-10%.
Adopted dogs
Some insurance companies partner with animal shelters and organizations. For example, Embrace Pet Insurance partners with Best Friends Animal Society to offer discounted policies to anyone who adopts a pet through the organization.
Upfront Premium discounts
A lot of insurance companies allow buyers to pay annual premiums upfront instead of monthly. This may come with a sizeable discount. Lemonade provides a 5% discount for paying a full year’s premium upfront.
Healthy Pets discount
While there is no discount applicable when you buy the insurance for your healthy pet, companies like Embrace have a “healthy pet deductible” option which can reduce your out-of-pocket deductible significantly over time. If you don’t file a claim for an accident or illness for a full year, you’ll get a $50 credit toward your next year’s deductible. You can also get additional $50 credit every subsequent year you don’t file a claim.
Working in the animal industry
Companies like Fetch and MetLife qualify veterinarians and people working as first responders or healthcare professionals for certain discounts on pet insurance.
Is it possible to combine pet insurance discounts?
Combining pet insurance discounts isn’t typical but varies by company. Some companies may not qualify buyers for multiple discounts. But several insurance providers let you do so in certain instances — such as multi-pet enrollment through an employer-sponsored plan, which can increase your savings even further.
A quick comparison table showcasing some companies offering pet insurance discounts
| Insurance Company | Multi-Pet Discount | Military Discount | Senior/ AARP Discount | Employer discounts |
| GEICO | 10% | 15% | – | 5 – 10% |
| ASPCA | 10% | – | – | 5 – 10% |
| Embrace | 10% | 5 – 10% | 5 – 10% | 5 – 10% |
| Pumpkin | 10% | – | – | 5 – 10% |
| Figo | 5 – 10% | 5% | – | 5 – 10% |
| 5% | – | 5% | 5 – 10% | |
| Fetch | – | 10% | 10% | 5 – 10% |
How to make the most of discounts on Pet insurance
When you evaluate multiple options for pet insurance, discounts aren’t difficult to come by. One of the easiest ways to save money on pet insurance is to shop around for the best value. Rather than just accepting the first quote you get, compare prices across a range of insurance providers. Here are some strategies to get the best value out of your pet insurance
Diminishing deductibles
Keeping your pet healthy has major benefits not only for your pet’s quality of life but also for your insurance deductibles. Some companies drop their deductibles year on year if the buyer goes the whole year without filing a claim. While it may not affect the monthly premium, it is more of an additional coverage that rewards you for raising a healthy pet.
Referral programs
Companies like Trupanion reward their buyers with $25 each time (up to $100 a year) they invite their friends and family to join the Trupanion pack. On the other hand, companies like Embrace donate $25 to homeless animal charities for each referral.
Enrolling pets at the prime of their health
Enrolling your pet for pet insurance at puppyhood is the absolute best time to do so for the following reasons –
o Lower monthly premiums
o Fewer chances of pre-existing conditions
o Companies like Trupanion do not increase their premiums for aging pets if the insurance was purchased in puppyhood
Choose a higher deductible and lower reimbursement %
In simple words, deductible means the amount you’ll need to pay towards a pet insurance claim before your policy will provide any coverage. Reimbursement % is the amount of eligible vet bills your insurance plan will cover.
Let’s say your deductible is $200 and your reimbursement is 70%. So, if you claim a $1,000 vet bill, after paying a deductible of $200 from your pocket, you would be eligible for 70% of the bill.
The lower the percentage you choose, the cheaper your pet insurance policy will be.
Understanding factors that affect pet insurance rates will enable you to make adjustments and plan effectively in advance to reduce costs. Here are some factors that affect the cost of the monthly premiums you’d pay when you buy pet insurance.
Age of the dog
During puppyhood, a puppy’s likelihood of being diagnosed with serious medical conditions is universally low. For most pet health insurance companies, premiums do increase with the age of the pet but generally remain lower if they have been insured since they were young.
Breed of the dog
Some breeds are more prone to health conditions than others. Eg, larger purebred dogs such as German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers are more prone to hip and joint conditions. Insurance premiums for these breeds are costlier than usual.
Coverage limits
Every policy has a coverage limit, meaning, the highest amount of money an insurance policy will pay in the event of a claim. You can choose this amount before you buy the insurance. Higher the coverage limit, the more the premium cost.
Reimbursement %
This refers to the % of the claim you are eligible to be reimbursed for. The most comprehensive pet health coverage will reimburse 80% to 100% of your total vet bill. Higher the reimbursement %, the costlier the premium.
Deductibles
If you choose a higher deductible, you’ll have a lower premium because you are choosing to cover a larger portion of your expenses out of pocket each year
