Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?
Pet insurance can be expensive, but you might be glad to have it if your best pal gets seriously sick or injured.
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Updated · 6 min read
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Editor & Content Strategist You come home to find your dog vomiting and listless. After rushing them to the vet, you learn that they swallowed one of your socks and need emergency surgery — to the tune of several thousand dollars. Can you afford to pay that bill? If not, pet insurance might be worth considering.
Pet insurance helps cover the cost of medical care for your furry friend. It can reimburse you for expenses like cancer treatment, emergency care and medicine.
In some dire scenarios, pet insurance could save the life of an animal that would otherwise be put to sleep if its owner couldn’t afford treatment. But if your pet rarely gets sick, you could end up paying thousands of dollars in premiums without getting much in return.
So is pet insurance worth it? Here’s how to make the decision.
What pet insurance costs
The average annual cost for an accident and illness policy is about $749 for dogs and $386 for cats, according to 2024 data from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, or NAPHIA. That works out to about $62 a month for dogs and $32 a month for cats.
If you choose an accident-only policy, the annual cost drops to $193 (about $16 a month) for dogs and $110 for cats (about $9 a month). Such plans will cover treatment if your pet is hit by a car or swallows something poisonous, for example, but won’t pay if they get sick.
Premiums vary significantly based on your pet’s age and breed, the cost of veterinary care where you live and the insurance policy you choose. For more details and sample premiums, see How Much Is Pet Insurance?
Be aware that rates tend to go up as your pet gets older and more prone to health issues. If the plan gets too expensive for your budget, you might end up canceling the coverage just when your pet is starting to need it most.
To see how much rates might rise over time, we checked sample quotes from Pets Best, a popular pet insurer, for a medium-sized, mixed-breed dog in Katy, Texas. Here are the monthly prices we found for a policy with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement level:
| Dog's age | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| 3 months | $35.11 |
| 2 years | $31.50 |
| 4 years | $33.61 |
| 6 years | $48.34 |
| 8 years | $70.99 |
| 10 years | $114.10 |
| 12 years | $156.59 |
That may not seem too dramatic when you see the increases monthly, but here’s how your average annual cost would change over 12 years of your dog’s life:
We also got quotes from Pets Best for a domestic shorthair cat in the same ZIP code. Rates run through age 14 to reflect a cat’s longer expected life span.
| Cat's age | Monthly rate |
|---|---|
| 3 months | $22.45 |
| 2 years | $20.14 |
| 4 years | $20.35 |
| 6 years | $28.82 |
| 8 years | $40.69 |
| 10 years | $61.88 |
| 12 years | $91.41 |
| 14 years | $107.09 |
Though the overall premiums are lower for cats, there’s a similarly sharp price increase as they age.
In the end, you’ll likely pay thousands of dollars for insurance if you maintain the policy over the life of your pet.
Remember that these are sample numbers for one pet insurance company in one ZIP code. Your price will vary, so it’s worth shopping around.
» MORE: The best cheap pet insurance
What pet insurance pays for
So what do all those premiums get you? Though insurance can be a godsend if your pet is facing an expensive diagnosis, your plan likely won’t reimburse every dollar you spend at the vet.
What’s covered and what’s not
You can usually count on pet insurance to pay for things like hospital stays, surgery, prescriptions and diagnostic tests. But most plans won’t cover spay or neuter surgery unless you’ve bought an add-on for preventive care. The same goes for vaccinations, annual checkups and teeth cleaning. Pet insurance is designed to cover unexpected expenses, not routine costs you can plan for.
Pre-existing conditions are another key exclusion in just about every pet insurance plan. Pet insurance generally covers only new injuries or illnesses, not conditions the animal has before the policy takes effect. So don’t try buying pet insurance to pay for your cat’s chemotherapy after they were diagnosed with cancer — it probably won’t be covered.
That’s why pet insurance may be more valuable for pets who are young and healthy than those who already have a chronic condition or two.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Some pet insurers differentiate between curable and incurable conditions. As examples, consider a respiratory infection (curable) vs. allergies (chronic). Curable conditions may be covered once they’ve been symptom- and treatment-free for a certain period of time. For more details on what’s covered and what’s not, see our guide to pet insurance coverage.
Deductibles, limits and payouts
Most policies come with an annual deductible, the amount you cover before the insurer starts paying. Once you’ve met your deductible, your insurer will pay a certain percentage of your vet bill — typically 70%, 80% or 90%. And your plan may have an annual maximum payout.
Say your dog needs a $2,000 surgery. If your pet insurance plan pays 80% after you meet a $500 deductible, you’ll end up covering a good chunk of that vet bill yourself. Here’s the math in two different scenarios, depending on how your insurer calculates its claim payouts:
Deductible applied first:
$2,000 bill - $500 deductible = $1,500.
$1,500 x 80% = $1,200 payout.
$1,500 x 80% = $1,200 payout.
You pay $800.
Reimbursement rate applied first:
$2,000 bill x 80% = $1,600.
$1,600 - $500 deductible = $1,100 payout.
$1,600 - $500 deductible = $1,100 payout.
You pay $900.
Note that the $800 or $900 you pay is in addition to the premiums you’ve already paid for the insurance.
Waiting periods
Pet insurance doesn’t usually take effect right away. Most policies have waiting periods before you can begin filing claims. For example, it’s common to have a 14-day waiting period before illness coverage starts. Accident coverage often kicks in more quickly. Learn more about pet insurance waiting periods.
Pet insurance pros and cons
Pros
May enable you to choose better treatment for your pet, regardless of cost.
Can offer peace of mind by ensuring you won’t have to go into debt for vet bills.
May cover a wide range of care including chemotherapy, rehabilitation and acupuncture.
Can be easier to budget for than large, one-off vet bills.
May be able to pay your vet directly (select insurers only).
Cons
Typically won’t cover pre-existing conditions.
Will cost more as your pet gets older.
Won’t pay for routine care unless you pay extra.
Usually requires you to pay your vet upfront and file a claim for reimbursement.
Could cost more than your vet bills if your pet stays mostly healthy.
The cost of veterinary care
Dog owners spend an average of $505 each year on surgical vet visits and $451 each year on emergency vet visits, according to 2025 survey statistics from the American Pet Products Association, or APPA. Cat owners have lower annual expenses on average, spending $338 on surgical vet visits and $343 on emergency vet visits.
Below were the most common types of pet insurance claims for dogs and cats in 2025, according to data from Nationwide.
| Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|
| 1. Skin allergies. | 1. Diarrhea/intestinal upset. |
| 2. Diarrhea/intestinal upset. | 2. Urinary tract infection. |
| 3. Ear infection. | 3. Kidney failure. |
| 4. Arthritis. | 4. Dental disease. |
| 5. Trauma. | 5. Arthritis. |
| 6. Dental disease. | 6. Hyperthyroidism. |
| 7. Urinary tract infection. | 7. Diabetes. |
| 8. Heart disease. | 8. Respiratory infection. |
| 9. Liver disease. | 9. Inflammatory bowel disease. |
| 10. Seizures. | 10. Skin allergies. |
Some conditions on this list are relatively minor and inexpensive to treat, such as a urinary tract infection resolved with a course of antibiotics. But others could be significantly more expensive.
For example, “trauma” could mean anything from an animal bite to a car accident. Serious injuries in an accident could require surgery and hospitalization, which can cost thousands of dollars.
If your pet faces only minor health conditions throughout their life, you may end up paying far more for pet insurance than you get back. But if something serious goes wrong, the insurance may be well worth it.
The rise of pet insurance
A growing number of owners are choosing to insure their pets. More than 6.4 million U.S. dogs and cats were covered by pet insurance in 2024 — an increase of nearly 13% from the year before, according to NAPHIA. The number of insured cats and dogs in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2020.
That’s significant growth, but the industry still covers only a small fraction of American pets. In the U.S., there are an estimated 71 million households with dogs and 53 million households with cats, according to the 2025 APPA National Pet Owners Survey.
Alternatives to pet insurance
If you’d rather not buy pet insurance, you can try one of the following ways to pay for your furry pal’s care.
Self-funding
Instead of paying a monthly premium to a pet insurance company, you could contribute to a high-yield savings account for vet expenses.
The advantage of this strategy is that if your pet stays healthy, you’ll still have the money to use for something else. The downside is that you might not have enough saved if your puppy has an expensive accident three months after you bring them home.
Financial assistance
If you find yourself unable to afford care for your pet, you still have options. Your vet may be willing to work with you on a payment plan, or you can look for another clinic that charges less for the treatment your pet needs. Other possibilities include a CareCredit card or a Scratch loan. Learn more about how to pay for vet care in an emergency.
If you don’t qualify for these types of credit, you can set up a crowdfunding campaign to help pool the support of friends and family. Charitable organizations may also be able to provide grants or other assistance. The Humane Society of the United States has a useful list of resources.
So is pet insurance worth it?
Consider buying pet insurance if:
- Your pet is young and healthy.
- You don’t have enough savings to cover a hefty vet bill.
- Having insurance gives you peace of mind.
Pet insurance may not be worth it if:
- Your pet is a senior or already has health problems.
- A big vet bill wouldn’t be a financial hardship for you.
- You’d rather take the risk of an expensive diagnosis than pay for insurance you might never use.
Decided you're ready to buy pet insurance? See NerdWallet's list of The Best Pet Insurance Companies.
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- 1. North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Pet Insurance in North America: State of the Industry 2025 (Section #3: Average Premiums). Accessed May 1, 2026.
- 2. Nationwide. Chronic Conditions Dominate This Year’s List of Most Common Pet Health Problems. Accessed May 1, 2026.
- 3. North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Pet Insurance in North America: State of the Industry 2025 (Section #2: Total Pets Insured). Accessed May 1, 2026.
- 4. American Pet Products Association. Industry Trends and Stats. Accessed May 1, 2026.
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