{"id":31,"date":"2026-09-16T14:51:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediumturquoise-wolf-326452.hostingersite.com\/?p=31"},"modified":"2026-09-16T14:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:51:30","slug":"average-cost-of-pet-insurance-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/?p=31","title":{"rendered":"Average Cost of Pet Insurance 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Your pet insurance costs will depend on factors like the type of pet, deductible and reimbursement percentage. To help you get an idea of how much you can expect to pay for pet insurance, we crunched more than 478,000 pet insurance rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Much Is Pet Insurance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The table below shows the average monthly cost of pet insurance for cats and dogs, Based on our analysis for a policy with $5,000 of annual coverage, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Forbes Advisor research. Costs are based on plans with $5,000 annual coverage ($10,000 for Prudent Pet) and unlimited annual coverage ($100,000 for Lemonade), a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level. Chewy Essential Plus, Pumpkin and Trupanion do not offer an 80% reimbursement level, rates are based on a 90% reimbursement level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compare Pet Insurance Cost for Dogs by Breed <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Breed plays a major role in your dog insurance costs. Small mixed breed dogs are the cheapest to insure while Rottweilers are the most expensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The table below shows the average monthly cost of pet insurance for dogs by breed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ufeffBreed <\/th>
Average monthly cost ($5,000 annual coverage) <\/th>
Average monthly cost for (unlimited annual coverage) <\/th><\/tr>
Pet insurance costs an average of $24 per month for a cat for a policy with $5,000 of annual coverage, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement level. A policy with unlimited annual coverage, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement level costs $37 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The insurer and age of the cat affects how much you will pay. Cat owners can expect to pay anywhere from about $18 to $87 per month for pet insurance, depending on the cat\u2019s age, the amount of coverage and the insurance company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Forbes Advisor research. Costs are based on plans with $5,000 annual coverage ($10,000 for Prudent Pet) and unlimited annual coverage ($100,000 for Lemonade), a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level. Chewy Essential Plus, Pumpkin and Trupanion do not offer a 80% reimbursement level, rates are based on a 90% reimbursement level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost of Cat Insurance by Breed <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The table below shows the average monthly pet insurance cost for cats by breed <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ufeffBreed <\/th>
Average monthly cost ($5,000 annual coverage) <\/th>
Average monthly cost for (unlimited annual coverage) <\/th><\/tr>
Average Cost of Veterinary Care and Medical Treatments for Cats and Dogs <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The average vet visit cost is $70, according to an Advisor analysis of veterinarian costs. But your vet bills could quickly add up depending on the types of services your pet needs, including vaccinations or treatments for accidents and illnesses.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0a look at the average cost of a veterinary visit\u00a0in\u00a0different states.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost of Veterinary Care by State <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The table below shows the average cost for veterinary care in each state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
State<\/th>
Average cost for a veterinary visit for a dog<\/th>
Average cost for a veterinary visit for a cat<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Source: Pets Best, based on claims data from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7 Factors That Impact Pet Insurance Prices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pet insurance companies use multiple factors when setting rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Coverage Type<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest factors determining pet insurance cost is the coverage. For example, a comprehensive policy that covers a range of treatments and also routine care will cost more than an accident-only policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your coverage choices depend on the pet insurance company. Here are the common types of pet insurance plans: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Comprehensive pet insurance plan.<\/strong> A comprehensive pet insurance plan will combine an accident and illness policy with a routine care plan. This is the most expensive type of plan because it covers the most problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Accident and illness coverage.<\/strong> This type of policy helps pay for vet bills for unexpected incidents, such as sprains from accidents, poisonings and common illnesses, such as ear infections. This might also cover lab tests, surgeries, hospitalization, prescription medications and emergency care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Accident-only coverage.<\/strong> This type of policy covers certain medical expenses if your pet suffers an accident, such as a broken bone. Coverage might include diagnostic tests, surgeries, X-rays, hospitalization, prescription medications and emergency care. This is the cheapest type of plan because it covers the fewest problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Routine wellness plans.<\/strong> This type of policy covers medical expenses for wellness exams, flea and heartworm prevention, vaccinations and other routine annual care. You can typically add this to your accident and illness plan. The average cost for a wellness plan for dogs is $24 per month and $22 per month for cats (that\u2019s on top of the monthly cost for your pet insurance plan).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
2. Deductibles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A deductible is the amount of money you pay out of pocket every year to a veterinarian before coverage starts. You can typically choose a pet insurance deductible that ranges from $0 to $1,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The higher your deductible amount, the less you pay in pet insurance costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Reimbursement Levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pet insurance policies are reimbursement-based, meaning you usually have to pay up front for your pet\u2019s medical bills and submit a claim to the pet insurance company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you meet the deductible for your plan by paying out-of-pocket, coverage kicks in at the level outlined in the plan. You can typically choose reimbursement options of 70%, 80% or 90% of the pet medical expenses that are covered by the plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pet insurance costs are higher for better levels of reimbursement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, say you have a pet insurance plan with a $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement level:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
If the pet has a medical procedure that costs $1,500 and it\u2019s your first claim of the policy period, you would first pay $1,500 to the vet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
The first $500 of that is your deductible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Then you\u2019d be reimbursed 80% of the remaining $1,000, for a reimbursement of $800.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Your pet insurance costs will depend on factors like the type of pet, deductible and reimbursement percentage. To help you get an idea of how much you can expect to pay for pet insurance, we crunched more than 478,000 pet insurance rates. How Much Is Pet Insurance? The table below shows the average monthly cost of pet insurance for cats […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pet-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petpolicyadvisors.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}