By Adam Lee-Smith
Published: 12/10/2021, edited: 12/10/2021
Save on pet insurance for your pet
You don't have to choose between your pet and your wallet when it comes to expensive vet visits. Prepare ahead of time for unexpected vet bills by finding the pawfect pet insurance.
Overview
Whether they're hanging from your kitchen curtains or getting into scraps with other felines, cats can be calamitous critters. As confident and tough as your tiny tiger may seem, they're not immune from injury or illness.
Getting insurance for your little lion is essential to keep them healthy and to avoid high vet bills. "Unfurtunately," many pet parents don't get their cat's insurance — approximately only just over 1% of pet parents of pet parents in the US insure their cats.
Trying to find the best coverage for Felix? Cut through the insurance jargon — here are our top 5 picks for the best pet insurance for cats!
Note: All insurance providers operate differently from state to state. Contact each provider directly for an accurate quote for your fur-baby.
Our top picks for the best pet insurance for cats
- Best wellness add-ons: Figo
- Best dental coverage: Pets Best
- Most affordable monthly premium: Healthy Paws
- Most customization options: Embrace
- Most comprehensive coverage: Trupanion
Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws is widely considered one of the best pet insurers for cats. Unlike many companies, Healthy Paws offers no caps on per-incident, annual, or lifetime payouts. This insurer is also known for its quick payouts, with 99% of claims processed in 2 days.
Why Healthy Paws is a great choice for cat insurance
- Short waiting periods
- Coverage for a range of medical conditions and injuries
- Most claims are processed within 2 business days
- No coverage cap
- Competitive deductibles and reimbursement rates
What's covered?
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Skin conditions
- Arthritis
- Ear infections
- Eye conditions
- Cancer
- Urinary tract infections
- Heart conditions
- Diagnostic tests (X-rays, blood tests, etc.)
- Surgery
- Prescriptions
- Congenital conditions
- Chronic conditions
- Alternative treatment
Deductibles
- $100
- $250
- $500
- $750
- $1,000
Coverage limits
- N/A
Reimbursement rates
- 50%
- 60%
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
Waiting period
- 15-day waiting period for new injuries and illnesses
- 12 months for cats with hip dysplasia
Add-on options
Healthy Paws does not offer wellness or preventative care add-ons.
Monthly premium: $12–$30 on average
Trupanion
Trupanion is one of America's best-known pet insurance providers, and for good reason. Trupanion offers lightning-fast reimbursement, fully flexible deductibles, and add-ons covering a range of alternative treatments. The monthly premiums are high, but that's because this insurer reimburses 90% of eligible expenses.
Why Trupanion is a great choice for cat insurance
- Approval and reimbursement in minutes with Vet Direct Pay
- Fully adjustable deductibles
- Short waiting period for injuries
- No coverage limits
- Add-ons for alternative treatments
What's covered?
- Elbow dysplasia
- Hip dysplasia
- Heart disease
- Liver disease
- Diabetes
- Upper respiratory infections
- Thyroid conditions
- Unexplained symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, cough)
- Congenital conditions
- Cataracts
- Surgery
- Hospital stays
- Prescriptions
- Herbal therapy
- Prosthetic devices and carts
Deductible: Adjustable between $1 and $1,000
Coverage limits: Unlimited per-condition
Reimbursement rate: 90%
Waiting period
- Injury: 5 days
- Illness: 30 days
Add-on options
Trupanion has one add-on for cats: the Recovery and Complementary Care add-on. This add-on covers 90% of the cost of:
- Acupuncture
- Homeopathy
- Rehab therapy
- Naturopathy
- Behavioral modification
- Chiropractic treatment
- Hydrotherapy
Monthly premium: $25–$35 on average
Insure your cat as soon as "pawssible" for maximum protection.
Most pet insurance companies don’t cover pre-existing conditions. To avoid high veterinary care costs, secure pet health insurance today and save up to $273 each year.
Figo
Figo is a relatively new pet insurance provider that does things differently from other companies. Figo is a good alternative to traditional insurance companies.
One of Figo's big selling points is the Pet Cloud app, which allows you to live chat with vets 24/7, send your cat's medical records, and more. Figo also doesn't impose age limits on new insurance policies, making it a good option if other insurers have rejected your older cat.
Why Figo is a great choice for cat insurance
- Paperless Pet Cloud app
- 24/7 access to veterinary advice
- No upper age limit on policies
- Add-ons to help everything from boarding fees to third-party property damage liability
- Short waiting periods
What's covered?
- Chronic conditions
- Hereditary and congenital conditions
- Cancer treatment
- Dental illness/injury
- Knee conditions
- Hip dysplasia
- Surgery
- Emergency hospitalization
- Prescriptions
- Diagnostic tests
Deductibles
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- 100%
Coverage limits
- $5,000 (annual)
- $10,000 (annual)
- Unlimited
Reimbursement rates
- $100
- $250
- $500
- $750
Waiting period
- 14 days for illness
- 3 days for injury
Add-on options
Figo offers 3 add-ons to help manage the cost of treatments and procedures that insurance plans don't usually cover. Note: many of these add-ons are subjected to different terms and conditions.
The Veterinary Exam Fees for Accident and Illness Visit add-on helps cover the costs of exams and consultations for diagnosing and treating an injury or illness.
The Extra Care Pack add-on helps cover the cost of:
- Cremation and burials
- Lost pet advertising
- Pet theft
- Pet boarding costs
- Third-party property damage liability
- Vacation cancellation due to a pet-related emergency
The wellness add-ons come in two different tiers: Basic and Plus. Both plans have the same benefits, but the Plus plan has higher annual maximums. The Wellness add-ons covers:
- Routine dental care
- Vaccinations
- Spay/neuter
- Bloodwork
- Heartworm preventatives
- Deworming
- Microchipping
Monthly premium: $18–$32 on average
Pets Best
After 15 years in the business, Pets Best has grown into one of America's top pet insurance providers. Pets Best is known for its low premiums, transparent policies, and sending direct payments to vets. Three plan tiers and comprehensive add-ons make Pets Best one of the most flexible insurers on the market.
Why Pets Best is a great choice for cat insurance
- Direct payments to vets via Direct Vet Pay
- 24/7 veterinarian hotline
- 3 coverage tiers
- Short waiting periods
- Comprehensive wellness add-ons
What's covered?
Pets Best offers 3 tiers of coverage: Basic, Plus, and Elite. The Plus plan is the most popular and provides additional coverage for injury and illness exams. The Elite plan includes coverage for acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, and rehab. All 3 plans cover the following:
- Accidents (foreign object ingestion, broken bones, poisoning, etc.)
- Illnesses (arthritis, diabetes, cruciate ligament injuries, ear infections, etc.)
- Cancer treatment
- Hereditary and congenital conditions
- Chronic conditions
- Dental coverage (periodontal disease)
- Surgery
- Hospitalization
- Prosthetics
- Diagnostics
- Euthanasia
- Travel coverage
Deductibles
- $50
- $100
- $200
- $250
- $500
- $1,000
Coverage limits
- $5,000
- 10,000 (accident only)
- Unlimited
Reimbursement rates
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
Waiting periods
- 3 days for injuries
- 14 days for accidents
- 6 months for cruciate ligament conditions
Add-on options
Pets Best offers a wellness add-on with 2 tiers: EssentialWellness and BestWellness™. Both provide similar coverage, except BestWellness™ has higher annual benefits and also covers spay/neuter and teeth cleanings. Pets Best's wellness add-on covers:
- Vaccinations
- Rabies
- Flea and tick prevention
- Heartworm prevention and tests
- Wellness exams
- Blood, fecal, and parasites tests
- Feline leukemia virus (FELV) screenings
- Urinalysis
- Deworming
- Microchipping
Monthly premium: $20–$32 on average
Embrace
Embrace is one of the best pet insurers for cats, with comprehensive coverage, highly flexible plans, and a few special features. One of the best features of Embrace is its Healthy Pet Deductible, which means your annual deductible goes down by $50 for every year you don't receive an insurance claim reimbursement.
Why Embrace is a great choice for cat insurance
- Diminishing annual deductibles
- Highly customizable plans
- Coverage for complementary treatments as standard
- Short waiting periods
- Flexible deductibles and coverage limits
What's covered?
- Hereditary and congenital conditions (hip dysplasia, allergies, etc.)
- Chronic conditions (diabetes, arthritis, etc.)
- Cancer treatment
- Preventable conditions (Lyme disease, parasites, etc.)
- Orthopedic conditions (broken bones, osteosarcoma)
- Dental illness and conditions (up to $1,000 per year)
- Diagnostic testing
- Surgery
- Hospitalization
- Prescriptions
- Specialist treatment (oncology, behavioral, etc.)
Deductibles
- $200
- $300
- $500
- $750
- $1,000
Coverage limits
- $5,000
- $8,000
- $10,000
- $15,000
- $30,000
Reimbursement rates
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
Waiting periods
- 48 hours for injuries
- 14 days for illnesses
- 6 months for orthopedic conditions
Add-on options
Embrace offers a wellness add-on with three different annual maximums: $250, $450, and $650. Embrace covers 100% of costs up to your chosen annual maximum. The Embrace wellness add-ons covers:
- Routine check-ups
- Flea and tick treatment
- Spay/neuter
- Prescription diet food
- Vaccinations
- Routine chiropractic treatment
- Cremation and burial
- Teeth cleaning
- Blood tests
- Pet activity monitors
- Massage and acupuncture
- Grooming
Monthly premium: $20–$35 on average
Struggling to find the "purrfect" pet insurance plan for your cat? Check out our pet insurance comparison tool. Wag! Wellness allows you to compare pet insurance providers like PetsBest and Embrace in just a few clicks!
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