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The Best Pet Insurance Companies of 2026
Unexpected vet bills can be the most expensive part of welcoming a dog or cat into your family. That’s why it’s important to research the best pet insurance companies.
For many pet owners, pet insurance for their dogs, cats and even birds can keep the costs of pet care reasonable. While the monthly premiums are an additional expense on top of food, toys, treats and grooming, pet insurance is worth it for medical emergencies — especially serious illnesses or injuries.
With the cost of treating chronic illnesses so high, pet health insurance can make the difference between being able to afford an improved quality of life for your companion and saying goodbye because you don’t have the money for a $5,000 procedure.
Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover everything. These resources can help you manage those unexpected expenses.
Like all insurance, it’s a gamble. If your pet is healthy, you will likely spend more on monthly premiums than the cost of regular veterinary care over the course of your pet’s life. But, if your best friend is dealt a bad hand, it’s reassuring to know you have insurance to cover at least some of the costs.
In most cases, pet insurance is worth the cost, but if you need more information, we’ve gone into detail about how to decide if pet insurance is worth buying.
Which pet insurance plan has the perfect combination of coverage, flexibility, benefits and positive reviews? The six companies below represent the very best of pet insurance in 2026, starting with our top pick.
Methodology: To determine the best pet insurance companies listed below, we examined and rated them across these criteria: best value (most coverage at a reasonable premium), flexibility in plans and deductibles, the highest benefits and the best consumer reviews.
To be included on our list, pet insurance companies had to achieve at least a 4 out of 5 with Pet Insurance Review and offer, at a minimum, dog and cat insurance.
What we love about Trupanion:
What we don’t love about Trupanion:
What we love about Lemonade:
What we don’t love about Lemonade:
What we love about Healthy Paws:
What we don’t love about Healthy Paws:
What we love about Embrace:
What we don’t love about Embrace:
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What we love about Figo:
What we don’t love about Figo:
What we love about Spot:
What we don’t love about Spot:
While these didn’t make our top picks, we tip our hat to other leading insurance providers:
With so many options on the market nowadays, choosing insurance for your furry (or feathery, or scaly) friend can be stressful. When choosing your policy, identify multiple options that have the coverage, flexibility and other benefits suited to your pet’s needs. Then, request quotes from all of them. Compare these to find the option with the lowest premium that meets your needs.
Before signing, read through the pet insurance policy closely to ensure you won’t be barred from reimbursement for particular health problems your pet may already have.
So, what should you look for in a pet insurance company? Here’s what the best policies offer:
What does the best pet insurance policy cover? Choose only from plans that offer comprehensive coverage, and find an insurer that covers specific conditions common in your pet’s breed. A good, comprehensive insurance plan should meet all the requirements listed below:
If you have an elderly dog or cat who has already developed serious issues, you may want to decline pet insurance. Unfortunately, the older cats and dogs get, the less sense it makes to purchase insurance for them. The cost will be too high, and you will likely not see a positive return on investment.
No pet insurance policies currently offer support for pre-existing conditions. That is why it is crucial that you insure your pet as early as possible. If you rescue a puppy or kitten, make insurance for your new family member a top priority in the first few days after you bring them home. Some insurance providers may cover some curable pre-existing conditions if it has been more than 12 months since the pet has shown signs or symptoms.
If you already have a pet insured with one plan and it develops a number of issues, stick with it. A new pet insurance policy will likely see those problems as pre-existing conditions, making it challenging to switch.
One area of coverage that might not be worth it? Wellness coverage. Wellness coverage typically includes dental cleaning, vaccines and regular check-ups.
Many policies allow you to elect wellness coverage for an additional monthly fee. Instead, put the $20-ish a month you’d spend on that coverage into savings. Then, draw from that savings to pay for annual wellness visits.
The best pet insurance plans have flexible deductible options, and they typically range between $0 and $1,000. Like human health insurance, high-deductible plans are cheaper.
Most plans have an annual deductible; some insurance providers, like Trupanion, break from the pack with a one-time-per-incident/per-condition deductible, meaning if your dog has a chronic issue, you’ll only have to meet the deductible once over the course of its life before the insurance benefits kick in. This would be a great solution for dogs famous for contracting specific illnesses, like hypothyroidism, which require regular blood work and medication.
On the flip side, this solution would not be ideal for a dog or cat that requires lots of veterinary care for a wide range of unrelated issues, as you’d have to meet a deductible for each.
Some insurance plans have fixed deductibles. While that’s not necessarily a red flag, it’s nice to be able to choose the option that best suits your needs.
To save on monthly premiums, choose the highest deductible you’re comfortable paying. View your pet’s insurance as that “just-in-case” crutch to lean on if your dogs need emergency surgery or cancer treatment. If you can afford a $500 vet bill from time to time, save on the monthly payments and fork over $500 a year before the benefits kick in, but rest easy knowing you have support if disaster strikes and you’re faced with a much larger vet bill.
As with deductibles, the best pet insurance companies will let you select the reimbursement option that fits your needs. Reimbursement is the amount insurance will pay after you have met your deductible. You are still financially responsible for the remaining percentage, called coinsurance.
The lower the reimbursement, the lower the monthly premium. Leaders in the pet insurance industry typically offer options for 70%, 80%, 90% and even 100% reimbursement (though the cost for the latter can be exorbitant). We only considered pet insurance companies that reimburse 70% at a minimum.
For example, let’s assume your plan has a deductible of $500, $300 of which you have already met. It also has a 70% reimbursement. You take your dog in for a stomach issue that, after testing and treatment, costs you $400. You will pay $200 toward your deductible.
Of the remaining $200 owed, your insurance will cover $140 (70%), leaving you with a $60 bill. Any future illnesses or injuries that year should also be covered at 70% because your deductible has been met.
So, how much does pet insurance cost? It’s difficult to pinpoint which insurance company offers the best premium, because quotes depend on variables such as your pet’s age, breed, size, location and more. Dogs are 50% to 60% more expensive to insure than cats because they are more susceptible to injury and illness.
For reference, the average monthly premium for accident and illness pet health insurance in 2024 was $62.44 for dogs and $32.21 for cats, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA).
Premiums will also depend on the coverage, deductible and reimbursement amounts you select. Still, we’ve examined typical premiums across the top-rated pet insurance policies and used those to influence our list of the best pet insurance companies.
Some pet insurers, like ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, offer multi-pet discounts to help you save on premiums.
While you should take reviews with a grain of salt, consumer reviews of insurance companies can be extremely helpful. Pet Insurance Review’s website scores companies out of 5 based on customer ratings, while Consumer Affairs and similar sites let you browse hundreds of reviews of policies.
A final consideration: What animal are you hoping to insure? While most pet insurance companies provide coverage for dogs and cats, only Nationwide includes policies for animals like birds, lizards and rodents.
While Nationwide is not the strongest insurer across all criteria, it stands out as a winner for the range of animals covered.
Listen, we know it’s tough out there. But there’s no shame in asking for help.
These companies make it easy to help yourself and your bank account.
If pet insurance seems like a financial burden, consider starting a savings account for pet emergencies and putting away the equivalent of a premium each month.
When an emergency does happen, you will have that money to rely on, but you’ll also have been earning interest on it (check out our list of the best savings accounts).
One caveat: If you have a pet for just a couple of months and it develops a serious issue or gets injured, you likely won’t have much saved up and will need savings on hand to cover the cost. If you do have to pay for emergency vet care and don’t have pet health insurance, there are still several options for pet parents to choose from, such as using a credit card or entering into a payment plan with the vet directly.
Timothy Moore covers banking and investing for The Penny Hoarder from his home base in Cincinnati. He covers a variety of other topics, including pets, insurance, taxes, retirement and budgeting and has worked in the field since 2012.
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