Even though cats are more wary little creatures than their clumsy nemesis – dogs, they are not fully proof against certain illnesses or injuries. So, you should expect the unexpected.
When choosing pet insurance for an older cat, it is important to consider the following factors:
- Age: Most pet insurance companies have an upper age limit for coverage. However, some companies, such as ASPCA and Embrace, offer lifetime coverage for senior cats.
- Pre-existing conditions: If your cat has any pre-existing conditions, you will need to make sure that the insurance company will cover them. Some companies will only cover pre-existing conditions that are diagnosed after you take out the policy.
- Coverage: Make sure that the insurance company covers the types of care that your cat is likely to need. This includes things like accidents, illnesses, and routine care.
- Premiums: The cost of pet insurance can vary depending on the company, the coverage you choose, and your cat’s age and health. It is important to compare premiums from different companies before you make a decision.
- Customer service: Read reviews from other pet owners to get an idea of the customer service offered by the insurance company. You want to make sure that you can get help if you need it.
One of the best-ranked pet insurances nowadays is Lemonade Pet Insurance.
Embrace Pet insurance offers a health care policy for your pet.
The best solution is to enroll your cat in pet insurance while it is young, but insuring your cat late is a different beast of a task.
Choosing the right pet insurance company will be based on your priorities, budget, the cat’s age, and her current health status, among other factors.
If you are wondering – can I get pet insurance for older cats? – you’ll be happy to learn that some insurance companies provide policies regardless of the age limit; however, you’ll face additional taxing.
It turns out that insuring an old cat is a bigger hassle since senior cats tend to be more prone to injuries and illnesses.
To find the best pet insurance provider for older cats, we prepared this guide to help you learn the different prices, offers, and services offered by the leading pet insurance providers in 2023.
Older Cat Pet Insurance Providers: A Comparison
Here are some of the major contenders for the best pet insurance provider title in 2023.
Provider | Age limit | Maximum annual coverage | Reimbursement choices | Deductible choices |
Lemonade | 14 | $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 | 70%, 80%, 90% | $100, $250, $500 |
Prudent Pet | / | $10,000 or Unlimited | 70%, 80%, 90% | $100, $250, $500, $1,000 |
Healthy Paws | Up to 14 years | Unlimited | 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% | $100 to $1,000 per year |
ASPCA | / | $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $7,000, $10,000 | 70%, 80%, 90% | $100, $250, $500 |
Trupanion | Up to 14 years | Unlimited | 90% | $0 to $1,000 per condition |
Fetch | / | Customized | Up to 90% | Depending on the maximum annual coverage |
Below, let’s examine these providers in detail.
1. Lemonade
Lemonade was launched in 2015 and is now available in 36 states. Its policy offers insurance across various categories like homeowners, car insurance, life insurance, and pet insurance.
Lemonade’s decent coverage of illnesses and injuries comes with multiple add-ons to provide personalized plans. To cut down unnecessary costs, you can choose coverage for a specific treatment and save more from your budget.
Pros
- Giveaway program to pet-related charities
- Multiple pets discount
- Quick claiming process
Cons
- Available only in 36 states
- Must submit the past 12 months’ medical records
- Limited information online
- No 30-day free trial period
Plans & Coverage
Depending on what you’re looking for, you can find various pet insurance plans for an older cat at Lemonade. If you want to get more coverage on vet bills, you should add an advanced or basic program to your current policy to cut off more expenses.
The basic preventative plan offers an online chat with a vet; however, you’ll need a more advanced program to get more coverage.
There are a few add-ons available that you can get with Lemonade:
- Preventative/Preventative+ Packages: It includes ongoing veterinary care such as annual wellness exams, heartworm tests, or vaccinations.
- Young Pets Preventative Package includes coverage for young puppies like elective procedures, vaccines, and microchipping.
- Vet visits: Vet visits can be high priced; therefore, this package includes vet visit fees.
- Physical therapy: Covers physical therapy after a specific injury.
- End-of-life care and remembrance: Covers only the vet-recommended euthanasia and cremation.
Because of Lemonade’s many available options, we warmly recommend Lemonade to pet parents.
2. Prudent Pet
You’re at the right place if you want to get “nose to tail” coverage with your insurance company. Prudent Pet uses artificial intelligence, so the claiming process is as fast as possible.
This pet insurance company is popular among pet owners because of its multiple plans that offer various options.
Let’s find out more about Prudent Pet.
Pros
- Unlimited annual benefits
- Multiple add-ons
- No age or breed restrictions
- 24/7 veterinary care
Cons
- 30 days waiting period for reimbursement
- Required wellness exams
- Not customized annual limits
Plans & Coverage
Prudent Pet offers three plans for cats:
- Accident-only – this policy is cheaper than illness and accident policies. The accident-only plan covers unpredicted injuries, and the annual benefit is up to $10,000.
- Essential – the essential plan includes the illness and accident policy. It covers any unexpected illness, such as digestive illnesses, cancer, joint issues, or hereditary conditions. It covers up to $250 per year with an annual benefit limit of $10,000.
- UltimatePlan – beyond the typical illness and accident policy, this ultimate plan has other extra benefits like:
- Vacation cancellation
- Boarding fees
- Loss of the pet
- Rewards and advertising for stolen pets
The Prudent Pet policies are comprehensive and trendy among cat owners since they offer plans for senior pets. It may be more expensive than other pet policies, but it still gets great reviews from customers.
3. Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws is a charitable pet insurance company that donates to many nonprofit companies. This company has excellent customer rates due to its affordable prices and unlimited maximum payouts.
Compared to its competitors, Healthy Paws has a mobile app for tracking and claiming submission, making them faster than other pet insurance companies.
Pros
- Fast application proceeding
- No annual coverage limit
- Direct vet payments
Cons
- No wellness coverage
- No discount
- $25 administrative fee
- Doesn’t cover exam fees
Plans & Coverage
Healthy Paws offers coverage of accidents, illnesses, hospitalizations, cancer, hereditary conditions, diagnostics, emergency care, alternative therapies, or X-rays. However, you can get discouraged by their 15-day waiting period for accidents.
Their price varies from the chosen plan, and it ranges between $20 to $39 monthly. Healthy Paws have age restrictions, so make sure you sign up your cat for this insurance plan before your cat’s 14th birthday.
They also have restrictions for young pets, so your cat must be at least 8 weeks to sign up for the plan.
Their customized coverage options vary on the cat’s age:
- 8-year-old cats and older: $750 or $1,000 deductible; 50 – 60% reimbursement
- 6-7-year-old cats: 60 – 80% reimbursement; $250, $500, or $750 deductible
- 5-year-old cats or younger: 90, 80, and 70% reimbursement; $100, $250, and $500 deductible.
Despite their straightforward plans with no annual limits, your cat cannot get routine veterinary care with the Healthy Paws pet insurance.
Also, this pet insurance company has a long waiting period that sometimes can be a lifesaving moment in veterinary care.
4. ASPCA
Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals founded this pet insurance company.
Senior cats can get a complete coverage package with ASPCA. The full coverage package includes illnesses, accidents, dental diseases, hereditary conditions, and behavioral issues.
In case you want emergency coverage for your cat, you should enroll them in the ASPCA accident-only plan.
Unlike other pet insurance companies, ASPCA focuses more on prevention, has many customization options and partnerships, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
- 10% multi-pet discount
- Microchip coverage
- Insurance by Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group
- Hereditary and congenital diseases are covered.
Cons
- The annual coverage limit is $10,000
- Pricier than other pet insurance companies
- Poor reviews
Plans & Coverage
One of the best things about ASPCA is that they have no age limit for treated pets. Also, they don’t require a medical exam and don’t cover pre-existing conditions. At the same time, their plan covers behavioral issues such as licking, anxiety, or digging.
ASPCA has an accident-only plan which can cover the worst-case scenarios like surgeries, dog and snake bites, broken bones, or emergency hospitalizations. The price can vary depending on the cat’s health, age, breed, or location.
5. Trupanion
If you’re looking for comprehensive coverage with annual caps and 90% reimbursement, Trupanion may be great pet insurance for older cats.
They offer high premiums, especially required for older cats prone to many health issues. However, make sure you enroll your cat on time since Trupanion has an age limit.
Pros
- 24/7 customer service
- Discount for therapy pets or assistance animals
- Unlimited coverage
Cons
- The age limit is 14 years
- One-time fee of $35 for new members
Plans & Coverage
Trupanion has one plan for illnesses and accidents, which include the following:
Illnesses:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Upper respiratory infections
- Thyroid disease
- Hip and elbow dysplasia
- Nervous system issues
- Allergies
- Cataracts
- Liver diseases
Accidents:
- Coughing
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Infections
- Broken bones
- Tooth trauma
After you choose your deductible, Trupanion will reimburse 90% of your vet bills, but it doesn’t include any lifetime or annual limits. The Trupanion plan includes the following procedures and treatments:
- Surgery and dental procedures
- Diagnostic tests
- Hospitalization
- Veterinary supplements and herbal therapy
- 50% discount on prescribed food and medicine
If you and your cat are looking for additional options, Trupanion offers two more options:
- Pet owner assistance package that covers: advertising and reward money for lost cats, vacation cancellation fees, cremation, and third-party property damage.
- Recovery and complementary care package which includes: acupuncture, chiropractic services, naturotherapy, etc.
6. Fetch
Previously known as Petplan, Fetch was founded by The Dodo. It offers one plan for senior cats that covers injuries, illnesses, accidents, vet exams, prescription medicine, diagnostics, or surgical interventions.
To discover any pre-existing condition, your cat must undergo regular wellness check-ups. However, we don’t like that they don’t offer preventative care.
Pros
- Available everywhere around the U.S. and Canada
- Online vet visits during the COVID pandemic up to $1,000
- You can set the reimbursement level
Cons
- No preventative care package
- No multi-pet discount
- Annual limits on coverage
Plans & Coverage
- No age limit
- Pre-existing conditions are not covered
- Other features include 24/7 veterinary assistance, behavioral therapy, boarding/kennel fees, specialist treatment
Fetch is one of the most comprehensive pet insurance companies, covering up to 90% of senior cats. Many customers like Fetch because it covers holistic care like chiropractic, acupuncture, or homeostatic therapy.
Another great feature is customizing the coverage based on your budget. Therefore, you’ll decide how much you’d like to pay annually for the deductible. However, Fetch does not cover routine care or pre-existing conditions like diabetes, cancer, asthma, and arthritis.
Pet Insurance Older Cat Providers: Which is the Best?
Getting your young cat insured can significantly save your budget. However, many owners don’t insure their cats on time which might only leave you with the option of getting senior cat pet insurance.
Our #1 recommendation for pet insurance for older cats is Lemonade because of its affordable prices, many insurance plans, and good reviews from customers. We don’t like the age limit but consider this as an alert to sign up your cat for pet insurance before it’s too late.
FAQ
Yes, pet insurance for older pets can be pricier since senior pets are more prone to medical issues. This is the main difference compared to young cats. However, many providers will offer you the same services and extra services that apply to older pets.
Yes, even if your pet hasn’t shown any serious health issues, it’s worth getting. Your old buddy can get all the veterinary routine check-ups and live a healthy life, and additionally, it’ll cover some of your costs.
