Best Pet Insurance in Illinois 2023

Pet Insurance in Illinois

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Featured Pet Insurance Provider

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Lemonade Pet Insurance
4.5/5
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healthypaws logo
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Petfirst logo

Things to Consider Before Choosing Pet Insurance in Illinois

  • The type of coverage you need: Some pet insurance plans only cover accidental injuries, while others also cover illnesses. You will need to decide what type of coverage is right for you and your pet.
  • The cost of the plan: Pet insurance can be expensive, so it is important to find a plan that fits your budget.
  • The deductible and reimbursement rate: The deductible is the amount of money you will have to pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. The reimbursement rate is the percentage of the vet bill that your insurance will cover.
  • The waiting period: Some pet insurance companies have a waiting period before they will cover certain conditions. This is usually around 14 days.
  • The policy limits: The policy limits are the maximum amount of money your insurance will pay out for a single claim or over the lifetime of your pet.

Introduction

The Prairie State is home to 0.49% of pet parents, 0.32% of whom are dog owners. Given the growing interest to keep a pet in Illinois, there is also the rising need to keep your pets safe and sound.

One way to safeguard your pet against ailments and injuries is to get them suitable pet insurance in Illinois. Not only will pet insurance help you keep your pet in optimal health, but it will also prevent you from paying skyrocketing sums at the vet when you need their services. 

The Illinois market is rich in pet insurance providers, and choosing one requires looking deeper into their individual coverage options, limitations, claims, deductibles, and tailored plans. 

In addition, here is a list of the best pet insurance Illinois providers you can opt for.

Lemonade

Like in other states, in Illinois, too, Lemonade stands out as one of the best pet insurance for dogs IL.

The reason for this has to do with the fact that Lemonade offers flexible ricing options and suitable plans that offer all-encompassing, comprehensive coverage.

Lemonade comes with its own mobile app, alongside an online AI platform with a chatbot, and is ready to serve all your needs as a pet owner. In addition, the provider offers a few different discounts, including 10% off for a bundle with the Lemonade home insurance, and a 5% discount for families with multiple pets, and those who opted for fast claim processing, and substantial preventative care.

Pros

  • Several discounts
  • Incredibly developed online platform and mobile app
  • 24/7 availability
  • Pay upfront system
  • Preventative care, physical therapy, and exam fee coverage

Cons

  • Limited to dogs and cats
  • Relatively new to the pet insurance Illinois market
  • 6 month waiting period for cruciate ligament disorders
  • Isn’t available in some states

Plans & Coverage

Interestingly, Lemonade doesn’t offer a wide variety of plans, as much as it offers add-ons that you can incorporate into the basic plan. With this option, you can customize annual caps, reimbursement rates, and deductibles related to your chosen plan.

Lemonade’s basic plan includes coverage for accident-sustained injuries, like broken bones, diarrhea, lacerations, swallowed objects, and poisonings. It also covers a number of illnesses, including but not limited to cancer, heart and blood pressure disease, diabetes, arthritis, chronic, hereditary, and congenital disorders. Finally, there is coverage for diagnostics, X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc.

With some of their add-ons, you can also get coverage for wellness exams, vaccinations, microchipping, pet neutering, and routine care.

None of Lemonade’s plan options offer coverage for pet pre-existing conditions, breeding-related expenses, experimental, cosmetic, and elective surgeries, or dental care. 

Depending on multiple factors, the starting monthly prices can be as low as $10, but the average is about $40 for dogs and $15 for cats.

Embrace

Embrace is the second contender for the best pet insurance in Illinois providers. Known as a somewhat pricier, yet all-embracing alternative, Embrace features coverage for many pet conditions and covers expenses that other providers skip. 

What makes Embrace stand out is its famous Healthy Pet Deductible, which detracts $50 from your annual deductible for each year that you haven’t filed a claim. If your pet remains healthy for several years in a row, your deductible may even go down to $0.

Pros

  • $2 charity donation for each new policy
  • Rewards program
  • Mobile app for making quick claims
  • Healthy Pet Deductible
  • Several discounts (including multi-pet and military)

Cons

  • The more comprehensive plans don’t apply to pets older than 14
  • No unlimited annual cap option
  • Rigid pre-existing condition coverage exclusion

Plans & Coverage

Embrace’s well-known Accident and Illness Plan offers substantial coverage for a variety of conditions and treatments. Such include accident-sustained injuries (broken bones, ingestions, lacerations, poisoning), illnesses (cancer, diabetes, chronic, congenital, hereditary issues, etc.), diagnostics, ultrasounds, and X-rays. Behavioral therapy, dental care, prosthetic limbs, and all other standard expenses are usually covered by pet insurance Illinois providers.

Moreover, there are several tiers of wellness and routine care plans. Depending on the tier you opt for, they can offer coverage for vet visits and exam fees, vaccinations, pet spaying, microchipping, etc. There is no coverage for elective and pet cosmetic procedures, animals other than cats and dogs, and pre-existing conditions. 

Considering the variables, the monthly average with Embrace should cost you anywhere between $20 and $100, depending on your choice of add-ons, as well as on your pet’s species, breed, gender, and age.

Healthy Paws

Healthy Paws is yet another one of the best Illinois pet insurance providers whose services you can put to great use. It is also known for being significantly more affordable than most of its competition. Furthermore, Healthy Paws has a steady reputation and regularly collaborates with various charities. 

One of its most recognizable perks is the extensive choice of unlimited annual caps pet parents can decide on. Plus, its well-developed and comprehensive mobile app solidifies it as a worthwhile entry on our list.

Pros

  • Budget-friendly contender
  • Mobile app for making quick claims and processing
  • Option for unlimited lifetime benefits
  • Partnership with more than 300 animal charities

Cons

  • No choice of discounts
  • No coverage for wellness and preventative care

Plans & Coverage

With a monthly average of around $14 for cats and $40 for dogs, it’s easy to see why Healthy Paws is a popular choice. Their thorough Accident and Illness Plan offers coverage for a wide variety of conditions, including illnesses, injuries, and diagnostics, but also hospitalizations, and prescription medication.

What makes Healthy Paws stand out additionally is the fact that they offer coverage for holistic treatments, including acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and alternative care.

However, Healthy Paws does not cover pre-existing conditions, exotic pets, wellness expenses, and preventative care costs, in addition to breeding-related expenses, and elective procedures.

ASPCA

When it comes to flexibility and customization options, ASPCA remains unrivaled. 

It comes bearing a well-developed mobile app that alleviates the tracking and claiming process and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

As one of the best pet insurance Illinois alternatives, ASPCA allows you to choose between several different plans and lets you modify your choice of deductible, annual cap, and reimbursement rate.

Pros

  • Varying deductibles, some quite low
  • 10% multiple pets discount
  • Vet exam and microchipping coverage in all plans
  • More affordable than other entries on this list
  • Mobile app

Cons

  • Comparatively low annual benefit caps (max. $10,000)
  • No live chat option on the app
  • 2 week waiting period for accidents (longer than usual)

Plans & Coverage

When it comes to basic pet insurance coverage, ASPCA offers 2 main plans.

The first, their Accident-Only Plan, only offers coverage for accident-sustained injuries like lacerations, broken bones, and similar. 

Second is their accident and illness plan, also known as the Complete Coverage Plan.
In addition to pet accidents, the plan also covers most pet illnesses, including hereditary, congenital, and chronic conditions, hip dysplasia, diagnostics, diabetes, pet dental issues, emergency surgeries, and hospitalizations, among others. 

If you opt for both the Complete Coverage Plan and some of their preventative care packs, you’ll also get coverage for behavioral issues as well as alternative and holistic treatments. Still, like most other providers, ASPCA doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, breeding-related expenses, and cosmetic, elective, or experimental treatments.

The monthly average Illinois pet insurance price would be around $30 for cats and $50 for dogs.

Pets Best

Pets Best is yet another one of the best pet insurance Illinois alternatives. This provider targets more budget-friendly consumers who appreciate the equal quality of service. As a leading Illinois pet insurance provider, Pets Best has a wide array of deductible options and offers multiple discounts, alongside several different reimbursement rates.

They don’t offer too many annual cap options, the more popular of which is the unlimited cap alternative. 

Pros

  • 3 day accident waiting period
  • Discount for multiple pets enrolled under the same pet insurance
  • 24/7 active live chat and customer support
  • The ability to settle claims directly with the vet

Cons

  • A limited number of annual benefit limit alternatives
  • 6 month long waiting period for treatment of cruciate ligament (anterior, posterior, or cranial) disorders

Plans & Coverage

Aside from the 2 annual cap alternatives – the $5,000 one and the unlimited one – Pets Best mainly stands out with its 3 reimbursement percentage options of 70%, 80%, and 90%,

As far as their deductibles are concerned, there are 6 options to choose from: a $50, a $100, a $200, a $250, a $500, and a $1,000 deductible.

Aside from this, Pets Best offers two basic pet insurance plans. On one hand is their Accident-Only Plan that covers accident-sustained injuries. On the other hand is their Best-Benefit Plan, which encompasses most illnesses, like heart disease, arthritis, cancer, blood pressure issues, hip dysplasia, chronic conditions, diagnostics, emergency surgeries, pet hospitalizations, inflammations, alternative therapy, and more. 

Their pet wellness plans, divided into the Essential-Wellness and Best-Wellness Plan respectively, also cover fees for wellness exams, pet vaccinations, and more. 

Only pre-existing conditions, supplementation, and cosmetic or elective surgeries aren’t covered as part of their insurance plans.

Figo

As a consistent pet insurance provider in Illinois and across the USA, Figo has a way of bringing something new to the table. It is the perfect middle ground between premium and affordable pet insurance plans and comes armed with a designated mobile app and online cloud software – Pet Cloud App. 

Together with this, they also offer three insurance plans, each with varying reimbursement rates and annual caps, tailored to any pet parent’s pocket.

Founded in 2013, Figo is a loyal partner of NAPHIA (North America Pet Health Insurance Association). Moreover, as part of its services, it features the stunning Figo Extra Care Pack, which offers coverage for third-party property damage, vacation cancellations, and more!

Pros

  • 3-day waiting period for accidents
  • Unlimited annual cap option
  • 100% reimbursement rate option
  • Claims are processed within 3 days
  • Figo Pet Cloud 
  • Figo Extra Care Pack

Cons

  • Mandatory annual examinations
  • The deductible amount is conditioned by the pet’s species, breed, gender, and age

Plans & Coverage

Figo features three main pet insurance plans. Their Essential Plan comes with a $5,000 annual benefit limit. Next is their Preferred Plan, with a $10,000 annual benefit limit. Finally, there is Figo’s Unlimited Plan which has an unlimited annual benefit limit. 

All insurance plans cover accident-sustained injuries, broken bones, poisoning, and lacerations, illnesses like diabetes, arthritis, cancer, urinary infections, or heart disease, as well as diagnostics, X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc. 

Some of their available wellness and routine care add-ons also cover vet visits and exam fees, vaccinations, spaying/neutering, and related procedures. At the same time, the Figo Extra Care Pack covers vacation cancellations, boarding fees, advertisements and prizes for lost pets, mortality expenses, and third-party property damage.

Figo doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, experimental, elective, or cosmetic treatments, and breeding/pregnancy expenses. 

The monthly average for dogs is around $55, while that for cats is about $25.

How Much is Pet Insurance in Illinois?

Illinois pet insurance costs are, on average, equivalent to those in other states. As such, they are mainly conditioned by various factors like your budget, the state laws, and regulations, as well as your pet’s species, breed, gender, and age.

Thus, the monthly average for cats can estimate around $23, while that for dogs comes up to $35.

FAQ: Pet Insurance in Illinois

What are some notable Illinois animal laws?

Most pet-binding laws in Illinois are also applicable to other US states. But, there is an Illinois pet law that suggests that if your dog bites anyone, the incident ought to be reported immediately. In this case, the pet in question will be kept under vet supervision for a minimum of 10 days.

What are the best resources for pets in Illinois?

Some of the best locations for pet resources in Illinois include the Best Buddies Pet Pantry, the Animal Welfare League, and the Humane Society of Central Illinois and Southern Illinois.

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Ralph Davidson

Chief Editor of PethealthCareOnline.com