Things to Consider Before Choosing Pet Insurance in North Carolina
- 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
North Carolina, also called the Tar Heel State, is a pet-friendly location with fantastic beaches, stunning outdoor landscape, and beautiful weather. However, as enjoyable as spending time outdoors with your pets is, there’s always the risk of your pet getting injured. Your pet may still be young and in perfect health condition. However, the chances of it having an accident or developing an illness can happen suddenly, which would, later on, cost you a lot in vet expenses.
Pet insurance NC is very popular, and people purchase it to avoid financial hardships that can suddenly show up, guaranteeing that their furry friends will get the best care. North Carolina pet insurance plans vary according to the pet’s age, breed as well as the pet’s current conditions. To save you precious time, we did comprehensive research, and here is the best pet insurance North Carolina has to offer.
Lemonade
Lemonade is a prominent company that comes with a wide variety of pet insurance plans, competitive pricing, and an ideal user-friendly platform. Even though it provides coverage only for dogs and cats and not for exotic pets, pet parents love this brand as it is an all-in-one package.
Namely, Lemonade offers coverage for pets, cars, homes, as well as life insurance. That is a huge plus, and instead of insuring your properties and pets with multiple companies, you can have the whole package with one company.
Pros:
- Fully online experience
- Extra preventative care for puppies and kittens
- Provides coverage for exam fees and physical therapy
- 5% discount for multiple pets
Cons:
- 6 months waiting period for cruciate ligament events
Plans & Coverage
Lemonade offers pet insurance plans that cover several treatments, including diagnostic testing, medications, emergency care, and more. The best part is that Lemonade provides preventative packages which cover routine vet care, such as vaccines, wellness exams, heartworm tests, and more.
Similar to the majority of North Carolina pet insurance companies, Lemonade doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, as well as behavioral treatments, cosmetic procedures, or dental care. The average pet insurance NC cost of Lemonade plans starts at a price as low as $10 per month, but it can increase according to your pet’s health, age, breed, location, and more.
Spot Pet Insurance
Spot pet insurance is among the best pet insurance in NC providers that truly shine when it comes to pet wellness plans. While most of its rivals don’t even provide a wellness plan, Spot proudly offers different options and wide-ranging coverage with its exclusive wellness plans.
Pros:
- Numerous wellness plan variants
- Cover behavioral issues
- 30-day money-return guarantee
- No age restrictions
Cons:
- No coverage for exotic animals
- No prescription pet food coverage
Plans & Coverage
The glowing wellness plans of Spot are perfectly designed and cover all that you need for your funny friend, from routine vet appointments to exam fees, vaccinations, spaying/neutering, and regular teeth cleanings, among others. Spot’s accident and illness insurance plans for pets are comprehensive and offer coverage for hereditary conditions, behavioral issues, and emergency care, to name some.
The accidents only plans start at $10, and accident and illness plans start at $16. They also vary according to your pet breed, but Spot’s wellness plans are unique and come in two tiers: the gold tier and the platinum tier.
Embrace
Embrace is a successful pet insurance company that provides some of the most extensive and comprehensive coverage for cats and dogs. To be more precise, Embrace’s plans include coverage for dental issues, hip dysplasia, cancer, and a vast array of other health conditions that other North Carolina pet insurance providers don’t cover.
Pros:
- Easy to use mobile app
- With every policy sold, Embrace donates $2 to charity
- Healthy Pet Deductible that reduces your bill in the long run
- Comprehensive coverage
Cons:
- Annual maximums
- Severe pre-existing conditions policy
Plans & Coverage
This company trusts its clients, and even though it doesn’t cover pets’ pre-existing conditions, if you can prove that the pre-existing condition of your pet is healed and your pet hasn’t had symptoms for at least 12 months, Embrace won’t consider that condition as pre-existing. So, you can get coverage for some exceptionally rare pre-existing conditions.
What’s worth noting is that Embrace comes with a healthy pet deductible that reduces your deductible by up to $50 per year, which can save you money over time. Most Embrace plans depend on your pet’s age, breed, location, and more. So, if you are searching for extra peace of mind, then Embrace is a perfect choice for you.
Fetch by Dodo
Fetch is a pet insurance provider that is popular for providing only one insurance coverage plan for pets that includes all costs linked to possible accidents and illnesses. This provider covers veterinary bills for specialist treatment, cancer treatment, surgery, prescription medications, rehabilitation, chronic conditions, hereditary conditions, and more.
Pros:
- Offers up to a whopping $1,000 for your pet’s behavioral treatments
- Guarantees up to $1,000 for pet’s virtual veterinary visits
- Its regular policy covers pet’s exam fees
Cons:
- Higher pet insurance prices for senior pets
- No preventative care add-ons
Plans & Coverage
While Fetch by Dodo’s plans are excellent, like most providers, they don’t cover pet’s elective procedures, pre-existing conditions, and problems associated with pregnancy and breeding. A pregnancy that has occurred before the 15-day waiting period is also not covered by their policy.
Fetch includes some additional compensations that come with the accident and illness pet insurance plans, such as a maximum sum of $1,000 for a lost pet that covers reward money and advertising. Additionally, it covers boarding fees in case you need to stay in a hospital for over 4 days and can’t take proper care of your pet, as well as vacation cancellation bills if your dog or cat’s behaviors require that.
Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws is among the best pet insurance North Carolina has to offer. It is a less expensive pet insurance variant that offers many perks for pet parents, like no lifetime limits and quick claims processing. You will get reimbursed within 24 hours from the moment you claim the processing via the mobile app Healthy Paws provides for its customers.
Pros:
- Cheap pet insurance North Carolina option
- Healthy Paws donates to more than 300 nonprofit pet charities
- Comes with a mobile app for easy submission and processing
- Bottomless lifetime benefits
Cons:
- Doesn’t provide a wellness plan or preventative care options
- Doesn’t provide a multi-pet discount
Plans & Coverage
What’s characteristic of Healthy Paws is its highly affordable policies don’t cover exam and office visit fees, hip dysplasia, as well as pre-existing conditions during the first year of coverage, but the company pays unlimited expenses for accidents and illnesses.
Moreover, Health Paws is generous and has donated money to more than 300 charitable pet organizations so far. Although Healthy Paws doesn’t provide multiple pet discounts or wellness plans, it has a fabulous price of $39 a month for puppies and $12 a month for kittens.
Prudent Pet
Prudent Pet is an outstanding provider that offers multiple pet insurance plan options. This pet insurance company offers complete accident and illness coverage and also provides a wellness plan for your pets. Prudent Pet has one of the most attractive wellness plan options as it covers the bills of routine vet care costs, including vaccinations, veterinary exam fees, and blood work fees.
Pros:
- Infinite annual benefit plan available
- Solid preventive care options
- 24/7 vet chat available
- Offers Wellness plan
Cons:
- No mobile app
- Plans don’t come with adjustable options for annual coverage
Plans & Coverage
Its most popular plan, known as the Ultimate plan, comes with unlimited annual coverage, which means that you don’t have to worry about reaching the maximum if your furry friend needs extensive treatments.
When it comes to the price, Prudent Pet is pretty affordable, and its plans start from $23 for cats and $39 for dogs. On top of it, Prudent Pet has a specially designed pet accident-only insurance plan that is pretty cheap as well as a 10% discount if you insure multiple pets.
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
ASPCA or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals provides comprehensive insurance for pets while also donating a percentage of their premiums to animal welfare. What’s impressive about the ASPCA is that it provides various personalized deductibles, annual limits, reimbursement rates, and different pet insurance plan options.
Moreover, ASPCA comes armed with a member center application that allows its customers to submit their claims quickly, track their claims, analyze their benefits, pay their bills, and contact ASPCA. ASPCA also offers a multi-pet discount as well as a 30-day money-return guarantee.
Pros:
- Provides microchipping coverage
- Donates a percentage of their premium to animal welfare
- Lower deductibles
- Multi-pet discount and 30-day money return guarantee
Cons:
- Low annual coverage limits of up to $10,000
Plans & Coverage
Similar to other companies, the ASPCA offers pet insurance for cats and dogs only, and it doesn’t cover breeding costs, cosmetic procedures, and pre-existing conditions. Still, this company provides a similar policy for pre-existing conditions to the one that Embrace offers. It means that if you can prove that your pet hasn’t got any symptoms from its curable pre-existing condition in the last 180 days, then ASPCA will include it in the policy as it isn’t considered a pre-existing condition.
ASPCA doesn’t require any exams for the pets before enrollment, which is an enormous plus for this provider. It saves precious pet parents’ time, and on top of it, ASPCA provides plans that are quite competitive, but they depend on your pet’s age, breed, and location, of course.
Figo
Figo is a pet insurance provider that comes with a 100% reimbursement option and gives pet parents a chance to lower their copayment to 0%. Its customers are amazed that they only need to wait for up to 14 days in case of illnesses and 1-3 days for injuries, among the other advantages.
Pros:
- Free 24/7 vet helpline
- Low deductible options
- Up to 100% reimbursement
- 14-day waiting period for illnesses and only 3 days for injuries
Cons:
- Doesn’t cover preventative care or hereditary conditions for older pets
Plans & Coverage
Figo is perfect pet insurance for many pet owners as its accident and illness plan covers emergency care, cost of diagnostic tests, cancer treatments, prescription medication, hospitalization, and more. Figo pet insurance is always here to help in conditions such as hip dysplasia, chronic issues, and injuries, but it doesn’t cover pre-existing issues.
A huge plus for Figo is the fact that it offers 2 wellness plans: basic and plus, which can help in paying for various routine treatments such as bloodwork, vaccinations, and heartworm prevention.
How Much Is Pet Insurance in North Carolina?
North Carolina pet parents are lucky as this country is rich in pet insurance companies they can pick from. Pet insurance cost depend on a pet’s breed, age, zip code, and medical history, so you must pay attention to that before you choose a provider.
Another important thing you need to pay attention to is the type of pet insurance plan you select. It can significantly impact your monthly and annual costs, especially if you go with all-inclusive plans or if you decide to add a wellness plan to your regular pet insurance plan.
North Carolina pet insurance NC for dogs costs between $15 and $50 a month and between $10 and $40 a month for cats.
FAQ: Pet Insurance in North Carolina
Is North Carolina pet insurance worth it?
Yes. North Carolina pet insurance is truly worth it as it will help you pay for your pet’s vet bills and offer excellent care for your pets.
Does pet insurance NC cover your pet’s medications?
Yes. Pet insurance NC covers most medications that your fur friends need to treat their covered illnesses and accidents, as long as those medications are prescribed by a licensed vet and are approved by the FDA.
Do most vets that work in North Carolina accept pet insurance NC?
Yes. Even though there isn’t a specified platform with vets that accept particular pet insurance companies, you may take your dog or cat to any licensed vet located in North Carolina. They will all help your pet and claim a refund on the expenses with your particular pet insurance company.
