Five Ways to Lower Your Pet Insurance Premiums

Pet insurance can be a huge money saver: most pet insurance providers cover up to 90% or more of a customer’s veterinary bills. When your furry family member gets sick or injured and your coverage saves you hundreds of dollars at the vet, it’s easy to see the value of your coverage.

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The opposite is also true: when your pet is insured, happy, and healthy, your insurance might feel like it’s not being put to use. With some pet insurance providers charging up to $85 a month for coverage, those monthly premium payments can start to feel less like a boon and more like a burden.

At FindInsurance.com, we believe your pet insurance coverage should be a source of comfort. To help you keep your monthly premium payments low, we’ve listed five scenarios and tips you might want to take advantage of.

To see how you can save, read on:

1) Stockpile Quotes

Get as many quotes as you can from relevant pet insurance providers. This is, hands down, the most effective way to save.

Start your quote-gathering journey by checking out our list of top-rated pet insurance providers. Every provider on our list is customer-reviewed and legitimate, meaning you can’t go wrong when choosing any of our providers.

Once on our list, click out to the homepages of providers that pique your interest. No need to hem and haw: as most quotes are free and instantaneous, you should request a quote from any provider that catches your eye.

Now for the fun part: compare the most important stats. Line up each provider side-by-side and contrast each providers’ monthly premiums, coverage details, reimbursement percentages, perks, and other key features.

After crunching the numbers, apply for the provider that suits you and your pet the best!

2) Maximize Offers and Promotions

To lure in choosy customers, pet insurance providers like to dangle discounts and promotions. As many of these discounts accumulate (or “stack”), you should try and gather as many deals as possible.

Excepting flash sales and other random promotions, most pet insurance providers offer year-round discounts based on customer characteristics and behavior. These are a few common examples:

• • Zero Claims: Customers can snag a discount if they refrain from filing a claim within a set amount of time—usually a year—since their coverage began.
  • Multiple Pets: Providers will often discount a customer’s premium payments if they cover multiple pets at once.
  • Loyalty: Pet insurance providers love repeat buyers. To get you to stay, your provider may offer a discount for renewing your coverage after your first contract has ended.
  • Bundle with Other Insurance: Some pet insurance providers offer additional insurance products: life, home, auto, etc. Customers can take advantage of discounted pricing when they bundle pet insurance with another insurance product.

3) Only Pay for What You Need

You can save on premium costs by shaving your coverage down to the essentials.

Pet insurance providers offer varying degrees of coverage customization. While some providers will only offer “take it or leave it” protection packages, others allow customers to add or subtract coverage inclusions and other features to build a unique package. If your overall goal is to save, try cutting your coverage down to the basics.

These are the kinds of features you may be able to customize:

• • Coverage Inclusions: Some providers allow you to opt out of typical coverage inclusions such as sickness-related expenses, medications, or preventative care. The lowest coverage option is typically “accident-only,” in which your provider will solely pay for veterinary expenses related to physical injuries.
  • Deductible: You may be able to raise your deductible in exchange for lower premium payments.
  • Reimbursement Percentage: The reimbursement percentage is the percent a provider will cover a customer’s veterinary bill (as long as the bill meets coverage requirements). Pet insurance providers follow a simple rule: the higher the reimbursement percentage, the higher the monthly premium. To really save on premiums, consider lowering your reimbursement percentage.

4) Be a Cat Person

In the ongoing debate between dog people versus cat people, the cat people have a slight advantage when it comes to expenses.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), owning a cat costs an average of $300–$800 less per year than owning a dog. Canines love to ring up a bill: dogs eat more food than cats, dogs require more expensive toys than cats, and dogs require more expensive healthcare than cats.

Pet insurance follows this same trend; cats just have it cheaper. If you still haven’t decided on a furry friend, avoid paying higher premiums by becoming a cat person.

5) Protect Your Pet Early

As dogs and cats age, they’re more likely to become ill or injured. Because of this eventuality, underwriters charge higher premiums for older pets.

Try to insure your pet from as early an age as possible. Many pet insurance providers will offer coverage for puppies and kittens, so there’s no such thing as too early.

If your pet is already a bit on the older side, it’s still not too late—insuring your pet today will be cheaper than insuring your pet six months from now. If you’re on the fence about insuring your pet, consider starting today.

Finding Affordable Pet Insurance

Now that you know five ways to save on pet insurance, it’s time to put your premium-pinching skills to the test. To sign up for affordable pet insurance coverage, start by browsing from our list of vetted providers:

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