Exotic Pet Insurance: What You Need To Know

Updated: Jan 26, 2024

Written by Alex Hawkins

Written by Alex Hawkins Author

Alex Hawkins is an avid writer and researcher specializing in solar, pet insurance and home improvement. When he isn’t surveying homeowners to understand their pain points or speaking with professionals in the industries he covers, Alex can often be found creating videos for his YouTube channel, Analysis with Alex, or attending a heavy metal show.

Edited by Dana Getz

Edited by Dana Getz Editor

Dana Getz is a seasoned editor with nearly a decade of experience writing and editing content. She has a background in journalism and worked as a fact-checker for prestigious magazines such as New York and Chicago. She holds a journalism and marketing degree from Northwestern University and has worked across numerous categories within the home services space.

Reviewed by Angela Beal, DVM

Reviewed by Angela Beal, DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Angela Beal, DVM, loves using her writing to help pet owners provide the best possible care for their furry companions. Angela has worked in private practice and taught veterinary technicians for 15 years. Since 2020, she has worked full-time with Rumpus Writing and Editing, a veterinary-specific writing and editing company. Angela lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, two sons, and their spoiled Chihuahua mix, Yogi.

Pet insurance provides financial protection from expensive veterinary bills and peace of mind that your pet will get care if it’s sick or injured. Unfortunately, many of the best pet insurance companies only cover dogs and cats, and not exotic animals, such as small mammals, birds and reptiles.

We at the Guides Home Team researched the medical care insurance providers for pets and surveyed 1,000 pet parents to find the best providers for exotic pets. Here’s our top recommendation.

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What is Exotic Pet Insurance?

Like cats and dogs, exotic pets require routine veterinary care and treatment for injuries and illnesses. Exotic pet insurance works the same way as a typical pet insurance plan. Plans typically cover costs related to your pet’s accidents and illnesses, such as vet exam fees, lab work and X-rays. Unlike human health insurance, you pay your vet directly at checkout and submit a claim for reimbursement from your provider later.

The term “exotic” refers to a wide range of animals, including small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Below are common exotic pets that may be covered by a pet insurance policy.

Amphibians
Bearded dragons
Birds
Chameleons
Chinchillas
Ferrets
Gerbils
Goats
Guinea pigs
Hamsters
Hedgehogs
Iguanas
Lizards
Mice
Pigs
Rats
Rabbits
Snakes
Sugar gliders
Tortoises
Turtles

What Does Exotic Pet Insurance Cover?

Like pet insurance for cats and dogs, exotic pet insurance policies cover expenses related to injuries and common medical conditions with an optional wellness add-on for preventive care. As with standard pet insurance, preexisting conditions are excluded.

Policy specifics differ by species, but most exotic pet insurance coverage includes:

Accidental injuries
Chronic illnesses
Common illnesses
Hereditary issues
Hospitalization
Lab work
Serious illnesses

How Much Does Exotic Pet Insurance Cost?

Like other pet insurance policies, the monthly premium for an exotic pet insurance plan depends on your pet’s species, age, location and the amount of coverage you select. Generally, the monthly premium ranges from $10 to $100.

Should I Get Exotic Pet Insurance?

Exotic pet insurance helps cover expensive vet bills when your pet gets sick or injured. With exotic pet insurance, you don’t have to worry about out-of-pocket costs for necessary surgery, which could save your pet’s life in an emergency. Though it comes with a monthly premium, there are plenty of cheap pet insurance companies to match your budget.

Currently, only Nationwide Pet Insurance offers coverage for exotic animals. However, many companies offer pet insurance for cats and dogs. We recommend comparing multiple pet insurance companies if you own a dog or cat to ensure you choose a plan that fits your pet’s needs.

Nationwide Pet Insurance

Known for its work in the auto insurance industry, Nationwide offers an Avian and Exotic Pet Plan. This plan doesn’t offer the same options and customization levels as Nationwide’s plans for dogs and cats, but it does cover most types of birds and exotic pets, such as parrots, rabbits, turtles and hedgehogs. The company doesn’t share cost information for the Avian and Exotic Pet Plan on their website, but you can get a free quote from a Nationwide representative by calling 844-397-8937.

Nationwide Exotic Pet Insurance covers 70% of costs with a $250 deductible and $10,000 annual limit for covered illnesses and accidents, including vet exams, hospitalization, medications and more.

Pet Assure

Pet Assure is a veterinary discount plan rather than a pet insurance company and is available to all pets, including exotic pets. Pet Assure members receive a 25% discount on all medical care provided in-office by the veterinary staff, including wellness visits, sick visits, dental cleanings, allergy treatments, cancer care, diabetes management, emergency care, spay and neuter procedures, vaccines, surgical procedures and more.

However, veterinarians must be a Pet Assure participant for members to receive the discount. Members simply enroll their pet and immediately start receiving discounts on all veterinary health procedures. Members do not need to file claims, meet a deductible or wait for reimbursement.

Why Trust Us?

Here’s a breakdown of how we reviewed and rated the best pet insurance companies

Companies Reviewed

1000

Quotes Collected

Rating Factors

Veterinary Professionals

Frequently Asked Questions About Exotic Pet Insurance

Pet insurance for a reptile costs $10 to $100, the average range for any pet insurance plan. Our research shows that reptile insurance falls closer to $10, though.

While you are not legally required to get pet insurance for a rabbit, enrolling your rabbit in a pet insurance policy can provide financial protection and give you additional peace of mind when it comes to veterinary care costs.

Any pets that aren’t cats or dogs are usually classified as exotic. Exotic pets include amphibians, small mammals, birds and reptiles.

Methodology: Our System for Rating Pet Insurance Companies

We review each pet insurance company based on factors most important to pet parents like you. To inform our reviews, we surveyed 1,000 dog and cat owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage. Our process includes in-depth industry research about each provider, such as comparing coverage options, gathering quotes online to determine pricing and reading reviews to assess customer service.

We then score each provider on a 100-point scale and divide the final score by 20 to calculate an overall rating out of 5.0 stars. Here are more details about the factors we consider when reviewing pet insurance providers:

Monthly pricing (25%): To assess pricing, we collect sample quotes for medium-mixed breed and purebred dogs and cats, ranging from four years old to one year old. Providers earn the most points in this category for offering affordable coverage and a multi-pet discount.
Plans (15%): The best pet insurance companies offer a range of plans to give customers the option to choose the coverage that is best for their pet. Companies offering accident and illness plans, accident-only plans, and wellness or preventive care add-ons earn full points in this category. We also look at coverage limits and award the most points for policies with unlimited coverage.
Covered treatments (15%): According to our survey of pet owners, coverage is one of the most important factors when shopping for pet insurance. Companies with a breadth of included treatments and unique coverages receive more points in this category than providers with more standard or general policies.
Customization options (10%): Customizing your pet insurance policy can help lower your cost. Providers that offer more annual limit, deductible and reimbursement rate options earn the highest scores in this category.
Customer care (10%): Respondents to our survey also valued customer service when comparing pet insurance providers. We score each company based on its website accessibility and overall usability, customer service availability, mobile apps, money-back guarantees and veterinarian telehealth options, awarding points to insurers with more customer experience offerings.
Industry reputation (10%): We review up-to-date ratings and accreditation information from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and score companies based on years of industry experience and state availability.
Waiting periods (10%): Companies with shorter accident, illness and orthopedic waiting periods between the time you sign up for coverage and your policy starts score higher in this category.
Eligible age (5%): Some companies do not offer policies for pets over a certain age. For this category, we deduct points from providers that have age limits for covered pets.

We use our rating system to compare each company we review and determine the best pet insurance companies in the industry. To learn more, read our full pet insurance methodology for reviewing and scoring providers.

Alex Hawkins Author

Dana Getz Editor