5,534 pet owners requested and received a free no-obligation quote from one of the above companies in the last 30 days.
Pet Insurance for Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Care
Due to its unpredictable nature, emergency veterinary care may crop up at any time. Having a sick or injured pet is stressful, and wondering how or if you can pay for care only makes the situation worse.
“Having pet insurance allows owners to focus more on their pet’s health and wellbeing and helps prevent painful decisions based on financial constraints,” Jenny Alonge, a veterinarian in Virginia, said. “The investment can save your pet’s life as well as your pocketbook if an emergency happens.”
Affordable pet insurance that covers emergency care can alleviate the monetary burden placed on pet parents when unexpected veterinary needs arise. Some plans can even pay your vet directly, eliminating the need to pay bills upfront and wait for reimbursement.
However, pet insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions or health issues your pet had before you purchased a policy. You can generally use pet insurance if your pet has an emergency or needs to see a specialist for a new condition. Once you have a policy in place and the waiting period has passed, your plan will reimburse you for many types of unexpected expenses up to your allowed annual coverage limit. In an emergency, pet owners with insurance can save thousands of dollars.
Compare the Best Pet Insurance Companies for Emergencies
Use the table below to compare emergency pet insurance companies:
| Company | Monthly Cost | Star Rating | Accident Waiting Period | BBB Rating | Visit Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15-$30 | 2 days* | B- | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| $34-$75 | 14 days | A- | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| $39-$73 | 48 hours | A+ | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| $45-$90 | 15 days | A+ | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| $18-$44 | 14 days | N/R | EXPLORE PLANS |
| Company | BBB Rating | Monthly Cost | Star Rating | Accident Waiting Period | Visit Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B- | $15-$30 | 2 days* | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| A- | $34-$75 | 14 days | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| A+ | $39-$73 | 48 hours | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| A+ | $45-$90 | 15 days | EXPLORE PLANS | ||
| N/R | $18-$44 | 14 days | EXPLORE PLANS |
*Lemonade may offer shorter waiting periods depending on where you live.
What Kind of Specialty Veterinary Care is Covered by Pet Insurance?
The first veterinary specialties emerged in the 1950s and the number of disciplines has since multiplied. Now, pet owners can access over 16,000 board-certified veterinarians across 46 different specialties to provide care beyond what is offered by a standard veterinary practice.
Here are the most common specialties available to cats and dogs:
- Behavior
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Critical care
- Internal medicine
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Surgery (advanced orthopedic and soft tissue surgery)
- Rehabilitation
- Radiology
Most Common Pet Emergencies
Pets can face emergency conditions at any time, and ranging in severity from slightly urgent to immediately life-threatening. Below are examples of common pet emergencies and associated costs.
| Condition | Symptoms | Treatment | Cost To Treat* |
| Intestinal foreign body obstruction | Vomiting and abdominal pain | Surgery | $1,500–$5,000 |
| Bloat | Unproductive retching and a bloated appearance | Surgery | $1,500–$5,000 |
| Pyometra | Lethargy, vomiting and vaginal discharge | Hospitalization and/or surgery | $2,100–$8,500 |
| Male feline urethral obstruction | Vocalizing and repeated trips to the litter box | Urinary catheterization and/or hospitalization | $1,600–$4,500 |
| Eye injury | Squinting, redness and pain | Medications or surgery | $800–$5,000 |
| Respiratory distress | Difficulty breathing and pale or blue gum coloring | Oxygen therapy, medications and/or hospitalization | $500–$3,000 |
| Seizures | Sudden loss of consciousness, paddling and vocalizing | Varies depending on the cause | $200+ |
| Trauma | If a pet falls, is hit by a car or experiences another accident | Supportive care, pain control, wound care and/or surgery | $900–$7,500 |
*Treatment cost figures sourced from CareCredit.
Costs to treat common emergencies vary by where you seek care. Primary veterinarians can handle many emergencies that occur during regular business hours, and treatment may cost less than visiting a 24/7 emergency facility. Despite the higher cost, a serious emergency is often best handled by a specialized emergency clinic staffed with emergency veterinarians and highly skilled support staff.
How Emergency Pet Insurance Helps Pet Owners
Pet insurance can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars if your pet experiences a medical emergency. Consider the following examples.
Gastric Dilatation Volvulus
Your German shepherd begins violently retching as if she is trying to vomit, but can’t bring anything up, and her abdomen appears hard and distended. Your primary veterinarian is open, so you take your dog right away. The veterinarian takes X-rays and discovers your dog’s stomach is filled with air and twisted, necessitating emergency surgery. After surgery, she stays in the hospital overnight.
Your total bill for the emergency visit, X-rays, blood work, surgery and hospitalization costs $2,500. Let’s say you have pet insurance that covers emergencies, with a $500 deductible, 80% reimbursement rate and unlimited annual coverage. Your insurance doesn’t cover the exam fee, which is $150. After submitting your claim, your insurance company reimburses you approximately $1,480.
Urinary Tract Obstruction
On a Saturday, your male cat begins yowling and frequently visits the litter box, seemingly straining to urinate. Because your veterinary clinic is closed on weekends, you take him to the nearest emergency veterinary hospital. The vet can feel that your cat’s bladder is large and confirms with X-rays and blood work that his urethra is obstructed. He was admitted to the hospital, started on intravenous (IV) fluids and sedated for urinary catheterization. He stays in the hospital’s ICU for two more days to monitor kidney function and urine output and is started on a prescription diet before the veterinarians remove the catheter and send him home.
The cost for the visit, procedure, hospitalization and prescription food totals $2,800. You have pet insurance that covers emergencies and exam fees, with a $250 deductible, a 70% reimbursement rate and a $10,000 annual limit. You already filed a $500 claim earlier this year and met your deductible. For this new claim, your insurance company reimburses you approximately $1,960.
Pet Emergencies Not Covered by Insurance
Pet insurance covers most types of pet emergencies. However, specific situations can cause an insurer to exclude certain emergencies from coverage. For example, if you have accident-only coverage, insurers will also exclude emergencies caused by illnesses.
Another factor to consider is pre-existing conditions or health issues that began before you applied for your pet’s policy or during the waiting period. If you have a full-coverage accident and illness plan, your provider can exclude an emergency if caused by or related to a pre-existing condition.
For example, say a dog with diabetes develops diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by uncontrolled blood sugar. If the diabetes was pre-existing or the pet owner has an accident-only plan, the insurer would not cover any related emergency visits.
Some pet insurance plans may have additional exclusions listed in a policy’s fine print. Examples of common exclusions include:
- Injuries related to abuse, neglect or ignoring veterinary recommendations
- Vaccine-preventable illnesses
- Repeated foreign body ingestions
- Illness or injury related to breeding, pregnancy or birth
- Illness or injury caused by nuclear war
Top 5 Emergency Pet Insurance Companies of 2024
- Lemonade: Our Top Pick
- Spot: Most Customizable Coverage
- Embrace: Our Pick for Savings
- Fetch: Our Pick for Comprehensive Coverage
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance: Our Pick for Older Pets
Lemonade
Cheapest plans for dogs
Spot Pet Insurance
Most Customizable Coverage
Embrace
Our Pick for Savings
Fetch Pet Insurance
Our Pick for Comprehensive Coverage
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
Our Pick for Older pets
How Much Does Emergency Pet Insurance Cost?
According to the MarketWatch Guides team’s research, which included state-by-state quote collection, the average cost of an accident and illness pet insurance plan is $66 per month for dogs and $32 for cats.
Because accident and illness pet insurance includes coverage for emergencies and associated treatments, there is typically no difference in cost for emergency versus non-emergency coverage. The price you pay for full accident-and-illness coverage depends on a few factors.
- Age: As your pet ages, it is more likely to experience health problems and require vet care. This presents a greater risk for pet health insurance companies, and your premium may increase accordingly.
- Breed: Your dog or cat could cost more or less to insure based on its breed. For example, French bulldogs are predisposed to respiratory problems, making them one of the pricier breeds to cover.
- Location: State regulations and the local average cost of vet care also play into pet insurance premiums. If the cost of living is high in your area, expect to pay more than average for pet insurance.
Is Pet Insurance for Emergencies Worth It?
An emergency involving your beloved pet can be a frightful and frantic experience. The last thing you want to worry about is whether you can afford potentially life-saving care. But having the right pet insurance policy can make all the difference if your pet ever suffers from an emergency.
Dr. Richard Pytak, a veterinary ophthalmology resident in Las Vegas, Nev., sees pet insurance as a useful tool for pets in crisis.
“When a pet has a serious condition or injury, it can quickly become an emergency,” said Dr. Pytak. Surgery or hospitalization is often necessary but typically costs several thousand dollars that the pet owners were not prepared to pay. Pet owners with insurance can make decisions quickly and confidently when minutes matter and don’t have to choose between their pet’s health or life and paying their bills that month.”
When shopping for pet insurance, look for important features like if a provider covers hospital stays, pet ambulance rides, specialist or urgent care and offers a 24/7 vet hotline. A high reimbursement rate and coverage limit can also help absorb the substantial cost of emergency vet care. We recommend getting quotes from at least three providers on this list before choosing the pet insurer that best fits your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Emergency Pet Insurance
Unfortunately, there are almost no pet insurance plans that you can use immediately after purchase. As an industry standard, there are waiting periods before you can access coverage for accidents and illnesses. Waiting period lengths vary, and companies may have extended waiting periods for specific conditions, like hip dysplasia. However, some companies may offer ways to waive waiting periods for qualified pets.
Yes, you can enroll a pet that is already sick in pet insurance. However, your pet’s illness will be considered a pre-existing condition and, therefore an exclusion on your policy. Pet insurers will not reimburse charges for veterinary care related to pre-existing conditions.
Many of the pet insurance providers on this list offer coverage for unexpected accidents under accident-only or accident-and-illness plans. We recommend getting quotes from at least three providers before enrolling your pet in coverage.
Pet insurance covers you for unexpected vet bills due to eligible injuries, illnesses, accidents and conditions. Pet emergency funds, on the other hand, specifically cover your pet for emergencies as determined by the fund’s provider. Only specific types of companies offer pet emergency funds, such as Pawp.
