Is pet insurance worth the money?

Written by Hans Seeberg

Last updated: 24 January 2025

Many pet parents wonder if getting a pet plan is the right thing to do. Here’s why we think it is…

Is pet insurance worth the cost?

Yes! Ok, you probably want a more detailed answer here, but we’re all pet parents here at Wag! Insure, and we’ve all been faced with a big vet bill at some stage. Like many other Americans, we just wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay them without pet insurance. In fact, the question all pet parents should ask is…

Can I afford not to insure my pet?

Like humans, pets are unpredictable, and you never know what’s going to happen with them. Unfortunately, just like humans, they also have accidents and get sick. And vet bills are super-expensive.

Sadly, every single day vets have to put dogs and cats to sleep who often need fairly routine operations – because the pet parents were uninsured and couldn’t afford the vet bill. Pet insurance drastically reduces the cost of treatment, meaning this situation is usually avoided. It also means you can immediately say “yes” when your vet wants to treat your pet, rather than have to worry about the cost of the bill. This is why it’s such a great and vital investment for any pet parent.

The absolute best way to think about pet insurance is this – imagine a situation where your pet is seriously ill. You’re distraught because they’re your best friend and you feel helpless because pets can’t tell you what they’re feeling. Your vet wants to do a procedure he believes will help to make your pet better again, BUT it’s going to cost $7,500. How much peace of mind would it give you knowing you can let the vet proceed without you needing to worry about the financial cost? We’ve been there and can categorically tell you that at that moment, protecting your pet’s health with a pet insurance plan is the best thing you can ever do.

Is pet insurance better than saving money?

This is a common question and we get it. If you save a few dollars a month into a special pet savings account and your pet never gets sick, you’ll end up with a pile of cash to spend on something cool, right? Why give your hard-earned money to some insurance company?

The problem is, that’s a huge risk. The chances of your pet never needing medical treatment are slim at best.

A simple X-ray can cost $250, while at the other end of the spectrum cancer treatment regularly exceeds $10,000.

Say you save $50 a month (the average monthly pet insurance premium is around $40) and your pet needs treatment costing $3,000. Even at an interest rate of 5%, it would take you nearly five years to save enough for that bill alone.

So what do you do if your pet swallows something they shouldn’t and needs urgent medical treatment costing $3,000 six months after you began your savings account? You wouldn’t even be able to pay for an X-ray with what you’d saved so far.

The point is, accidents and illnesses can happen anytime, and there’s no way of telling what the future holds. Being protected is being smart.

How much does pet insurance cost?

The average price of pet insurance is around $45 a month for dogs and $25 for cats, but how much your pet insurance costs depends on a number of factors. Your dog’s breed, age and medical history will all have an effect, as will your zip code. Vet bills are more expensive in San Francisco than South Dakota, so it’s likely the premium in California would be a bit higher.

Get a quote and see how much it would be to protect your pet.