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Most pet insurance policies protect dogs and cats, but more families are adopting reptiles, birds, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, and other exotic pets and are looking for insurance options to cover their new family members. Exotic pet insurance (which isn’t the easiest to find) covers these animals.
Article Overview
- What Is Exotic Pet Insurance?
- Exotic Pet Insurance Options
- Exotic Pet Insurance vs Dog/Cat Insurance
- How Much Is It?
- What Are Common Claims Filed?
- More Information In The Future
What Is Exotic Pet Insurance & What Does It Cover?
Exotic pet insurance is similar to regular pet insurance in that it covers unexpected visits to the vet that are subject to the insurance plan you choose. These policies can include the loss of your exotic pet due to escape or theft, the death of your pet, illnesses, injuries and more.
Exotic pets require special care that not all standard vets can offer. Your exotic pet may need a vet with specialized knowledge, which may cost more for vet visits and care. Exotic pet insurance gives you the peace of mind that if something terrible happens to your pet, you won’t face a massive vet bill during an already difficult time. Exotic pet insurance lets you make tough decisions without a second thought because your pet is covered.
Which Pet Insurance Companies Are The Best For Covering Exotic Pets?
Not all pet insurance companies offer exotic pet insurance. In fact, only Nationwide offers exotic pet insurance in the U.S. at the moment.
Below is a table of the 13 major pet insurance companies according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association and the types of pet insurance offered by each.
| Rabbits | Birds | Reptiles | Others | Dogs | Cats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group |  | | ||||
| Embrace Pet Insurance | | | ||||
| FIGO Pet Insurance | | | ||||
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation | | | ||||
| Nationwide | | | Chameleons, Geckos, Iguanas, Lizards, Snakes, Tortoises, Turtles | Amphibians, Chinchillas, Ferrets, Gerbils, Goats, Guinea pigs, Hamsters, Hedgehogs, Mice, Opossums, Potbellied pigs, Rats, Sugar gliders | | |
| PetFirst Pet Insurance | | | ||||
| PetHealth Inc. | | | ||||
| Petline Insurance | | | ||||
| PetPartners | | | ||||
| Petplan Pet Insurance | | | ||||
| Pets Best Insurance | | | ||||
| Pets Plus Us | | | ||||
| Trupanion | | |
*Companies:
- Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group includes: ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Hartville Pet Insurance, Pet Insured, PetPremium Pet Health Insurance, Petshealth Care Plan, Premier Pet Insurance
- Embrace Pet Insurance includes: Embrace, USAA, Geico, AllState, Bolt Agency, American Family, American Modern, Nationstar Mortgage, SWBC, Armed Forces, Leasing Desk
- PetHealth Inc. includes: 24PetWatch, Ontario SPCA Pet Insurance Programs, PetCarePrograms, Petango
- Petline Insurance includes: Petsecure Pet Health Insurance, Desjardins, PC Insurance, HBC, CAA, The Personal
- PetPartners includes: PetPartners, AKC Pet Insurance and CFA Pet Insurance
- Pets Best Insurance includes: Pets Best Insurance, Farmers Insurance, Progressive Insurance, BB&T Insurance Services
Exotic Pet Insurance vs Dog/Cat Insurance
All pet insurance plans (including avian, exotic, rabbit, canine and feline pets) from Nationwide have per incident benefit schedules. Most cat and dog insurance from other pet insurance companies reimburse a percentage of eligible vet expenses. Neither plans cover pre-existing conditions (no pet insurance company covers pre-existing conditions).
How Much Does Exotic Pet Insurance Cost?
Nationwide has more than 600,000 pets insured in the United States. Avian and exotic pet insurance plans through Nationwide average $9 per month. However, this price can vary based on your pet and its specific health needs.
What Types Of Claims Are Most Commonly Filed For Exotic Pets?
Exotic pets experience different issues compared to cats and dogs. Avian, exotic and reptile pet parents commonly submit claims for feather issues and skin/shell disorders. In contrast, cat and dog owners commonly file claims for dental disease, skin allergies and ear infections.
The Future Of This Article
With all this said, we recommend looking further into Nationwide if you want avian insurance, guinea pig insurance, parrot insurance, rabbit insurance, reptile insurance or another bird or exotic pet insurance. In the near future, we hope to have more information in this article about Nationwide’s exotic pet insurance offerings to keep you informed about your options.
What exotic pet do you need to insure?
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Hi, I have a rabbit and have searched endlessly for coverage and you are right, the only one is Nationwide. My question is why??? Why, with there being so many calling themselves”pet” insurance do they only cover cats and dogs? I found a website ( 365 Pet insurance)that claims they have exotic pet insurance AND you can add more comprehensive policies for additional coverage such as wellness, etc. I clicked on the “get quote” and it sent me to Nationwide. I asked the guy why the site claims you can get additional insurance and he says you can’t and he has no clue what 365 pet is. A little odd I thought. I don’t understand why, if they offer exotic insurance you can’t add extras to cover more than sick visits. Does anyone know why it is that no one wants to cover anything other than cats and dogs? Maybe you could get an article out that these other insurance companies can answer these questions. The Obvious guess would be not making money off it, but It would be interesting to know and to also see what percentage of people have PETS other than just cats and dogs who could benefit from it. I’m rambling sorry, it’s been A very frustrating process.
Hi Dani, Excellent question. And while I don’t know the answer for sure, my experience in the insurance industry leads me to believe that there are a few reasons more companies don’t offer exotic pet insurance. 1)Since there are fewer “exotic” pets overall, underwriting exotic pet insurance is probably more difficult seeing as how there is less available data on illness rates and treatment costs. Incidentally, this can lead to the insurance product being priced higher than it really needs to be since insurance companies will tend to err on the high side to avoid losing money 2)Insurance companies probably don’t see an enormous opportunity here seeing as how I suspect there are far fewer “exotic” pets in households than there are cats and dogs. Finally 3) adjusting claims on exotic pets is probably also difficult given the lack of data. It’s not hard to find out how much cancer treatment costs for dogs and cats, but finding out that same information for other animals might prove difficult relatively speaking. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you a more definitive answer but I hope this helps. I’ll put your question on my list of things to bring up to the pet insurance companies that we talk with regularly. If I get more information, I’ll report back here. Good luck with your search for insurance. If you do come across a provider other than Nationwide, please do let us know so that we can review their product too. Thanks again.
I have guinea pigs, 7. Does Nationwide provide a discount for multiple pets?
Hi Vivian, I know for dogs it offers a 5% discount for multiple pets, but am unsure about exotic pets. Here it states they give a 5% discount for 2 pets and a 10% discount for 3 or more pets, but they don’t clarify if exotic pets are excluded.
Does Nationwide cover bearded dragons?
Supposedly they do cover certain exotic pets.
Not that I am aware of, but you can always contact the company to double check.
It says on their site they cover lizards
But does insurance cover you if your bird flies away?
Yes, loss of your pet due to escape or theft can be covered.