Exotic Pet Insurance Comparison: Get Coverage for Your Pet Today

How do we keep this site running? This post may contain affiliate links — the cost is the same to you, but we get a referral fee. Compensation does not affect rankings. Thanks!

Most pet insurance policies are issued to protect dogs and cats, but more families are adopting reptiles, birds, rabbits 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. Currently, only one big name company offers pet insurance for rabbits, reptiles, birds and more. Read further to learn what exotic pet insurance is and where you can get it.

What Is Exotic Pet Insurance and 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. Examples of things that may be covered 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 are equipped to 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 were to happen to your pet, you wouldn’t be faced with 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 (read our in-depth review) offers exotic pet insurance at the moment. Below is a table of the 12 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
Embrace
Hartville
Healthy Paws
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
Pethealth Inc (including 24PetWatch)
PetPartners
Petplan
Pets Best
Pets Plus Us
Trupanion
Western Financial Insurance Company

Exotic Pet Insurance vs Dog/Cat Insurance

Avian and exotic pet insurance plans from Nationwide have per incident benefit schedules as opposed to cat and dog insurance, which reimburses a percentage of eligible vet expenses. Neither plans cover pre-existing conditions (pre-existing conditions are not covered by any pet insurance provider).

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 pets commonly submit claims for feather issues and skin/shell disorders. Opposed to cats and dogs who 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 and more. 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. We also plan on doing a more in-depth article on rabbit pet insurance, so keep your eyes out for that.

What exotic pet do you need to insure?