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Many pet parents don’t realize that pet insurance differs from human health insurance in that most veterinary pet insurance plans don’t cover routine wellness visits and other preventative services. Instead, pet insurance is designed to help you manage your budget for unplanned emergencies or illnesses that could break the bank. If you’re looking for a plan to cover routine pet visits, you still have options to cover pet wellness visits.
Article Overview
- Wellness Plans vs Pet Insurance
- How Do Wellness Plans Work?
- Should You Get A Wellness Plan, Pet Insurance Or Both?
- How A Wellness Plan Can Help Your Finances
- Pet Insurance Companies With Wellness Add-Ons
- Wellness Only Plan
Pet Wellness Plans vs Pet Insurance: What’s The Difference?
Pet insurance plans typically cover accident and illness services but not routine wellness veterinary visits and other services. Here’s a general list of what pet wellness plans vs pet insurance offers. (Please know that wellness and pet insurance plans vary in what they cover based on company and coverage selected. Therefore, some policies may not cover what’s listed below — read the policy carefully before signing up.)
| Wellness Plan Coverage | Pet Insurance Coverage |
|---|---|
| Annual exams | Accidents |
| Spay/neuter | Illnesses |
| Routine blood panels | Emergency care |
| Heartworm testing | Hereditary and congenital conditions |
| Fecal testing | Orthopedic conditions |
| Urinalyses | Prescription medications |
| Routine vaccinations (rabies, DHLP, bordetella, parvo, lyme, giardia) | X-Rays, MRIs, Cat Scans, Ultrasounds, etc. |
| Teeth cleanings | Therapy |
| Flea, tick and heartworm treatments | Surgery |
| Microchip | Hospitilization |
Click Here To Learn More About Pet Insurance
How Do Wellness Plans Work?
In most cases, you must sign up for pet insurance, and the insurance company’s dog wellness plan is offered as an optional add-on. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies offer this add-on option. We hope to see more companies offering wellness plans in the future in addition to offering them as stand-alone plans.
Pet Insurance Companies That Offer Wellness Add-Ons
Note: We first review one of our top-ranked pet insurance companies (Pets Best) and then list other companies alphabetically.
Pets Best Routine Care Coverage
We want to point out the benefits and features of this plan first as a wellness add-on to an excellent pet insurance product, since Pets Best is one of our top-ranked pet insurance companies.
Pets Best has 2 choices for typical add-on wellness or routine care plans, EssentialWellness and BestWellness. These wellness plans are add-ons to the health insurance product and cover many different services and treatments. However, there’s a per-item limit (unlike Embrace, which has an annual cap for all services).
You can only add the wellness plan within 30 days of enrolling in its pet veterinary insurance program or at its annual renewal. With Pets Best, you pay $14-30 per month (price depends on which plan you choose and the state you live in), but it’s based on a per item basis (i.e., annual exam is covered for $50, heartworm prevention is $30, etc.).
Pets Best has no deductible, and coverage begins the day after you enroll. Below are the specifics for Pets Best’s Routine Care plans.
| EssentialWellness | BestWellness | |
|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $16 ($14 in Washington) | $26 ($30 in Washington) |
| Spay/Neuter - Teeth Cleaning | $0 | $150 |
| Rabies | $15 | $15 |
| Flea/Tick Prevention | $50 | $65 |
| Heartworm Prevention | $30 | $30 |
| Vaccination/Titer | $30 | $40 |
| Wellness Exam | $50 | $50 |
| Heartworm Test of FELV Screen | $25 | $30 |
| Blood, Fecal, Parasite Exam | $50 | $70 |
| Microchip | $20 | $40 |
| Urinalysis or ERD | $15 | $25 |
| Deworming | $20 | $20 |
| Total Annual Benefits | $305 | $535 |
Read More About Pets Best In Our In-Depth Review
24PetWatch Wellness Coverage
24PetWatch offers 2 wellness plans: Wellness Care Routine and Wellness Care Advanced.
Both plans have limits on what 24PetWatch will cover per item. Plans start at $10 per month for Wellness Care Routine and $25 per month for Wellness Care Advanced. There is no deductible or co-pay. Below are the details for 24PetWatch wellness plans.
| Wellness Care Routine | Wellness Care Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Dental cleaning | N/A | $100 |
| Fecal screen | $15 | $15 |
| Heartworm/flea prevention | N/A | $55 |
| Heartworm test or FELV screen | $15 | $15 |
| Microchip procedure and/or urinalysis | $20 | $20 |
| Spay/neuter procedure and/or wellness blood test | $80 | $100 |
| Wellness exam | $40 | $50 |
| Canine bordetella vaccine/titer or feline FELV vaccine/titer | N/A | $15 |
| Canine DHLPP vaccine/titer or feline FVRCP vaccine/titer | $15 | $15 |
| Rabies vaccine/titer and/or Lyme vaccine/titer, or FIP vaccine/titer | $15 | $15 |
Read More About 24PetWatch In Our In-Depth Review
AKC Wellness Coverage
AKC has 2 plans to choose from, Defender and DefenderPlus.
AKC reimburses a set dollar amount per year toward items. There are no waiting periods or deductibles.
| Defender | DefenderPlus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $17 | $29 |
| Rabies | $15 | $15 |
| Flea/Tick Prevention | $50 | $65 |
| Heartworm Prevention | $30 | $30 |
| Vaccination/Titer | $30 | $40 |
| Wellness Exam | $50 | $50 |
| Heartworm Test of FELV Screen | $25 | $30 |
| Blood, Fecal, Parasite Exam | $50 | $70 |
| Microchip | $20 | $40 |
| Urinalysis or ERD | $15 | $25 |
| Deworming | $20 | $20 |
| Spay/Neuter - Teeth Cleaning | $0 | $150 |
| Total Annual Benefits | $305 | $535 |
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance/Hartville
Similar to other companies in this space, ASPCA offers 2 optional preventative plans: Basic and Prime. The same product is also offered under the Hartville brand name.
There is no waiting period or deductible for these plans.
| Basic Preventative Care | Prime Preventative Care | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $9.95 | $24.95 |
| Dental cleaning | $100 | $175 |
| Wellness exam | $50 | $50 |
| Deworming | $20 | $25 |
| Health Certificate | $0 | $25 |
| Fleas/heartworm prevention | $0 | $50 |
| DHLPP vaccine/titer | $20 | $25 |
| Rabies or lyme vaccine/titer | $20 | $25 |
| Bordatella vaccine/titer | $0 | $25 |
| Fecal test | $20 | $25 |
| Heartworm test | $20 | $25 |
| Blood test | $0 | $25 |
| Urinalysis | $0 | $25 |
| Total Annual Benefits | $250 | $500 |
Read More About ASPCA/Hartville In Our In-Depth Review
Embrace Pet Insurance Wellness Rewards
Embrace offers one of the most flexible wellness plans that you can add on to any pet health insurance policy. You pay a monthly fee on top of your insurance — $18.75 per month covers up to $250 annual wellness expenses, $35.42 per month for a $450 annual cap and $52.09 per month for $650 annual expenses.
Coverage begins the day you sign up, and there is no deductible. It covers many treatments and services including: wellness exams, vaccinations, flea, tick & heartworm meds, spay/neuter surgery, fecal & routine blood tests, microchipping, grooming, medicated shampoos, nail trimming, anal gland expression, pet activity monitors, cremation or burial, training classes, routine chiropractic care, massage therapy, acupuncture, teeth cleaning, prescription diet food and more.
Read More About Embrace In Our In-Depth Review
Nationwide Wellness Coverage Plans
Nationwide offers two wellness plans, Wellness Plus and Wellness Basic. Wellness plans are not available in all states, and premiums are determined on the species of the pet, plan type and state of residence.
Nationwide lets you enroll in wellness coverage without purchasing a pet insurance plan first. All you have to do is call them at 800-872-7387.
| Wellness Plus | Wellness Basic | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $17-$22 | $12-$18 |
| Maximum annual benefit | $500 | $400 |
| Physical exam: 2 per policy term | $60 ($30 max per exam) | $50 ($25 max per exam) |
| Behavioral exam and/or treatment | $30 | $30 |
| Vaccination or titer | $75 | $50 |
| Heartworm or FeLV/FIV test | $35 | $30 |
| Fecal test | $25 | $15 |
| Deworming | $25 | $25 |
| Nail trim | $20 | $20 |
| Microchip | $40 | $40 |
| Health certificate | $40 | $40 |
| Flea control or heartworm prevention | $75 | $50 |
| One additional test: health screen (blood test), radiograph (X-rays) or electrocardiogram (EKG) | $75 (one test per policy term) | $50 (one test per policy term) |
Read More About Nationwide In Our In-Depth Review
Wellness Only Plan
There is only one major national company that offers wellness as a standalone product today and it is Banfield.
Banfield Wellness Plan
Banfield stands apart from other veterinary wellness plans in that you don’t have to purchase health insurance to get a wellness policy. This should make this option cheaper than the competition, HOWEVER, it will not cover illnesses, accidents or chronic conditions. Banfield only covers routine care. With Banfield, you’re required to visit a Banfield Pet Hospital, which you can find at your local PetSmart store — there are nearly 1,000 across the country.
Its plans offer preventive care, including bi-annual wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleaning, parasite control, nutrition and behavioral services. It charges a one-time sign-up fee, with monthly payments starting at $21.95 for cats and $29.95 for dogs. Prices vary by age, species, location and other factors, and it offers wellness plans for puppies, adult dogs and other pets.
Read More About Banfield Wellness Plan In Our In-Depth Review
Should You Consider A Wellness Plan, Pet Health Insurance Or Both?
Check out the following news coverage by a CBS affiliate in California that explores pet wellness plans and pet insurance.
How Can A Pet Wellness Plan Help Your Finances?
Even if your dog is healthy, preventative and routine care can add up quickly. Just consider how much you can save with a puppy wellness plan covering spay/neuter, vaccinations, heartworm prevention and more. Considering the affordable monthly costs of pet wellness plans, it makes sense if you want to raise a healthy dog without breaking the bank.
What experiences have you had with pet wellness plans?
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However, if your dog doesn’t have any pre-existing conditions, I’d probably consider switching to Pets Best for pet insurance and a wellness plan. Pets Best is among our top picks for pet insurance and is consistently one of the least expensive when we run quotes. In regards to wellness benefits, the BestWellness plan is $26/month ($30 in Washington), and it will cover $150 for spaying, $50 for the wellness exam, $40 for vaccinations and more. However, it does not cover grooming or anal gland expression.
Another option to consider is Embrace. Embrace isn’t in our top picks for pet insurance, and it’s often more expensive than Pets Best and Healthy Paws when we run quotes. However, it has a thorough wellness plan that you can add onto your Embrace pet insurance policy. It covers many treatments including grooming, anal gland expression, spay surgery, vaccinations, wellness exams and more.
So to sum it all up, here’s what your options are depending on what your priorities are with coverage.
1) If your dog has pre-existing conditions, stay with Healthy Paws and consider adding Nationwide for wellness coverage. Nationwide is the only company, asides from Banfield, that you can purchase wellness coverage from without purchasing a pet insurance policy as well. I wouldn’t recommend Banfield as we’ve gotten a lot of negative feedback about them from our customers. You can read more in our Banfield review.
2) Your dog has no pre-existing conditions and you switch to Pets Best, which is still one of our top picks for pet insurance and offers some wellness coverage. With this option, you’ll still get great pet insurance coverage at a (most likely) reasonable price, but the wellness coverage isn’t as thorough as Embrace.
3) Your dog has no pre-existing conditions and you switch to Embrace, which is not one of our top picks for pet insurance but offers wellness coverage for everything you listed. Embrace is still a great pet insurance company and has thorough coverage, it just tends to be more expensive than Pets Best and Healthy Paws. But if you want more financial help with wellness related items, Embrace may be your best bet.
Moving forward, I’d suggest getting quotes from both Pets Best and Embrace and see how the two compare. If Pets Best is drastically less expensive than Embrace, it may be worth it to go with Pets Best. However, if the prices are nearly identical, you may consider going with Embrace since it’d cover more wellness items for you. Let me know if you have any follow up questions!
We think pet insurance is a must-have. We’ve heard too many stories about dogs experiencing accidents or illnesses and pet parents being unable to pay for the care their dogs need, which results in a dog being euthanized due to financial limitations (economic euthanasia) or a pet parent going thousands of dollars into debt because of vet bills. Pet insurance allows you to prioritize and focus on your dog’s health during emergencies instead of the amount of money in your bank account.
If you don’t want pet insurance, Nationwide is your only other option. Nationwide’s wellness plans do not include spaying or dental cleanings, so this would not cover what you need.
As you pointed out Banfield is an option that you currently have, and you are not alone in your frustrations with them. Many of our readers have complained about their Banfield experience to us. With Banfield, unless otherwise stated in your contract, you are required to pay for the entire year of service even if your dog dies during that time.
Let me know if you have any follow up questions that I can help you with.
If you decide pet insurance is something you want for your Pomeranian, we suggest you consider Pets Best for your pet insurance and wellness needs. Pets Best is one of our top ranked pet insurance providers and it provides a well-rounded wellness plan to help cover costs for routine care.
If you opt against pet insurance, your only option for a wellness plan is Banfield. Unfortunately, we have received many complaints about Banfield and many of its customers have been disappointed with their service. However, each Banfield location is different, so if you are considering it, we suggest speaking with other Banfield customers at the location you are planning to use. Ask about their experiences and if they’d recommend it to others.
One thing to keep in mind with these companies is how the cancellation policies work. With Banfield, unless otherwise stated in your contract, you are required to pay for the entire year of service even if your dog dies during that time. This is something we’ve gotten a lot of complaints about regarding Banfield because grieving pet parents are still having to pay for a service they can’t use because their dog is no longer with them. Regarding the other companies in this article, unless otherwise stated in the contract, you can call and cancel your pet insurance and wellness plans if your dog dies during that time. You aren’t responsible for paying a full year of service even if your dog dies. As with all contracts, we recommend your read through them carefully because this may not be true for the contract you are given. So be sure to read the fine print carefully and know what you are responsible for up front.
How do wellness plans work? Asides from Banfield, you can take your dog to a licensed vet and get the care they need. For example, your dog may have a wellness exam as well as a rabies vaccine and you may purchase flea/tick/heartworm preventative. You pay the vet for the cost of the exam, vaccine and preventatives and then file a claim with the pet wellness plan company. The company will reimburse you for the amount you are eligible for. Banfield requires you to go to one of its locations for all of your dog’s wellness needs.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Best of luck.
Thank you,
Libby
I’m not sure which insurance or wellness plan would be best for my situation. I would really just like a plan that covers the basic wellness things (physical, vaccinations, etc) so I don’t have to break the bank every year I bring her to the vet for her physical and whatnot. It would be nice to also save on the flea and tick & heartworm prevention, but I don’t have an issue paying for monthly amounts.
Which insurance plan / wellness plan would be best for my situation?
Pets Best and Embrace require you purchase a pet insurance plan, which sounds like something you’re not considering. So that automatically takes them out of the equation.
24PetWatch’s Advanced Wellness plan would include $55 for heartworm/flea prevention, $15 for heartworm test, $50 for wellness exam, $15 for bordetella vaccine/titer, $15 for DHLPP vaccine/titer, $15 for rabies and more. Those items alone would total $165 in used savings, but the plan in total has $400 in benefits. However, I’m not sure you’d use more than those listed (according to what you told me above). This plan would cost $25/month ($300/year), so I’m not sure this would be worth it for what you are looking for. I would remove 24PetWatch from your consideration.
AKC’s Defender plan has $305 in benefits, and costs $192/year. Some items you may benefit from using include $15 for rabies, $50 for flea/tick prevention, $30 for heartworm prevention, $30 for vaccination/titer, $50 for wellness exam and $25 for heartworm test, which totals $200 in savings. That’s only an $8 difference between what you are paying and what you are taking advantage of, HOWEVER, there may be some items listed in the plan that you would take advantage of that I didn’t list or wasn’t aware of. This is comparable to Pets Best’s EssentialWellness plan, but doesn’t require a pet insurance plan. So this is a good option to consider.
ASPCA’s Prime Preventative Care was chosen over Basic because the Basic plan doesn’t include fleas/heartworm prevention which you listed as a cost for you annually. The Prime plan costs $24.95/month ($299.40/year) and has $500 in benefits annually. Some you may take advantage of include $50 for wellness exam, $50 for heartworm/flea prevention, $35 for DHLPP vaccine/titer, $25 for rabies or lyme vaccine/titer, $25 for bordatella vaccine/titer and $25 for heartworm test. This totals $210 in savings, but you’re spending almost $300, so I’m removing them as an option.
Nationwide’s pricing varies based on dog information and your location, so I can’t be specific in its pricing, but lets say you got the Wellness Plus (over the Wellness Basic because it offers more towards the items you want covered) for $17-22/month ($204-264/year). It includes $500 total in savings per year, which you may use $30 for physical exam, $75 for vaccination or titer, $35 for heartworm test and $75 for flea/heartworm preventative. That totals $215 in savings used, but you’re potentially paying more, so I’d opt against this plan.
That leads us to Banfield, which I wouldn’t recommend at all. I’ve heard too many negative reviews for this company that I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending them to you.
In the end, I’d look more into AKC for your wellness plan. Keep in mind, my findings above could be adjusted if you were to take advantage of teeth cleanings or sign up for a pet insurance plan. Let me know if I can help you further.
As you pointed out for your quote specifically, you’d be paying $593.04 for the year to receive up to $650 in wellness related reimbursements, saving you roughly $57 if you took full advantage of the plan. Like you said, you could just save that money monthly and pay out of pocket for it all, it’s up to you. However, you’re also getting pet insurance when you sign up for Embrace’s Wellness Rewards, which covers accidents and illnesses your dog may experience unexpectedly.
The big thing to remember before signing up for a wellness plan is researching what the maximum coverages are for various items. For example, some companies will only cover a certain dollar amount for teeth cleanings, grooming, annual exams, etc.
Let me know if that makes sense or if you have any questions. I want to make sure you’re fully informed before making a decision either way! 🙂
thanks, but these reviews are confusing and not realistic.
What in our reviews was confusing and not realistic? I’d love to be able to explain them further to you.
And we spend often spend $400-600 A VISIT , not a year for check ups, medications, blood work, heartworm etc.
If the cap is 600$, how does that help us?
I’d like a plan for sure. I know of Banfields plan-only you have to keep paying monthly even if your pet passes away. And it doesn’t include medications either, I think.
thanks again!
How do you get your vet to do this?
thx
Most of the time the dogs just go to the vet for yearly check ups or heartworm medication but most of those plans don’t cover medication. The Banfield plan sounds good but one thing I don’t like is that you have to finish paying for the whole year even if your dog passes away, god forbid.
I would really like to get a wellness plan or an insurance plan but I just don’t see that it’s going to work out with those caps and/or monthly payments. thanks again!
Looking at our rankings, Pets Best is the highest ranked pet insurance company that offers a wellness plan. The top plan is BestWellness and costs $26/month. It covers various things including $65 flea/tick prevention, $30 heartworm prevention, $40 vaccination/titer, $50 wellness exam, $30 heartworm test or FELV screen and more for each dog you purchase the policy for. Since you spend $500 alone on heartworm medications per dog per year, this plan wouldn’t be the best option for you since it only covers $30.
Embrace is the next company in our rankings that offers wellness rewards. It reimburses 100% of routine care costs up to the selected annual maximum you choose. This can be as high as $650 or as low as $250. It’s unclear as to whether or not this annual maximum goes toward any reimbursable item, or if it’s maxed out per category (like Pets Best’s is). I recommend reaching out to Embrace to see if the $650 would go toward any wellness related items your pet needs during the year or if only a certain amount can go toward heartworm, etc.
As for the Rimadyl prescription, that can be covered through any pet insurance company that covers prescription medications. Take a look at this comparison table and you’ll see that all of the pet insurance companies included in the table cover prescriptions, however, Embrace charges extra for it to be covered.
You mentioned Banfield and I wanted to share this link with you. I encourage you to read the comments section as well because we’ve gotten some feedback from customers of Banfield sharing their experience with the plan. So if you choose to go with them, I want you to be informed on what others have experienced.
The thing that’s tricky about your situation is that you spend $500/dog/year on heartworm medications. I don’t believe that would fall under prescription medications for most pet insurance providers because heartworm medication is considered preventative healthcare, so it is typically only covered through some type of wellness plan/rewards. If Embrace handles its maximum similar to Pets Best, then it doesn’t make sense for you to get either of those wellness plans/rewards because you’d be paying $30+ per month but only getting $30 for heartworm prevention, which is what you are really spending the majority of your money on.
I have a meeting later today with some of my coworkers and am going to mention your situation to them and see if they know of anything that I am overlooking. I’ll let you know if they have any suggestions for you to consider. Thanks for your patience and allowing me to help you through your decision making process.
In the past, we have received comments from our readers who have been unable to provide their pet with the medical care they need because of financial restrictions. It breaks our hearts to read these stories and we hope that more and more people are aware of their financial options when adding a pet to their family. To reiterate, we think the pet’s health should be the most important factor, above finances.