Pet Insurance for Multiple Pets

Pet insurance allows pet parents to pay a manageable monthly premium in return for coverage for their fur babies’ medical expenses. You simply take your dog, cat, or other covered pet to the vet when needed, and you can submit claims to be reimbursed for the cost of care, as outlined in your policy.

If you have multiple pets you want to cover with a robust insurance policy, look specifically for insurers that offer multi-pet discounts. The best pet insurance for multiple pets should offer a discount of 5% to 10% and should still allow you to customize individual policies to each pet’s specific needs.

Below, we’ll explore how pet insurance works for multiple pets, some of the best pet insurance companies with multi-pet discounts, and how to determine when pet insurance is worth the cost.

Does a pet insurance policy cover multiple pets?

A pet insurance policy is tied to a single pet, so you can’t cover multiple pets with one policy. However, you can certainly purchase multiple pet insurance policies through the same company—and many pet insurance carriers offer multi-pet discounts as an added incentive for those who do.

Multi-pet discounts will vary from insurer to insurer, but you’ll typically get 5% to 10% off each additional policy when you have two or more pets. Some insurers, such as Nationwide, may increase the discount percentage as you add more pets to the policy.

Multi-pet discounts don’t require you to carry the same type and level of coverage for each of your pets. Insurers understand different pets have different medical needs, so you can customize each pet’s policy to your liking and still qualify for the discount.

Pet insurance usually makes sense for most pet owners, especially if you have multiple pets because that increases the odds you will incur more or higher veterinary bills.

Jim McCarthy

CFP®

Compare pet insurance for multiple pets

Hoping to cover multiple fur babies under the same insurer and reap the rewards of a multi-pet discount? The table below breaks down the best pet insurance for multiple pets.

Pet insurance company	Multi-pet discount percentage	LendEDU rating
Embrace	10%	4.7 out of 5 stars
Spot	10%	4.5 out of 5 stars
Hartville	10%	4.4 out of 5 stars
ASPCA	10%	4.3 out of 5 stars
Lemonade	5%	4.7 out of 5 stars
Nationwide	5% to 10%	3.7 out of 5 stars

Embrace – Best for quick coverage

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LendEDU rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

• 10% multi-pet discount
• Two-day waiting period for accidents
• Some coverage for pre-existing conditions

Embrace is the best pet insurance company for quick coverage. Coverage for accidents kicks in after only 48 hours (you’ll have to wait 14 days for illness coverage).

You can also get unlimited coverage with Embrace and even get some pre-existing conditions covered—though, as with any pet insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, there’s a lot of fine print to consider.

Most importantly for pet parents with multiple dogs and cats, you can save 10% on each additional pet covered with Embrace. Military members can get an additional 5% off as well.

Read our full Embrace pet insurance review to learn more.

Spot – Best variety of terms

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LendEDU rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

• 10% multi-pet discount
• 10% AAA discount
• 105 policy combinations

If any pet insurance company has a tailor-made policy for you and your four-legged friend, it’s Spot. With various deductibles, coverage limits, and reimbursement percentages, pet parents can create more than 100 unique policies to meet their needs.

And for pet parents with more than one fur child, Spot is an even better choice, as the pet insurance company offers a 10% multi-pet discount. That’s on top of the 10% discount available to members of AAA.

A few other hallmarks of Spot: Unlimited coverage is available, there’s no upper age limit, and pet parents can use the 24/7 helpline when in need.

Read our full Spot pet insurance review to learn more.

Hartville

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LendEDU rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

• 10% multi-pet discount
• Wellness plan add-on available
• Unlimited coverage option

Hartville is another great pet insurance company for multiple pets thanks to its 10% discount for each additional pet insured. A discount at Hartville is surely great, but it’s already one of the more affordable options for pet parents; Hartville estimates an average of $2.65 a day for complete coverage.

Hartville has robust policy options that are easily customizable. You can also opt for preventative care coverage as an add-on and spring for unlimited coverage, so you never have to worry about hitting a plan maximum for the year.

Read our full Hartville pet insurance review to learn more.

ASPCA – Best for reliability

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LendEDU rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

• 10% multi-pet discount
• Leading customer reviews
• Customizable coverage

ASPCA is a household name; the organization has advocated for animals in the United States for more than 150 years. That makes it the ideal organization to offer pet insurance—and it’s been doing so since 1997.

Pet parents insuring more than one four-legged friend (that includes cats, dogs, and horses) can qualify for a 10% multi-pet discount through ASPCA pet insurance.

Some notable pros of ASPCA: There’s no upper age limit for pets, you can get preventive care, and you can even purchase pet insurance that covers prescription food—a rarity in the pet insurance market.

Read our full ASPCA pet insurance review to learn more.

Lemonade – Best for fast claims

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LendEDU rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

• 5% multi-pet discount
• Low-cost coverage
• Fast claims payout

Lemonade is known as one of the cheapest pet insurance companies available, but you can lower rates even more by covering multiple pets. Currently, Lemonade offers a 5% discount when you insure multiple pets.

In addition, you can save another 5% with Lemonade by paying for your pet insurance policy annually, rather than monthly. And you can save another 10% if you bundle your Lemonade pet insurance with renters, homeowners, car, or term life insurance.

But we don’t just love Lemonade for its affordable coverage and nice set of discounts. Lemonade also has an easy-to-use app and lightning-fast claims payout, thanks to its AI-powered processes.

Read our full Lemonade pet insurance review to learn more.

Nationwide

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• 5% to 10% multi-pet discount
• Coverage for birds, reptiles, and exotics
• Unlimited coverage available

Nationwide is one of the best pet insurance companies for multiple pets, particularly if you have pets outside of cats and dogs. With Nationwide, you can get coverage for reptiles, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, mini pigs, goats, ferrets, and other small mammals.

Even better, the multi-pet discount applies no matter what combination of animals you cover. Whether it’s three cats, a dog and a cat, or your own personal zoo of rabbits, goats, and parakeets, you can claim the multi-pet discount.

Nationwide’s multiple-pet discount starts at 5% for two or three pets, but if you cover four or more pets, you’ll get a 10% discount.

Read our full Nationwide pet insurance review to learn more.

How to choose the best pet insurance plan for multiple pets

Whether you’re insuring one or multiple pets, you should always do your homework. Compare multiple pet insurance companies online, considering factors such as:

• Monthly premium and available discounts
• Waiting periods and age restrictions
• Levels of reimbursement and annual coverage limits
• What’s covered and not covered
• Customer reviews for the insurer and the app
• Claims process and speed

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to a few insurers, you can get quotes online and compare the policies and costs more closely.

If you already have pet insurance for one pet

Already have pet insurance for one pet and looking to get coverage for a new one? Start by researching if your current pet insurance company offers discounts for multiple pets. If they do—and you’re happy with the coverage—purchase a policy for your new pet with the same insurance company and enjoy the savings.

But what if you don’t love your current policy? Because pet insurance policies typically don’t cover pre-existing conditions, we recommend sticking with a company once your pet is insured. Otherwise, fewer conditions might be covered if you try to switch a few years later.

So if you don’t like your current policy and you’ve welcomed a new pet to the family, we recommend finding another insurance company for the new pet—but think long and hard before transferring your older pet to a new company simply for a multi-pet discount. 

Losing coverage for conditions your pet has developed since you first started insuring them may not be worth the discount.

Is pet insurance for multiple pets worth the cost?

The average cost of a dog’s accident and illness pet insurance policy is $59.69 a month; for cats, it’s $33.80 a month. That’s understandably a large annual commitment, especially if you live paycheck to paycheck or struggle to repay debts.

However, pet insurance is worth the cost for many pet parents, no matter how many pets they’re insuring. Carrying pet insurance means you’ll always be able to give your pet the medical care they need without worrying about dipping into your emergency fund or taking on high-interest credit card debt.

If you’d forego veterinary care or go into debt in a pet emergency, getting pet insurance is absolutely worth it. If your pet develops a chronic illness, gets cancer, or suffers from a serious injury, pet insurance can save you thousands—or even tens of thousands—of dollars.

To decide if pet insurance is for you, talk to family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues who are pet owners and ask about their experience having pet insurance or not.

Jim McCarthy

CFP®

How to determine the cheapest pet insurance for multiple pets

The best way to find the cheapest pet insurance for multiple pets is to narrow your search to only the cheapest pet insurance companies around.

Companies like Trupanion offer fantastic coverage, but it’s expensive (and also, Trupanion doesn’t offer multi-pet discounts). Lemonade, on the other hand, is known for its low-cost policies, though its a la carte design can make Lemonade policies more expensive than you’d think at first glance.

Once you have a list of a few cheap pet insurance companies, run quotes for each to see which offers the most affordable coverage for your pet in your specific ZIP code. Ensure each policy has the same coverage levels for a true apples-to-apples comparison.

You can keep pet insurance costs down by:

• Choosing the highest deductible.
• Choosing the lowest reimbursement rate.
• Choosing the lowest annual limit.
• Skipping preventative care and other non-essential add-ons.
• Choosing an accident-only policy.

However, remember that adjusting policies so that your monthly premium comes down means you’ll get less bang for your buck. For instance:

• Raising your deductible means spending more out of pocket before coverage kicks in.
• Lowering your reimbursement rate means you’re responsible for a larger percentage of each vet bill.
• Lowering the annual limit means you’re more likely to cover entire vet bills on your own if your pet requires a lot of care in a year.

Regarding pet insurance, you have to find the right balance. Prioritize low monthly premiums, but not at the cost of a quality policy that helps you in a pet emergency.