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Insurance Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance in NYC & New York State

If you’re a pet owner, you know how important it is to keep your pet healthy. However, regular vet visits, medication, and treatment can get expensive, especially if your pet has an accident.

Pet insurance helps pay for the cost of taking your pet to the veterinarian. With most plans, your pet gets an initial checkup, and you pay a monthly premium based on their age, health, and breed. Depending on your policy, pet insurance can cover all sorts of things, such as medication, regular vet checkups, and emergency care.

If you’re looking for pet insurance in New York, comparing the companies below is a good start.

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Compare quotes for pet insurance in New York

We got pet insurance quotes for four popular companies in New York, using the following assumptions unless otherwise stated:

  • 3-year-old male Labrador retriever for dogs, 3-year-old male house cat for cats.
  • $500 deductible
  • 80% reimbursement
  • $5,000 annual limit
ProviderKey FeaturesDog Cost*Cat Cost*
Healthy PawsNo annual reimbursement limit$57.23$14.85
EmbraceHighly customizable policies$63.11**$41.95**
FigoAccess to a vet 24/7 through the Figo app$59.35$24.61
Pets Best24-hour vet hotline$46.22$18.69

*Monthly cost.
**Includes $250 in routine care coverage

Companies offering pet insurance in New York

Healthy Paws

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

Healthy Paws offers customizable pet insurance plans with no annual reimbursement limit, which means that the plan covers all costs once you pay your deductible and coinsurance costs. However, the plan excludes preventative and routine care, office visit fees, and exam fees. That makes this plan best for people who want to protect themselves and their pets against catastrophe.

Healthy Paws reimburses you directly after you pay your vet bill and upload a copy of the invoice.

  • Sample cost for dog insurance: $57.23 per month
  • Sample cost for cat insurance: $14.85 per month
  • Deductible options: $250, $500
  • Reimbursement levels: 70%, 80%
  • Age limits: 8 weeks14 years old (The upper age limit is only enforced for new enrollments)
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Embrace

Embrace Pet Insurance Logo

Embrace offers the most customizable insurance plans for your pet, letting you adjust your deductible, reimbursement level, and maximum reimbursement per year. You also get discounts for things like paying annually instead of monthly, having your pet spayed or neutered, and adding additional animals.

Embrace’s plans cover almost everything but pre-existing conditions, though routine care coverage comes at an additional charge. The company reimburses you for the money you paid after you upload a copy of the paid invoice from your vet.

  • Sample cost for dog insurance: $757.35 per year ($63.11 per month) with annual payment discount
  • Sample cost for cat insurance: $503.37 per year ($41.95 per month) with annual payment discount
  • Deductible options: $200, $300, $500, $750, $1,000
  • Reimbursement levels: 70%, 80%, 90%
  • Age limits: 6 weeks15 years
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Figo

Figo Pet Insurance

Figo’s pet insurance plans are all-inclusive, covering almost every ailment and emergency, plus you can purchase routine care coverage for an additional monthly cost. You can customize things like your deductible and reimbursement level to adjust your monthly premium and you can select an annual benefit of $5,000, $10,000, or unlimited.

Figo reimburses you by check or direct deposit after you provide a copy of a paid invoice from your vet and your vet sends a copy of your pet’s medical records.

  • Sample cost for dog insurance: $59.35 per month
  • Sample cost for cat insurance: $24.61 per month
  • Deductible options: $100, $250, $500, $750
  • Reimbursement levels: 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%
  • Age limits: 8 weeks or older
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Pets Best

Pets Best Pet Insurance

Pets Best offers flexible insurance options for your pet and a 24/7 vet hotline that you can call when your pet needs help.

The basic coverage covers most illnesses, and you can add reimbursement for routine care for an additional monthly cost. The insurance sends cash to your bank account after you pay your vet bill and send them a copy of the vet invoice, so you don’t have to wait for the insurer to pay your vet before receiving care.

  • Sample cost for dog insurance: $46.22 per month
  • Sample cost for cat insurance: $18.69 per month
  • Deductible options: $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, $1,000
  • Reimbursement levels: 70%, 80%, 90%
  • Age limits: 7 weeks or older
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Does buying pet insurance make sense in New York City and State?

Pet insurance is a good way to protect your pet and your wallet, but is it the best way to pay for your pet’s vet costs? Many plans don’t cover routine care and have limits on the amount that they reimburse. Self-insuring or getting an accident-only policy may be more effective ways to pay for your pet’s health, but they also present a risk.

Average pet costs in New York City

Owning a pet isn’t cheap, and living in the city can make it even more expensive. Some common costs include:

  • Adoption
  • Food
  • Toys
  • Dog walking
  • Training
  • Travel (dog-sitting and hotel fees)
  • Licensing
  • Vet bills

All of these individual costs add up, and if you have to make an emergency trip to the vet, you can add hundreds or even thousands to those costs.

Benefits and drawbacks of pet insurance

Benefits of pet insurance

Pet insurance is a good way to handle emergency and unexpected vet costs. You can think of it as a catastrophic health plan for your pet. Most pet insurance policies won’t help with regular checkups, but if your pet gets sick, they can kick in and save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

If you live in the city, it might be a better idea to get pet insurance than if you live somewhere else. The city has more dangers for a pet than a rural area, such as heavy traffic and a large number of other, potentially aggressive dogs. Plus, almost everything is more expensive in the city, and veterinary care is no different.

Drawbacks of pet insurance

One major drawback of pet insurance is that it typically doesn’t cover routine care, which means pet parents are paying a monthly premium just to protect themselves against an emergency such as illness or accidental injury. If your pet is healthy, you might be able to save a lot of money by setting aside an emergency fund that you can tap if you need to pay a large vet bill.

Pet insurance is also lightly regulated compared to other insurance industries, so you’ll need to be careful about reading the fine print to make sure you get the coverage that’s worth it.

Residents of New York City will also pay more for their pet’s coverage. If you lived in a less crowded area, such as Gloversville, New York, you’d pay only $34.87 a month to insure your dog with Healthy Paws compared to the $57.23 per month you’d pay in the city.

Learn more about pet insurance

If you want to learn more about pet insurance, we have a number of other guides that discuss the topic. Check out our guides to the best pet insurance companieswhat pet insurance covers, whether pet insurance is worth it, and how the state you live in impacts pet insurance costs.