Pet Insurance That Covers Routine Care

If you’re searching for pet insurance covering routine care, you likely want a policy beyond just accidents and illnesses. Because, at the end of the day, your pet needs more than emergency coverage. To stay healthy, they need regular check-ups, vaccines, dental cleanings, and other routine services. But these costs add up fast. 

That’s why many pet owners add wellness coverage to their standard pet insurance policy. But what is wellness coverage? What routine expenses does it cover? And are wellness plans even worth it? Let’s take a closer look. 

Does pet insurance cover routine care?

Standard pet insurance policies don’t cover routine care expenses, such as vaccinations and annual visits to the vet. Pet insurance is for urgent care needs—unexpected illnesses or injuries.

You’ll need to buy a pet wellness plan if you don’t want to pay for your pet’s routine care out of pocket. Most of the time, this is add-on coverage you purchase when setting up your primary pet insurance policy, but sometimes, you can purchase a wellness plan as a standalone option. 

What is pet wellness coverage?

Pet wellness plans cover preventive care items meant to keep your pet healthy, including annual checkups, vaccinations, dental exams, cleanings, grooming, and flea or tick prevention. But pet insurance is for unexpected incidents, such as broken bones, stomach issues, and skin infections. 

This table gives examples of what’s covered by each: 

Illness or procedure	Pet ins. covers	Well plan
Accidents	✔️
Illnesses	✔️
Emergency surgery	✔️
Annual wellness checkups		✔️
Dental cleanings		✔️
Flea/tick prevention		✔️
Microchipping		✔️
Prescription food	Sometimes	✔️
Routine blood work or fecal tests		✔️
Spaying/neutering		✔️
Special shampoos		✔️
Vaccinations		✔️
Vitamins and supplements		✔️

Many pet owners buy standard pet insurance and a wellness plan to get the most coverage possible. You can often bundle both types of coverage into one monthly premium. 

The price of pet wellness coverage will depend on the carrier and plan you choose. But many cost less than $10 per month.

Most pet wellness plans don’t have a waiting period, so you can get reimbursed for care as soon as your pet is enrolled. You typically won’t need to worry about a deductible or copay, and most plans will reimburse you for 100% of your eligible wellness care expenses up to the policy’s limit.

Pet insurance companies that cover routine care

Many pet insurance companies offer wellness plans that cover preventive care. This table breaks down the types of routine care reimbursements for four top-rated companies. 

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Tip

You can only get routine care coverage for every company below by adding it to one of its standard pet insurance policies. None of these carriers offer standalone wellness plans.

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Carrier	Covered	Annual reimb. limit
Spot	Wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, deworming, routine testing	$450*
ASPCA	Wellness exams, vaccinations, dental cleanings, deworming, routine testing	$450*
Embrace	Wellness exams, vaccinations, preventive meds & supplements, dental cleanings, training, grooming, spay/neuter surgery, microchipping,  wearable pet monitors	$650
Lemonade	Wellness exams, vaccinations, bloodwork, fecal tests, heartworm tests, parasite tests, spay/neuter surgery, microchipping	$650*

The specific coverage limits differ based on the carrier you choose, which type of policy you buy, and the category your pet’s care falls into. Some of these plans offer coverage for eligible expenses up to a total annual maximum, while others have individual category limits.

Spot – Best variety of terms

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LendEDU rating: 4.5 out of 5

• No per-incident or lifetime caps
• Will reimburse up to 12 categories of routine care 
• Up to $450 in routine care coverage per year

Wellness coverage through Spot comes in two tiers: the Gold Preventive Care plan for $9.95 per month or the Platinum Preventive Care plan for $24.95 per month. Both are available as add-on coverage to a Spot pet insurance policy and offer coverage for a variety of preventive care costs.

Spot’s preventive care categories are more limited than several other pet wellness carriers. It covers wellness exams for up to $50 per year, for example, and dental cleanings for up to $100 or $150 annually, depending on the plan chosen.

It doesn’t cover grooming or supplements but covers certain vaccinations, titers, flea or heartworm prevention, and different types of testing (fecal, blood, urinalysis, heartworm). With the Gold plan, you’ll get up to $250 in annual benefits, while the Platinum plan offers up to $450. No waiting period applies before this coverage kicks in, so you can use it right away. You won’t worry about a deductible or cost-share either.

ASPCA – Best for reliability

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LendEDU rating: 4.3 out of 5

• Has insured over 400,000 dogs and cats while processing more than 1.6 million claims
• Up to 12 categories of routine care can be reimbursed
• Up to $450 in routine care coverage per year

Preventive care coverage through the ASPCA starts at $9.95 per month for Basic and $24.95 for Prime. You can’t purchase these plans as standalone coverage; they’re only available as add-ons to a pet insurance policy, so it’s important to analyze the difference in cost for the original policy, not just the add-on.

With this coverage, ASPCA will reimburse you for 100% of your pet’s eligible wellness care expenses, up to each category limit and an overall annual limit of $250 or $450 (depending on the type of plan). These categories include annual exams and wellness checkups (up to $50 reimbursed per year), vaccines, annual testing and screenings, dental cleanings, and preventive medications for fleas, ticks, or heartworms.

Covered care is a bit more limited than some other plans, and reimbursement limits vary based on the plan you choose and the type of care your pet needs. For example, dental cleanings have an annual limit of $100 for Basic plans and $150 for Prime plans. No waiting period applies, so you can begin using coverage right away, and you won’t need to be concerned with deductibles or copays before your pet’s wellness benefits kick in.

Embrace – Best for quick coverage

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LendEDU rating: 4.7 out of 5

• Wellness Rewards plan reimburses for more routine care items than any others
• Reimburses up to $650 per year for routine care
• Will cover alternative care

In addition to a pet insurance plan through Embrace, pet owners can purchase Wellness Rewards coverage. This add-on is available for around $18 to $52 per month, depending on your chosen reimbursement level. 

This coverage will reimburse pet owners for a wide range of preventive care expenses, such as wellness exams, dental cleanings, grooming and training costs, prescription diet food and supplements, wearable pet trackers, and even alternative care, such as chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, or Reiki. 

Category limits don’t apply; Embrace will simply reimburse you for 100% of the covered costs up to the policy’s total annual limit of $250, $450, or $650. You won’t need to meet any copayments or deductibles, and coverage is available the same day it’s purchased. Wellness Rewards from Embrace is supplemental, meaning you can only purchase it as an add-on to a pet insurance policy, not standalone. This coverage is not available in Rhode Island.

Lemonade – Best for fast claims

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LendEDU rating: 4.7 out of 5

• Streamlined claims process
• 3 wellness plan options for routine care
• User-friendly mobile app for managing policies

Lemonade is a top choice for pet owners seeking routine care insurance. It has three pet wellness plans: Preventive Care, Preventive Care+, and Preventive Care for Puppies and Kittens. All plans cover wellness exams, fecal or parasite tests, bloodwork, vaccines, and heartworm or FeLV tests. 

But you’ll want the Preventive+ package for routine dental cleanings and the Puppies and Kittens package for microchipping, spay/neuter surgery, extra wellness exams, and vaccines. 

Similar to other providers on our list, you must add a preventive care package to your base Lemonade pet insurance plan; you can’t purchase a standalone wellness policy. You can file claims and track your pet’s coverage with ease in Lemonade’s user-friendly mobile app.

Do you need routine care coverage for your pet?

Getting separate routine care coverage doesn’t always make sense. Ask yourself these questions to decide whether it’s right for you: 

• Do you have a new puppy or kitten? In their first year, young pets may need several rounds of vaccines, spay/neuter surgery, and other preventive treatments. In this case, a wellness plan could be a smart way to reduce costs.
• How much have you spent on routine care in the past? If you’ve had your pet for a while, add up their routine care costs over the past few years. If your average cost is close to how much a wellness plan costs, it may not be worth it. For example, if you spent $300 on routine care last year, and the wellness plan costs $25 per month ($300 annually), it might be better to create a pet emergency fund in your savings account and keep the $300 on hand.
• Does the wellness plan limit how much it will pay for specific services? Many wellness plans have a maximum amount they’ll reimburse for each type of care. For example, if your plan only covers $50 for flea prevention, but you typically spend $150 on this treatment, you’ll need to pay the remaining $100 yourself. Check the plan’s limits and compare them to your pet’s typical care costs to see whether it’s enough.

Here’s more about scenarios when it may or may not make sense to buy wellness coverage:

Scenario	Consider wellness plan?
You have a young pet that needs significant preventive care services	✅
You’ve skipped out on routine care in the past because you couldn’t afford it, and you want help budgeting for these expenses	✅
You’ve done the math and know a wellness plan will save you money based on how much you’ve spent on routine care in the past	✅
The wellness plan doesn’t cover the services your pet needs or has a low reimbursement limit for those services	❌
You’d rather set aside money in a separate savings account for your pet’s routine care expenses	❌
You’ve tracked your pet’s routine care expenses over the past year and found that your current out-of-pocket cost is around or less than the annual premium you’d pay for a wellness plan	❌

Our expert’s take: Financial benefits of pet insurance that covers routine care vs. just emergencies

Kyle Ryan

CFP®

A routine care plan will limit the amount one pays for their pet’s healthcare needs as long as the insurance cost is less than the care would have cost. For someone who visits the vet often, a routine care plan can be valuable. Emergency coverage is for people who seek protection from a large, unexpected expense. Whether your pet needs emergency coverage, it’s a way to pass on the risk of a large expense to an insurance company at a relatively low cost. It comes down to knowing your own pet’s health and your cash flow. If you have plenty in savings and liquid cash, you may not need coverage at all (unless you want to protect yourself from emergencies). If you don’t have the ability to cover large or routine expenses, insurance may be a smart option to consider.

How to get routine care coverage for your pet

If you’ve decided it’s time to get routine care coverage for your pet, you can follow these steps to purchase a plan: 

1. Check with your current pet insurance carrier. If you already have a pet insurance policy, contact your carrier to see whether it offers wellness coverage. In most cases, you can only add routine care coverage to a primary pet insurance policy, so check with your current provider first. We recommend starting with the companies above if you don’t already have pet insurance.
2. Compare wellness plans. If your current provider doesn’t offer a wellness plan (or if you don’t have pet insurance), you’ll need to find a provider. The pet insurance companies listed above offer some of the best pet insurance that covers routine care. 
3. Check the per-category limits. Before you click “purchase,” read the sample policy to understand what services are covered, the reimbursement limits for each service, and what exclusions apply.
4. Enroll in the plan. If you like what you see, purchase your plan. You can often do this online, but call customer service if you’re unsure. 
5. Schedule your pet’s preventive care visits. Once your new wellness plan is in place, you can take your pet in for a wellness exam, buy their flea prevention medication, and more.
6. Get reimbursed. Getting reimbursed for routine care can be as simple as submitting a claim through your pet insurance’s mobile app. Be sure to keep all receipts and invoices.

Recap: Pet insurance that covers routine care

Company	Best for
Spot	Variety of terms
ASPCA	Reliability
Embrace	Quick coverage
Lemonade	Fast claims