There are many costs involved with owning a pet, ranging from food and training to grooming, boarding, and veterinary care. That last one is important, though, as routine medical visits help ensure that your pet stays healthy and that you’re able to catch unexpected conditions early.
Pet wellness plans are a type of coverage that helps pay for those predictable and regularly scheduled check-ups. These plans aren’t intended for sudden illnesses or emergencies. Still, they can save you quite a bit on routine care throughout your pet’s life.
In this guide:
- Pet wellness plans vs. pet insurance
- How do pet wellness plans work?
- Best pet wellness plans
- Can you take out a wellness plan without pet insurance?
Pet wellness plans vs. pet insurance
A pet wellness plan is typically an add-on to a pet insurance policy that reimburses you for certain preventative care costs. It helps pay for routine vet visits, vaccines, procedures such as spaying and neutering, and other forms of preventative care.
On the contrary, pet insurance is a plan that covers expenses from unexpected care, such as severe illness or injury. Since these expenses can be costly (and aren’t predictable), pet insurance is a good choice for financial protection from unexpected veterinary care.
What each type of plan typically covers
| Pet wellness plan | Pet insurance | |
| Annual vet visit | Yes | No |
| Dental cleanings | Yes | No |
| Emergency care | No | Yes |
| Flea treatment | Yes | No |
| Heartworm prevention | Yes | No |
| Microchipping | Yes | No |
| Prescription medication | No | Yes |
| Routine lab tests | Yes | No |
| Spay/neuter surgery | Yes | No |
| Surgeries | No | Yes |
| Tick treatment | Yes | No |
| Vaccinations | Yes | No |
It’s important to note that this is just a general idea of what pet wellness plans cover compared to pet insurance. Each provider will have its own unique coverage and limits. To learn more, check out our guide to wellness vs. insurance plans.
How do pet wellness plans work?
When shopping around for a pet wellness plan, you may first have to look at the pet insurance options available to you. That’s because, in most cases, pet wellness coverage is offered as an add-on to a pet insurance policy.
A pet wellness care plan will charge premiums monthly or annually. Your cost for coverage will typically depend on the type of pet you have, your pet’s age, how many pets you want to be covered, and even where you live in some cases.
Generally, pet wellness plans operate on a reimbursement model. Once your pet is enrolled, you can obtain routine care as needed and submit a reimbursement claim for all covered items. Most providers allow you to use any veterinarian in the United States.
With most types of insurance, there are waiting periods. Once you’ve enrolled your pet in a plan, you’ll have to wait typically 14 days until your coverage kicks in. This protects the insurance company to ensure you don’t enroll only once your pet requires care.
Best pet wellness plans
There are several different pet wellness plans to consider, depending on your pet, any existing policy you own, and your budget. Here’s a look at some of the best pet wellness plans we reviewed and what they offer.
- Best for no reimbursement limits: Pumpkin
- Best for an affordable plan: Spot
- Best for reimbursing the most items: Embrace
Best for no reimbursement limits: Pumpkin
- Wellness plans designed with vets
- Annual exam & vaccine reminders
- Special welcome box & toy for your pet
Who is Pumpkin?
Pumpkin is a pet insurance company offering both pet insurance and preventative care. The company has an excellent rating from its customers on Trustpilot, with a 4.6 out of 5 as of October 25th, 2021.
Its Preventative Essentials package helps you assess your pet’s current health, detect diseases early, and prevent illness year-round through vaccinations.
Pumpkin’s wellness plan earned our highest rating amongst the 17 companies we reviewed. One of the main reasons we scored it so highly was that it doesn’t limit the amount you can be reimbursed for covered items — a rarity for preventative care coverage.
What’s covered by a Pumpkin wellness plan?
Pumpkin designed its wellness plan with veterinarians to ensure that your pet has coverage for the most important parts of preventative care. While both dogs and cats are reimbursed for similar items, there are differences that we’ve highlighted below.
Pumpkin Preventative Essentials for dogs
| Type of preventative care | Reimbursement | What’s covered |
| Check-up | 100% | The exam fee for a yearly check-up |
| Blood test | 100% | One test for heartworm, lyme, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis each year |
| Fecal test | 100% | One test for roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms each year |
| Vaccinations | 100% | Any two vaccines each year |
Pumpkin Preventative Essentials for cats
| Type of preventative care | Reimbursement | What’s covered |
| Check-up | 100% | The exam fee for a yearly check-up |
| Fecal test | 100% | One test for roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms each year |
| Vaccinations | 100% | One vaccine each year |
To top it all off: each new pet receives a special welcome box and toy!
Best for an affordable wellness plan: Spot
- Preventative care coverage starting at $9.95/month
- Get reimbursed for up to 12 different types of care
- No waiting period
Who is Spot?
Spot is a pet insurance company offering an accident and illness policy with an optional pet wellness plan. The company has an excellent rating from its customers on Trustpilot, with a 4.4 out of 5 rating as of October 25th, 2021.
Spot’s wellness add-on was the most affordable of all 17 policies we reviewed, starting at an additional cost of $9.95 per month.
Spot offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you may visit any U.S.-licensed vet.
What’s covered by a Spot wellness plan?
The Spot preventative care plan comes in two sizes: Gold or Platinum.
Here’s what’s covered with each plan:
| Type of preventative care | Gold | Platinum |
| Dental cleaning | $100 | $150* |
| Spaying or neutering | – | $150* |
| Wellness exam | $50 | $50 |
| Flea/heartworm prevention | – | $25 |
| Canine DHLPP or feline FVRCP | $20 | $25 |
| Rabies/canine lyme or feline FIP | $20 | $25 |
| Canine bordetella or feline FELV | – | $25 |
| Fecal test | $20 | $25 |
| Canine heartworm or feline FELV test | $20 | $25 |
| Blood test | – | $25 |
| Urinalysis | – | $25 |
| Deworming | $20 | $25 |
| Health certificate | – | $25 |
*This $150 can be used for either dental cleaning or spaying or neutering. You will not receive $150 for each.
Best for reimbursing the most items: Embrace
- Get reimbursed for over 20 different types of care
- Choose from three different reimbursement limits
- Available for use the day you sign-up
Who is Embrace?
Embrace is our top-rated pet insurance company. Its preventative care coverage comes in the form of an optional add-on to its accident and illness policy. The company has an excellent rating from its customers on Trustpilot, with a 4.4 out of 5 as of October 25th, 2021.
Embrace’s Wellness Rewards was the best option for pet owners looking for a plan that includes the most reimbursable items possible.
What’s covered by an Embrace Wellness plan?
Embrace’s Wellness Rewards has three different levels of coverage. Each year, you get to choose between an annual allowance of $250, $450, or $650.
Here’s a list of items that your allowance can cover:
- Wellness exam fees
- Vaccinations and titers
- Flex, tick, and heartworm preventatives
- Spay/neuter surgery
- Fecal and routine blood tests
- Microchipping
- Nutritional supplements
- Grooming
- Medicated shampoos
- Toe nail trimming
- Routine anal gland expression
- Wearable pet activity monitors
- Cremation or burial
- Gastropexy
- Preventative teeth cleaning
- Prescription diet food
- Training
- Routine chiropractic care
- Reiki, massage therapy, acupuncture
- Hip dysplasia exams, radiographs, or other OFA testing
How we determined the best wellness plans
Our team conducted over 40 hours of research to compare 16 pet insurance companies to determine the best. Within this research, we spent time reviewing each companies’ coverage for preventative care.
Factors we considered when determining which wellness plans were the best included a review of 13 different types of preventative care, the cost of a plan, and how much each plan reimbursed you.
Can you take out a wellness plan without pet insurance?
Most wellness plans are offered as an optional add-on to a pet insurance policy. However, we found one company that allows you to take out a wellness plan without a pet insurance policy: Wagmo.
Best for only taking out a wellness plan: Wagmo
- Get a free quote in less than a minute
- Choose from three different plans
- Get reimbursed up to $1,100 per year
Who is Wagmo?
Wagmo’s original mission was to provide pet owners with an alternative to pet insurance by offering stand-alone wellness plans. Today, it provides pet insurance and wellness plans but still allows each to be taken out separately.
The company has an average rating from its customers on Trustpilot, with a 3.7 out of 5 as of October 25th, 2021.
What’s covered by a Wagmo wellness plan?
Enrollees choose from three Wagmo wellness plans, which offer up to $350, $650, or $1,100 in coverage per year. Plans cost $20, $36, or $59 per month, respectively, and coverage begins immediately.
The actual care that’s covered varies depending on the plan you choose. Here’s what’s covered under each plan:
| Type of preventative care | Value | Classic | Deluxe |
| Wellness visits | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Vaccines | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Routine blood work | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Fecal test | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Urinalysis | – | 1 | 1 |
| Flea/tick/heartworm | – | $100 | $200 |
| Grooming | – | $100 | $200 |
| Dental care | – | – | $100 |