If you are looking for a solution to your pet’s insurance but cannot decide between the many options out there, here’s a detailed review of one of the highly-rated pet insurance companies.

I’ll look at the company’s background and the insurance features they offer so that you will be able to decide more easily whether any of their policies cover your needs.

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Correct as of April 2018

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About Pets Best Insurance

The founder of this insurance company is Dr. Jack Stephens, who was given a lifetime achievement award by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) for his work on founding and improving pet insurance services in the USA.

Dr. Stephens thought of the idea of pet insurance a long time ago – in 1981, after one family opted for euthanasia for their ill dog since they had no money to treat her. The fact that he had to give this lethal injection deeply affected him.

Thinking about possible solutions, he came up with the idea of launching a pet insurance company. He thought of this solution as a great way to help pet owners with the financial burden of unexpected but necessary treatments for their pets.

The team at this company is made up of people with veterinary and pet rescue backgrounds who love animals and strive to help them and their humans as much as possible. Their aim is to finally end euthanasia due to the lack of financial assets to treat the ill animals.

Features

Now, here’s what you will be most interested about – what you and your pet actually get with the Pets Best policy. Here, I will list some of the main features that are mostly highlighted by the clients.

Coverage for All Pets

Pets Best’s insurance offers coverage for both cats and dogs, no matter how old or young they are. You also don’t need to show a medical report before you file for insurance, since they will accept your request, regardless of your pet’s condition.

I see this as yet another confirmation of their genuine care for animals’ wellbeing.

Customized Coverage

This company understands that every animal is unique and so are their needs. This means that the health care necessities also differ from pet to pet. This is why they let their clients choose whatever coverage plan works best for their pet’s needs and their financial abilities.

Regular Check-ups Coverage

A policy can even cover the costs of routine visits to the vet. This, I think, is a great option for those owners who are able to afford this plan, since it gives you the feeling of security and peace of mind when it comes to your pet’s health care.

Additional and Alternative Treatment Coverage

Actually, most of the expenses for the pet’s health care can be included in the policy – even chiropractic and acupuncture treatments. However, preventive procedures, pre-existing conditions, or conditions caused by fleas, ticks and worms are not an option.

That said, I can tell you from my personal experience that parasite infestations are easily preventable, so it’s reasonable that these conditions aren’t included in insurance policies.

Also, the routine check-up plan offers parasites prevention, so if you opt for this scheme, you won’t have to worry about that anyway. All in all, I think these policy options are more than okay.

Customer Support

This company seems to be true to their claim that they want only the best for your pets and they prove this by being available for any questions and doubts owners might have regarding their animal’s health or their insurance policy choices.

The clients can reach them through a toll-free phone number, email, or live chat on the company’s website.

What They Cover

As I’ve already mentioned, most of the plans are customizable, so you are able to include or exclude whatever you like. However, there are some features, like accidents, surgeries, illnesses, cancer, etc., that are reoccurring across the majority of plans.

Let’s look at these similarities and see what you generally may expect if you choose this insurance provider for your pet.

Accident and Illness Plans

This plan includes most potential conditions like:

• Diagnostics
• Prescription medication
• Illnesses
• Accidents
• Emergency treatment, hospitalization and surgeries
• Prosthetics and wheelchairs
• Cancer treatments
• Hereditary and congenital conditions
• Ongoing and chronic conditions
• Dental care
• Behavioral conditions
• Euthanasia
• Coverage while traveling

Optional Features

Since the plans can be tailored to your needs, these are the optional features that you are able to opt to include or not, depending on your pet’s needs and your budget.

• Exam fees
• Prescription medication
• Acupuncture and chiropractic treatments
• Rehabilitation

Some Conditions Aren’t Covered

What they don’t include in their plans are conditions that are preventable, such as conditions caused by parasites, which I’ve mentioned above.

Besides that, they also don’t include conditions that have affected your pet prior to your buying the policy, pet care products that don’t fall under vet-care (like food, special diets, or supplements), or treatments that are characterized as experimental, holistic, or homeopathic.

Accident Only Plans

Of course, there are policies that are quite specific and include only accident-caused ailments, otherwise known as the Accident Only Plans. These are great if you are on a tight budget, but you still want to make sure you are covered in case of an unfortunate event.

What I’ve found interesting about this policy is that it covers not only broken bones, but also snake bites, accidental swallowing and the like.

Routine Care Plans

You are able to buy additional wellness schemes: Premium or Essential. I find these to be great if you have a baby pet and you are still not that well informed about what’s best for their breed specifically.

It’s also ideal if you just want to make sure you’ve set aside enough money for the regular pet’s health care expenses. That said, these plans include:

• Urinalysis or ERD
• Rabies
• Blood, fecal and parasite exam
• Flea/Tick Prevention
• Heartworm Prevention
• Heartworm test or FELV screen
• Deworming
• Vaccination/Titer
• Wellness Exam
• Spay/Neuter – Teeth Cleaning
• Microchip

Reimbursement

When it comes to reimbursement plans, Pets Best also offers the opportunity to customize each aspect of your arrangement – including deductibles and reimbursement levels.

On the one hand, you are able to opt for a deductible on the low end, which is cheaper and on the higher end, which is, of course, more expensive. Regarding reimbursement levels, you are able to choose between 70%, 80%, or 90% – depending on your selected plan.

Pros

​Excellent Wellness Plan

Guaranteeing the health of your pet requires both commitment and regular visits to your vet. One of the best things about Pets Best is that their wellness plan covers essential aspects like spaying, neutering, vaccines and even dental checkups.

Wide Range of Available Plans

Another significant factor to bear in mind is that through Pets Best, you are able to decide on the type of coverage you need – taking into account your pet’s age, prior illnesses, breed specific issues and others.

This offers you the flexibility to adapt your needs to your budget as well, benefiting from an incredibly affordable plan that gives you adequate peace of mind.

Faster and More Efficient Claim Payout

As a rule of thumb, veterinarians will ask you to submit medical records for each time you claim a file. Not only is this an added stress for you and your family while your pet is sick, but most times, these files are merely a formality.

In fact, submitting records takes time and slows down the entire payout process. By contrast, Pets Best doesn’t need nor asks for medical records. As a result, claims can be subsequently paid up to 5 days faster.

Coverage of Hereditary and Congenital Conditions

While an increasing number of companies shy away and deny claims for hereditary or congenital conditions, Pets Best changes the norm. They can cover your pet’s chiropractic and acupuncture treatment, even working on a wide range of alternative therapies.

Excellent Customer Support

Possibly the most essential part of any good plan is having a company that values customers and provides second to none customer service.

Since the overall experience is dependent on how representatives make you feel (i.e., how easy it is to file a claim, to get things moving concerning pre-approvals or payouts), Pets Best scores high on this list.

In fact, they have numerous excellent reviews regarding their empathy and attention to detail.

Claim Pre-Approval Available

For example, should you know that a visit to the vet is unavoidable, you are able to call the company and have your claim pre-approved, even before you reach the office.

This could give you more time to focus on the more critical decisions (i.e., the level of treatment your pet needs, recovery time), instead of directing attention towards insignificant details and approvals from the insurance company.

Multiple Reimbursement Plans

Whether you visit the vet often or almost never, there is a wide range of reimbursement levels available, as I’ve previously mentioned.

70% is typically the low end of the scale, while there is also the option of recovering 100% of your vet bills for the upper end of Pets Best’s insurance policies.

Availability of Deductibles

With this company, there are many different levels of deductibles available. In other words, you are able to have control of how much you’re willing and can get out of your pocket.

Cons

​Limited Coverage for Preventable or Pre-Existing Conditions

One of the most significant disadvantages of the Pets Best policy includes the possibility of being denied coverage should your pet have any pre-existing conditions.

In fact, the same applies should you personally fail to take all needed precautions in ensuring that your pet stays healthy and happy.

Dental Diseases Not Covered

There is a saying that “all disease comes from the teeth.” If that is true, you might be disappointed to find out that if your pet develops periodontal disease or gingivitis, you will not be able to file a claim for treatments or reimbursement.

That is because the condition falls under the “preventable conditions” clause, meaning that you should and could have taken preventative measures to ensure that these dental issues did not see an early onset.

No Parasite Coverage

Another noteworthy con to mention is that the company’s policies do not cover ticks, fleas, or related illnesses. Again, this falls under the same preventable clause I have previously mentioned.

In other words, take the time to ensure that your pet doesn’t suffer from diseases commonly associated with parasites (i.e., ticks, worms, fleas and others).

Diverging Policies

Pets Best has been around for many years and due to that, they have changed carrier multiple times. This can be seen as a double-edged sword: while it shows that the company is efficient and reliable, policies have fluctuated over the years and need reviewing.

Standard Care Coverage

As previously pointed out, you will need to make regular visits to your vet. However, with Pets Best, yearly visits are not considered standard coverage. This means that you’ll have to purchase an additional package to receive these benefits.

Limited To No Coverage of Holistic and Homeopathic Therapies

Unfortunately, a significant number of alternative therapies are not covered through Pets Best and you might need to consider alternative services should that be important to you.

Waiting Period for Illness Coverage

You might need to apply patience for receiving coverage concerning new illnesses. In some cases, clients have mentioned having had to wait up to 12 months before things moved forward.

Conclusion

To sum it up, Pets Best is an excellent insurance company from multiple perspectives. Featuring a large number of positive customer service reviews concerning their efficiency and speed, there are many benefits to choosing their service.

Nonetheless, some aspects need reviewing, should the company wish to iron out the kinks in their operation.

While you are able to fully customize your service, there is limited coverage for some alternative treatments, long waiting periods for illness coverage or dental diseases and other fine prints which may concern some customers. All in all, you’ll need to take the good with the bad.