As we say, the more the merrier. Many pet owners have more than one pet and more than one type of animal. Nothing makes a home more cheerful than filling it with animals you love.
But if you have two or more pets at home, you’re probably looking for the best way to cut costs while providing them with the care they need to live their best possible lives. Caring for multiple pets can get expensive, but pet insurance can definitely help. Pet owners stand to benefit from plans that cover multiple dogs and cats under the same pet insurance brand.
Multi-pet coverage varies from one insurance provider to another, but many providers can offer you a discount as high as 10% off for insuring multiple pets under their brand.
Let's explore everything you need to know about getting pet insurance for multiple pets and how you can find the perfect plans for your furry family members:
- The importance of having pet insurance for multiple pets
- Discounts available for multi-pet insurance policies
- How to find the right pet insurance for your pets
- How to enroll more than one pet on your insurance policy
The Importance of Having Pet Insurance for Multiple Pets
Many pet parents struggle with the decision to buy pet insurance because they don’t like the idea of adding extra costs to their monthly budgets. Sure, there are pros and cons to purchasing pet insurance. It means paying a little extra each month to keep your policy active, but you’ll be glad you have it if you have to bring one of your animals to the vet for emergency care or if you end up with an unexpected cost at a regular visit.
About 60% of dog owners own two dogs, and about 80% of cat owners own more than two cats, according to the 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook.
Millions of housholds own more than one pet, and the costs of caring for multiple pets can add up. An emergency veterinary bill can cost as much as $3,000 or more, depending on the treatment your pet needs. Meanwhile, the lifetime cost of owning a single dog can cost as much as $40,000 or more, and a large portion of those costs are from veterinary expenses.
If you’re one of the millions of pet parents with multiple pets, pet insurance is an important investment that can protect you from unaffordable costs at the vet down the road. Of course, costs aren’t the only concern. Pet insurance can also guarantee your pets always get the care they need when they need it.
Treat Your Pets to Regular Care
Most experts agree that pets should visit the veterinarian at least once per year, but preferably more often than that. Younger pets, especially puppies and kittens, may need to visit the vet as often as every month so their development can be monitored.
Pet parents who have pet insurance go to the vet more often. Which is great! According to one insurer’s study from 2016, pet owners with insurance had visted the vet almost twice as often as those without insurance.
The reasoning behind this is simple. If you have insurance, you can go to the vet in confidence without worrying about what an unexpected cost might do to your budget.
This means your pets get to receive a physical exam and an overall health assessment more regularly. They’ll also get routine treatments more often, such as teeth cleanings, parasite control procedures, vaccinations, and even grooming.
If you have an insurance policy with a wellness coverage add on, many of these expenses may even be covered by your plan. This can significantly reduce the costs of wellness care for multiple pets (especially new puppies or kittens).
Identify Symptoms Early
The real benefit of bringing your pet in for regular veterinary visits is the opportunity to spot illnesses or injuries early. As with human diseases, it’s much easier to treat a pet’s illness if it’s identified before it goes untreated and gets worse.
This is especially true of serious conditions like cancer, for example, as well as for chronic conditions like diabetes or hip dysplasia. It’s also important to recognize hereditary conditions as soon as possible, so you can begin treating them early.
With insurance, your veterinarian will be able to run all the tests they need to verify your pet’s illness. You won’t have to worry about the costs of the tests or your pet’s treatment if your insurance policy covers them.
Know Your Covered During an Emergency
Pet insurance is vital when you have multiple pets because a single emergency could cost thousands of dollars out of pocket - and god-forbid you have more than one emergency.
While it is less likely that all your pets will have an emergency at the same time, it isn’t unheard of. Accidental poisonings can impact an entire household, and environmental risks can affect every pet under one roof.
But even if you don’t have multiple emergencies at the same time, it’s safest to assume each of your pets will need emergency care at some point. Even if you have the means to put money aside each month for potential emergency care, pet insurance could prevent you from paying thousands of dollars out of pocket when one of your pets gets seriously ill.
Discounts Available for Multi-Pet Insurance Policies
By now you're likely aware of the benefits of insurance coverage for your pet.
Here's a nice suprise...
If you have multiple pets, you can save on your insurance premiums by taking advantage of the multiple pet discounts offered by pet insurance companies.
As we mentioned, these discounts vary. But you can expect most insurance providers to offer some type of incentive for insuring multiple pets with them.
If you’re shopping for pet insurance with Pawlicy Advisor, we’ll make it clear what discounts you can enjoy for enrolling multiple pests under a single pet insurance brand.
Here are a few of the discounts Pawlicy Advisor currently recommends:
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance offers a 10% discount for each additional pet you insure under the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance brand.
- Hartville Pet Insurance offers a 10% discount for each additional pet you insure under the Hartville Pet Insurance brand.
- PetFirst Pet Insurance offers a 5% discount on your second pet insurance policy and a 10% discount on each additional pet insurance policy after that.
- Petplan offers a 10% discount for each additional pet you insure under the Petplan brand.
- Pets Best insurance offers a 5% discount for each additional pet you insure under the Pets Best brand.
For example, if you insure two similar pets under ASPCA Pet Insurance plans and your first plan costs $50 per month, your second will only cost you $45 per month. Pet parents who have even more pets under their roof can save even more if they cover all of them with the same brand of insurance.
Under the same ASPCA plans, you could cover three similar pets for $50, $45, and $45 per month. This may not seem like much of a discount at first glance, but you’d be saving about $120 per year. That’s almost a full month’s worth of insurance premiums you don’t have to pay.
Pro Tip: You can easily create pet insurance comparison charts to side top providers side by side on Pawlicy Advisor.
The Typical Costs of Pet Insurance
Naturally, not every pet will have the same monthly premiums for their insurance. The costs of pet insurance are calculated based on your pet’s species, age, size, and breed. Where you live is also a determining factor in what you pay each month.
Monthly premiums for a pet insurance policy can cost as little as $10, but you may not be getting very much coverage at that price. Similarly, you could spend as much as $100 or more per month on a single policy, but you may not want to pay for that much coverage if it puts too much of a strain on your budget.
Older pets cost more to insure, but they are also the most likely to need veterinary care. If you have a mix of older and younger pets at home (including any rescue pets), it may be a good idea to take advantage of a multiple pet discount so you can save on your older pets’ insurance costs.
How to Find the Right Pet Insurance for Your Pets
If you’re shopping for pet insurance on Pawlicy Advisor, you don’t have to worry about overpaying for insurance or missing out on coverage. By entering just a few details about your pet, you can browse a long list of quotes instantly, look at detailed coverage information, and select the plans that best suit your pets and your budget.
Of course, deciding on a plan can be difficult if you’ve never shopped for pet insurance before. Here are a few things you should remember when selecting policies.
What to Look for in an Insurance Policy
From the perspective of costs, the first thing you should pay attention to is your monthly premium. This is the amount you’ll pay each month to keep the policy active for your pet.
You should also pay attention to your annual deductible, your reimbursements percentage, and your annual coverage limit. Your deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in, while your reimbursement percentage is the percentage of the cost your insurance provider will reimburse after you pay your veterinarian for services.
Finally, your annual coverage limit is the maximum amount your insurance plan will reimburse you each year. Many plans come with an unlimited annual coverage limit.
Beyond your costs and reimbursement rates, you should pay attention to the levels of coverage you’ll receive. Most pet parents purchase what are known as accident/illness plans, which cover veterinary care for treating your pet if they get hurt or sick.
You can also purchase an accident-only plan, which only covers injuries, at a much lower monthly premium. While no pet insurance plans cover pre-existing conditions, there are options for curable conditions and alternative savings programs for those that are recurring.
Similarly, you have the option to add wellness coverage to your plan for a little extra each month. Wellness coverage will cover routine care, such as flea and tick prevention, vaccinations, and more.
(Simplified Routine-Care Add-ons via Pawlicy Advisor)
Routine Care Add-ons can be a smart investment when insuring multiple pets.
For example, with the option highlighted above, the pet owner would save up to $305 per year with an Essential Wellness add-on, and that’s just for one pet. If they decide to insure three or more pets they could potentially save over $1,000 per year in veterinary costs.
Comparing Pet Insurance Policies
You used to have to compare pet insurance policies by requesting quotes from various companies, taking notes, and viewing each quote side-by-side on your own. These days, you can compare policies at the click of a button.
For example, if using Pawlicy Advisor, clicking "compare" will trigger a custom comparison chart.
Here, this free tool provides you with essential information about each plan’s lifetime cost, as well as a rating for how much coverage the plan provides and how each plan stacks up in terms of pricing. You can even compare the average time it takes each plan to reimburse you after you pay for veterinary services.
Pretty cool, right?
You’ll also see detailed information about what each plan covers and doesn’t cover. This allows you to compare plans based on your pets’ unique needs.
For example, the plan on the right (below) would cover prescription foods for covered conditions, while the plan on the left does not:
The best way to find the perfect plan for your pet is to create a detailed comparison chart and see options from multiple top providers side-by-side. You're looking for one that has the right lifetime cost projections, the right coverage for your specific breed(s), and ideally a "multiple pet discount."
How to Enroll More Than One Pet on Your Insurance Policy
First find an insurance brand that fits and one that will cover the unique needs of each one of your pets. Keep in mind that each insurance policy is unique, so coverage offered by one policy may not be translate to another if the breed are different, even if it’s offered by the same brand.
Some pet parents shop for individual plans for each of thier pets through Pawlicy Advisor before running a search analysis for multiple pets simultaneously. You may want to do this if one or more of your pets has unique needs that aren’t addressed by one brand of pet insurance, but you prefer that brand for your other pets. Keep in mind that multiple pet discounts won’t apply if you enroll your pets under plans from different pet insurance brands.
Regardless, Pawlicy Advisor makes it easy to enroll multiple pets. If you have multiple pets to insure, simply generate a new search and the free tool will analyze hundreds of policies across top insurance companies to find the best fit for you (including a multiple pet discount) - based on your pets' breed, age, location, and more.
By comparing top insurance companies and your pet’s breed-specific health risks, you can save up to 75% on the lifetime costs of your insurance plan, on top of the multi-pet discount applied for additional animals. That's huge when we're talking "pet lifespan" scales. It’s an ideal tool for insuring multiple pets with unique health needs and taking advantage of savings in the process.
