Pet Insurance for More Than One Pet: Multi-Pet Discounts And Strategies
CEO & Co-Founder - Pawlicy Advisor
Caring for multiple pets can get expensive, but pet insurance can help by limiting your exposure to vet bills. Pet owners with more than one dog or cat can also save money by enrolling their pets under the same insurance provider.
Multi-pet coverage varies from one insurance company to the next, but some providers can offer you a discount as high as 10% for insuring multiple pets under their brand.
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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
- What are the benefits of multi-pet insurance?
- 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.
Millions of housholds own more than one pet, and the costs of caring for multiple pets can add up. The estimated lifetime cost of caring for just one dog amounts to $40,000 or more, and a large portion of those costs are from veterinary expenses. For instance, an emergency vet bill can easily cost over $3,000, depending on the treatment your pet needs. Having more than one pet significantly increases your risk of financial burden.
Emergency vet visits can easily amount to $3,000 or more
If you’re one of many with a few four-legged family members at home, then pet insurance is an important investment that can protect you from unexpected and often unaffordable costs at the vet. This ensures your pets always get the care they need when they need it, and that cost is never a barrier to care.
What are the benefits of multi-pet insurance?
Of course, vet bills aren’t the only concern. Here are several other ways you can benefit from multi-pet insurance.
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 every month.
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
Another 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 condition if it’s diagnosed 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, to prevent irrevocable damage from occurring.
With insurance, you won’t have to worry about the cost of diagnostics or treatment if your insurance policy covers them. Your veterinarian will be able to run all the tests they need to confirm your pet’s illness. And if a second pet gets sick, they'll be able to receive the same gold-standard care.
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.
1 in 3 pets will require emergency treatment every year
But even if you don’t have multiple emergencies at the same time, note that one in three pets will require emergency care every year. Even if you have the means to put money aside each month for potential ER visits, pet insurance could prevent you from paying thousands of dollars out-of-pocket when one or more of your pets gets seriously ill or injured.
Discounts Available for Multi-Pet Insurance Policies
If you have multiple pets, many providers offer multi-pet insurance discounts that reduce your premium rate for each additional pet you enroll. The table below shows how much you can expect to save at each company.
Insurance Provider | Multi-Pet Discount Rate |
|---|---|
10% | |
10% | |
5% | |
10% | |
5-10% | |
5% | |
10% | |
5% | |
5% | |
10% | |
Up to 15% | |
5% | |
10% | |
10% | |
Up to 15% | |
5% | |
10% | |
10% |
As you can see, some (but not all) providers offer savings incentives for getting pet insurance for multiple pets and the discounted rate you could receive will vary by company. Some offer discounts as high as 15% off, while other companies like Trupanion don't offer multi-pet discounts at all.
Keep in mind, best pet insurance for multiple pets isn't necessarily the cheapest plan with the most savings; you'll need to consider other factors such as the annual payout limit, reimbursement rate, and deductible amound to find the best solution for your personal preferences.
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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.
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."
See which pet insurance is right for your best friend.
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 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.
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CEO & Co-Founder - Pawlicy Advisor
Woody Mawhinney, CEO and Co-Founder of Pawlicy Advisor, was relieved when his pet insurance covered his Shar Pei’s monthly prescription costs. However, many veterinarians and pet parents in his community shared with him the difficulties they faced when evaluating options. As a licensed insurance producer nationally, he launched Pawlicy Advisor as the first U.S. pet insurance marketplace actively endorsed by veterinarians, aiming to improve the pet insurance experience by providing objective analysis, more thorough comparison, and a streamlined educational experience.
