Pet insurance works a little differently than people insurance. With human insurance, you’ll normally pay a co-pay when you go to your doctor. The doctor’s office then bills your insurance company and you receive a bill for whatever portion you are responsible for. With pet insurance, you pay the veterinarian in full at the time of your visit. You then submit your bill to your insurance company for a direct reimbursement.
Just as with human health insurance, there are dozens of pet insurance companies out there, each with many different plans. With some plans, you have a low monthly premium but you may pay more out-of-pocket when expenses arise. Conversely, others have higher premiums but more things are covered.
There really is no “one size fits all” so you’ll need to do some research before picking a plan. The absolute best place to start is a website called Pet Insurance Review. As the name implies, it reviews all the pet insurance companies and shows you a side-by-side comparison. From there, you can narrow down your choices and look further into the companies that interest you.