Service Review:

Pets Best has been the leader in offering premier pet insurance since 2005. Founded by animal advocate and famous veterinarian Dr. Jack Stephens, Pets Best was created with the mission of ensuring that all pets would receive the treatment they deserve without crippling their owners financially. Pets Best offers many affordable plans based on individual needs that ensure that your pet has the best quality of care possible. The Underwriters for Pets Best are Independence American Insurance Company (IAIC) and Aetna Insurance Company of Connecticut.

How it works:

Overview – Pets Best offers a variety of affordable pet insurance plans that will vary in cost based on three main factors: age, breed, and location. Locations vary due to the regional cost of pet care throughout the United States. All plans pay out at a straight 80/20 rate; covering 80% of costs after the deductible has been met. Deductibles vary according to plans. Plans with the lowest deductibles will have the highest out of pocket per month, but plans start at less than a $1 a day, making pet insurance very reasonable.

Coverages Basics – Plans cover most illness and accident visits including emergency visits, hospitalizations, specialist care, surgeries, and outpatient care. Prescription medications, MRIs, CAT scans, and X-Rays are also covered in most cases. Pets Best insurance even includes coverage for alternative treatments such as chiropractic and acupuncture in many cases. When traveling with your pet your pet insurance travels with you and can be used at any veterinary clinic worldwide.

Claims – You pay the vet bill and file the claim either online, via standard mail, or by fax. Within 2 weeks, on average about five days, you will receive a paper check for 80% of the total cost after your deductible has been met. Pets Best also offers direct deposit into your checking or savings account for faster reimbursement of funds.

Cost:

Pets Best offers plans starting as low as less than a dollar a day, that’s just $16 a month.

• With a straight 80% payout after the deductible is reached pet owners can ensure that their pets have the best care possible without going into debt.
• Pets Best plans have some of the highest pay outs in the industry offering up to $7,000 of coverage for each incident under the Pets First plan and up to $14,000 under the Pets Premier Plan (where available).
• Pets Best also offers up to $100,000 in coverage over the lifetime of your pet. Pets Best also offers discounts for multiple pet enrollments and for annual pay.

Coverage:

Your pet can be covered at as early as seven weeks of life. We strongly recommend insuring your kitten or puppy as soon as possible because pet insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. So, it may be more difficult to insure them later in life if a condition develops early on. Also, because kittens and puppies are so adventurous they often fall prey to accidents and ingesting items that lead to emergency visits to the vet.

Coverage Specifics – Coverage includes most visits due to illness and/or accident including emergency visits, hospitalizations, specialist care, surgeries, and outpatient care. Prescription medications, MRIs, CAT scans, and X-Rays are also covered in most cases.

Senior Pets – Unlike some pet insurance companies Pets Best does not have a limit on the age of the animal that it will insure. They also will not cancel or reduce benefits as your pet ages.

No Benefit Schedules – Pets Best does not use benefit schedules. A benefit schedule sets a maximum price a policyholder will be reimbursed for a procedure. This can be a problem if the maximum reimbursement is less than what the veterinarian charges causing the policyholder to have to pay the difference in cost or search for a new vet.

Routine Care – Another feature that we really like about Pets Best is that they offer a routine care coverage plan BestWellness™ that can be added to any of their existing accident and injury plans to pay for regular check-ups, vaccinations, blood work, spaying and neutering.

Cancer Coverage – In addition, all Pets Best Plans include cancer coverage, a common disease among dogs over 6 years old, at no extra charge. Without pet insurance the cost of treating your pet for cancer could easily be upwards of $10,000.

Alternative Care – Want to treat your pet alternatively? Pets Best covers many chiropractic and acupuncture treatments as well.

Why we rate Pets Best Insurance as #3:

Dr. Stephens, a forerunner in the industry of pet insurance, and former veterinarian has made it his mission to stop the euthanizing of pets due to the cost of veterinary treatment. Pets Best insurance is his solution to this growing problem. At a cost that almost anyone can afford you get a straight-forward plan that can be used at any veterinary clinic worldwide. Claims reimbursement is fast, typically five days, and can be deposited directly into your account, making it easy as well. There are a wide variety of plans to suit the specific needs of you and your animal. There are no upper age limits or restrictions and benefit payouts are some of the highest in the industry. Finally, Pets Best is a company that has made a solid commitment to increasing the welfare of animals from hosting local humane society fundraisers and pet supply drives for Gulf Coast pets to major partnerships with organizations like Morris Animal Foundation.