How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?

Average cost of pet insurance for dogs and cats

The plan type you choose makes a big difference in pet insurance prices. The American Animal Hospital Association cites a NAPHIA report in which accident and illness coverage comes to an average of $836 per year for a dog. For a cat, that same coverage averages $435 a year.

Other policy types in the NAPHIA report vary widely in what they charge:

• Accident-only coverage: a dog costs $16 a month ($190 a year), and a cat costs $9 a month ($112 a year).
• Plans with wellness: monthly averages are $118 for a dog ($1,414 a year) and $72 for a cat ($859 a year).

The NAPHIA numbers are a weighted average of what US owners pay on policies that are active. In North America, 7.6 million pets are covered, according to NAPHIA adoption figures. In the US, 4.27% of pets have coverage, including 5.99% of dogs plus 2.29% of cats.

Published rate studies take a different approach: they gather sample prices for one specific pet profile. Prices in a study are averages for a modeled pet, not personal quotes.

Pet insurance cost by age

Fewer chronic health problems show up in younger animals, which is why insurers charge less for puppies and kittens. In a MoneyGeek rate analysis, 67,000+ pet profiles were modeled across 18 insurers in every state plus DC. Policy settings in that study: a $5,000 annual limit, along with a $500 deductible, plus 80% reimbursement.

The annual limit is the most a policy will pay toward vet bills in one year. The deductible is the amount you cover yourself, before the plan helps with your vet bills. The percentage of a covered bill that the insurer returns to you after the deductible is met is called reimbursement.

The MoneyGeek study broke dogs into life stages, with these average monthly rates:

• A puppy (under 1 year) runs $46 a month.
• $47 a month for a young dog (3 years).
• $64 a month for a middle-aged dog (6-year-old baseline).
• A senior dog (8 to 13 years) runs $99 a month.

Under those same policy settings, cats come in lower each month at every age:

• A kitten (under 1 year) averages $23 a month.
• A young cat (4 years) runs $26 a month.
• A middle-aged cat (7-year-old baseline) averages $34 a month.
• A senior cat (11 to 14 years) averages $62 a month.

A pet's oldest years bring steep rate increases. At age 1, dogs in that MoneyGeek dataset average $44 a month. By age 15, they reach $206 a month. The average for the oldest cats, those aged 16 to 20, is $95 a month.

Pet insurance cost by breed

Breed matters a great deal to animal insurance cost, because breeds differ in size and in inherited health risks. According to MoneyGeek breed data, insuring a flat-faced breed costs much more than insuring a smaller hound or retriever.

• Bulldog: A puppy or young dog averages $66 a month ($787 a year for a puppy, $797 a year for a young dog). Bulldogs in middle age average $100 a month, or $1,196 a year. Seniors reach $252 a month, or $3,025 a year.
• French bulldog: A puppy starts at $60 a month, or $715 a year. A young adult runs $61 a month, or $727 a year. In middle age, rates reach $90 a month, or $1,078 a year. A senior reaches $243 a month, or $2,912 a year.
• Labrador retriever: A puppy or young adult averages $42 a month ($502 a year for a puppy, $505 a year for a young adult). Middle-aged Labs average $61 a month, or $733 a year. Seniors average $130 a month, or $1,563 a year.
• Dachshund: A puppy or young dog starts at $29 a month ($344 a year for a puppy, $354 a year for a young dog). In middle age, rates reach $43 a month, or $510 a year; for a senior, they reach $1,205 a year.

Set these dog breeds side by side and you can see how quickly senior rates outpace puppy prices.

What drives the price

Your rate comes from details about your pet and your home address, plus the coverage settings you pick. Species, age, and breed are things you can't change about your pet. The local vet fee baseline comes from your ZIP code. Your deductible, reimbursement level, and annual limit are yours to adjust, so you can balance pet insurance cost and coverage.

Your monthly bill goes up when you pick a higher annual limit. According to a Forbes Advisor study, a $5,000 annual limit was compared against an unlimited payout at 80% reimbursement. With a $5,000 limit in place, dogs averaged $43 a month at 3 months and $41 a month at 3 years. After either of those young dogs switched to an unlimited plan, the average reached $64 a month. No cap meant $82 a month for a dog at age 5, versus $52 a month on a $5,000 limit. That same study put a 3-year-old cat at $12 a month ($5,000 limit), rising to $34 a month (unlimited). A 5-year-old cat on an unlimited plan averaged $41 a month.

Quotes vary from one company to the next even if every pet detail and policy setting is identical. A NerdWallet sample collected quotes from 13 insurers about a mixed-breed dog that was 2 years old, in Katy, Texas. For that one dog, monthly quotes ran from $30 to $53, and the median was $39. For a domestic shorthair cat that was 2 years old, quotes at 13 insurers ranged from $14 to $24, and the median was $19.

State-by-state cost

NAPHIA gives no average price for any single state. The industry highlights report from NAPHIA shows where insured pets live and the total premium each state generates. Vet clinic fees in your ZIP code still move individual pet insurance prices up or down.

The biggest share of US insured pets sits in these 10 states:

• California: 18.3% of pets insured in the US, and 20.2% of premiums collected nationwide in the US.
• New York: 7.2% of pets insured in the US, and 7.8% of premiums collected in the US.
• Florida: 6.3% of insured pets in the US (6.4% of the total US premium).
• Texas: 5.5% of insured pets in the US (5.1% of the total US premium).
• Pennsylvania: its share of both insured pets and total US premium is 4.6%.
• New Jersey: 4.6% of insured pets nationwide (a 4.9% share of the US premium total).
• Washington: 3.6% of insured pets in the US, and the same share of the US premium.
• Massachusetts: 3.4% of insured pets in the US (3.8% of the total US premium).
• Colorado: 3.0% of insured pets in the US (3.1% of the total US premium).
• Illinois: 2.9% of insured pets in the US (3.2% of the total US premium).

Common questions

What's the average pet insurance cost per month?

Plans with a $250 deductible were modeled in a Forbes Advisor analysis covering 478,670 rates from 21 policies. Those settings mean a $5,000 limit policy averages $56 a month for dogs and $24 a month for cats.

Is $100 a month a high price for pet insurance?

For a young pet, $100 a month sits above average, though it is a common figure for older dogs and unlimited plans. According to the Forbes Advisor study, dogs at age 7 average $74 a month on a $5,000 limit, and $114 a month on unlimited plans.

What does pet insurance cost for a golden retriever?

Our dataset of published rate studies doesn't separate out an average for golden retrievers. Your quote depends on the deductible, reimbursement level, and annual limit you pick, plus your retriever's age and your ZIP code.

What does pet insurance cost for a German shepherd?

There is no separate monthly figure for German shepherds in our rate data. Your real price shows up when you compare quotes with matching limits from several companies, since prices for large purebred dogs differ by ZIP code.

What makes pet insurance cost rise year after year?

Your rates rise at renewal since your pet ages and vet clinic prices keep climbing. The veterinary services index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows clinic fees up 4.6% year over year. Those same veterinary service prices went up 44.5% over a 5-year span, according to the BLS CPI report.