Prudent Pet Dog Insurance Review

Pet insurance might not make the list of fun things to buy your new pet, but it can help you be prepared for emergencies that crop up. A good pet insurance could be that missing piece that helps you provide for your pet without worry.

If you aren’t sure where to start shopping for pet insurance, we’ve got you covered. There are many options for choosing the right plan. One is Prudent Pet, a plan for dogs and cats that covers emergencies and non-routine care. Let’s take a look at the details and see if Pet Prudent could be the right choice for you.

Prudent Pet Overview

Prudent Pet was founded only in 2018, making it one of the newest options available. It’s quickly become a large enough company to offer both dog and cat insurance in all 50 states. They’re underwritten by the Fire Insurance Company’s Crum and Forster.

It provides insurance for pet parents by pet parents. The company is full of pet parents themselves and offers both your dog or your cat emergency coverage. It’s well-rated and has an A-minus rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Because the company is so new, they could expand their services as coverage grows. Right now, they don’t offer any coverage for exotic animals or horses, but that could change in the future. They could also expand services and change policies as they grow.

We do know that they’ve started strong with excellent online reviews and a slew of happy customers that took a chance on their new services and were pleased. Keep in mind that with any new company, you should always do your own research.

2024 Prudent Pet Insurance Review

Prudent Pet is almost too new to have a lot of feedback about the service, but it does offer a wide range of accident and illness coverage along with two different wellness plans. Despite their new entry into the world of pet insurance, they do provide a comprehensive range of plans.

Pros:

• Multiple plan options
• No upper age restrictions
• Not many negative reviews

Cons:

• New companies can be unpredictable
• Only cat and dog coverage
• Doesn’t cover most alternative therapies

What do customers like about Prudent Pet?

Customers do like that the company is responsive and transparent. They’ve had good experiences with customer service and with their reimbursement claims. Overall, the company seems to be doing well.

“I recently purchased a policy and have been very impressed so far. The agent was very knowledgeable and helped me determine which coverage was the best fit for my dog Spike. The coverage seems straight forward, and I have already received my reimbursement for his first checkup.” – Beloshe33

“Great customer service, helpful online portal, love the direct deposit reimbursement option. Easy and reasonable way to have peace of mind regarding Peaches’ vet bills.” Grace

“Prudent Pet was great, it was really easy getting a policy, and the agent on the phone was super helpful.” Conner

What do customers dislike about Prudent Pet?

Unfortunately, there aren’t any negative reviews as of the moment. It’s just over a year old, and we’re sure that if you keep an eye on this space, the negatives will soon appear. However, at the moment, we don’t have any to share.

How Does Prudent Pet Insurance Work?

Prudent Pet insurance is a catastrophic plan, but it does have some other perks. It has the option of an accident only plan as the primary starting point, but you can get a comprehensive plan with illness coverage as well. You get quite a few choices for deciding on your pet’s care.

Plan Details

Their two insurance plans offer a choice of deductibles and coinsurance amounts with specific plans having caps on yearly payouts. The less you have to pay out of pocket, the higher your premium will be and vice versa.

You begin with your deductible with $100, $250, and $500. From there, you have the option for your copays at 10%, 20%, or 30%. Once you’ve covered your deductible, the plan will reimburse you at the percentage you choose after that. You can potentially get up to 70%, 80%, or 90% back on your bills.

The plan does have the potential for annual caps. You can choose caps between $2,500 to $20,000, but there is also an option for unlimited caps in the most expensive plans.

Accident Only versus Accident and Illness

Once you’ve decided on all your details, you choose between accident or accident and illness. Accident only coverage is sometimes known as major medical. It covers the biggest emergencies and not non-routine illnesses.

With Accident and Illness, you get coverage for things like hereditary diseases that aren’t considered pre-existing as well as chronic illnesses or things like cancer. Illness coverage is more comprehensive, so you have more choices as your pet ages or their health changes throughout the life of the plan.

Wellness Coverage

The plan does have the option for wellness coverage but not as a separate plan. Once you’ve decided which option you want, you have the choice to cover other routine medical things such as veterinarian visits and dental.

Preventative care takes up a lot more funds than most people realize. Preventative care could be a good option if you’ve got more than one pet or an older pet, preventative care coverage could save you a lot of hassle.

They have two wellness choices to choose from. Basic wellness covers things like routine vet visits and basic services. It also includes basic dental care and some routine treatments like flea and tick treatment.

The Wellness Prime option covers things like spaying and neutering or dental coverage for the year, but not both. It also offers you a wider range of blood tests and other routine diagnostics for reimbursement.

There is no waiting period for wellness coverage, and you don’t have to wait on your deductibles to be met to begin reimbursements for these. Reimbursements are made based on a scheduled amount and fall outside the accident and illness coverage.

Reimbursements

The system works on reimbursements. You don’t have to worry about whether your veterinarian takes insurance, and you don’t have to worry about emergency care. Instead, you pay the bills and submit a reimbursement receipt. Once your reimbursement form is complete, Prudent Pet will deposit money into your account based on your coverage terms or send a paper check.

Cat Insurance

The company does offer insurance for cats, and it works very similarly to the dog plans. You have the choice of accident or accident and illness with two different wellness riders to take care of routine coverage.

Once you’ve decided on your plan type, you choose deductibles, reimbursement percentages, and if you’re going to have an annual reimbursement cap. This helps you maintain the costs for your cat without causing too much chaos in your finances.

Prudent Pet Pricing Details

Prudent Pet gives you a lot of choices for balancing your monthly premiums with your needed coverage. Let’s take a look at a few different options and how that might affect your bottom line.

How much does it cost per month for their best plan?

The best plans can cost over $100 if you add the wellness rider. The best plans are unlimited and offer the lowest deductibles with the highest percentages of reimbursement. Depending on your pet and where you live, this can get expensive.

If you choose the unlimited plan, you have the potential to get a lot of reimbursements back if your pet is older or accident-prone. Also, if your pet develops cancer after the plan is in place, you may opt for the unlimited plans to help offset mounting costs.

Are there any coupons, deals, or incentives to sign up?

There aren’t any active coupons, but they do offer a multi-pet discount if you have more than one. You should shave a small percentage off your monthly premium. Contact an agent to find out about discounts in your specific area or other common discounts like military or senior.

What’s the deductible? Is it annual or per visit?

Deductibles are paid annually, and you have quite a few options there. The higher your deductible, the less you’ll pay in premiums each month, so balance those needs as best you can.

Do you have to pay a copay, or are claims covered 100%?

You are required a copay once your deductible is met each year. You have three choices for copays, including one that’s just ten percent of the bill after the deductible. Again, each time you go lower with your reimbursement options, your premium also becomes more affordable.

Will the rates go up over time?

The rates shouldn’t go up, but as with all insurance, any change in leadership or underwriters could cause changes. Make sure you talk to an agent and read the fine print for those types of fine details. If your pet is already older, you may find that the plans do increase.

Prudent Pet Coverage Details

Here’s what you need to know about Prudent Pet’s plans. You do have a lot of choices for your plan, including the choice of an emergency only or adding in wellness riders to offset the cost of your routine and basic care.

Does it cover regular vet office visits and routine check-ups or only unexpected emergencies?

If you don’t have the wellness rider, the only thing that is covered is non routine care. The wellness rider allows you to get reimbursed for routine medical events and dental coverage. The basic insurance is only for unexpected emergencies, but the Illness option will cover non-routine medical events.

Does it cover dental and teeth cleaning?

The wellness rider will provide basic dental cleanings. The insurance will only cover emergency, non routine dental issues such as extractions. If you choose wellness plus, you will not be able to choose dental and spay/neuter options in the same year period.

Does it cover hip dysplasia?

Accident-only won’t cover it at all. Accident and Illness will cover hereditary diseases like hip dysplasia, but only if it isn’t considered a pre-existing condition. You have to wait through the vet check and the waiting period.

Does it cover spaying and neutering?

The wellness rider will cover spaying and neutering, but because these are considered routine medical events, basic accident and illness will not.

Does it cover pre-existing conditions?

There are no insurance plans that will cover pre-existing conditions. Prudent Pet insurance has the same options as other comparable insurance carriers. However, for pre-existing conditions that are considered curable, the condition is eligible for coverage if there are no symptoms for 180 days.

Does it cover cancer?

If you have Accident and Illness coverage, your dog or cat is good for cancer coverage. It cannot be a pre-existing condition, however. If your pet is diagnosed with cancer after the waiting period is over, the condition is covered for everything from prescription medications to diagnostics.

Does it cover prescription medications?

Accident and Illness covers prescription medications for non-routine things. It won’t cover something like flea or tick treatments, but if your dog contracts an emergency illness, you’re covered.

What else does it cover?

It covers most of your pet’s nonroutine care.

• Injuries
• Emergencies
• Torn ligaments
• Ingestion of toxic substances
• Diagnostics
• Cancer
• Hereditary (not pre-existing) conditions
• Chronic conditions
• Dental disease
• Behavioral therapy

What else does it NOT cover?

You’ll need a wellness rider for some of the list below. Other things are not covered regardless.

• Routine vet visits
• Routine dental care
• Pre-existing conditions
• Alternative therapies
• Spaying and neutering
• Elective procedures
• Injuries from dog-fighting
• Purposeful injuries
• Anal gland expression (routine)
• Pregnancy, whelping, or breeding
• Grooming
• Funeral expenses

Are there any restrictions on breed-specific conditions or age?

There are no age restrictions or breed restrictions. Your pet must be at least eight weeks old to sign up. Prudent Pet also has no breed restrictions, but keep in mind that it won’t cover any hereditary disease that’s considered pre-existing.

Is there a waiting period? How soon can I start using the insurance after I sign up?

To use your Prudent Pet insurance, you must submit your pet to a vet examination to establish any pre-existing conditions. Once you’ve sent that paperwork, there is a 14 day waiting period for illnesses and accidents. Any accident or illness that occurs during this period is not covered and will be a pre-existing condition.

Is it easy to cancel if I change my mind?

You have 30 days from the payment of your first premium to decide that insurance isn’t the right one for you. Once that happens, notify the company in writing to receive a refund of your premium. If you’ve already submitted a claim, you may be subject to exceptions from the full refund.

How does Prudent Pet compare to other pet insurance companies?

Prudent Pet may be new, but they have an extensive network of coverage that rivals any larger company. Their underwriters are extensive, and they’re able to offer a range of accident, illness, and wellness coverage for both cats and dogs.

Would you recommend this pet insurance company for dogs?

This company would be a good option for anyone with a dog. It covers a range of illnesses and conditions and gives you plenty of choices for how to balance your monthly premium costs with your coverage.

What about coverage for other animals?

It does not offer coverage for other animals at this time. Keep an eye out for the expansion of services in the future because the company is very new.

Do they offer coverage for cats?

They do have cat coverage. It works similarly to coverage for dogs. You can choose accident only or accident and illness, and you do have the choice to add a wellness rider to the plan as well for preventative care coverage. You choose your deductible, copay, and reimbursement limit.

Choosing the right coverage for your cat is essential. Cats are also subject to illness, injuries, and basic routine care expenses. Be sure to consider your options and help keep your feline friend safe and healthy without breaking your wallet. 

Do they offer coverage for horses, birds, reptiles, and other exotic animals?

They do not have coverage for these animals at the current moment. The company is new, however, and always expanding. It’s possible that it could happen in the future.

Choosing the right pet insurance can be tough, but with even newer companies like Prudent Pet in the mix, you get a wide range of choices to fulfill your needs. They offer excellent coverage for dogs and cats but may be more expensive as your pet gets older. The positive is there is no age limit for starting a new policy.

Those of you with younger pets should be in good shape. If you have an older pet, the costs may be much higher, but you will never be rejected or dropped from a plan just because of your pet’s age. That’s a good sign in a sea of age restrictions. Keep your older and younger pets covered and ensure their coverage never depends on the finances.