11/15/2025
We’ve all seen the stories and posts before: “Please donate to my GoFundMe, my dog won’t survive unless I can pay for their expensive surgery!” I see these posts at least once a week.
Like everything lately, costs of veterinary care are rising. The how and why of that fact is a different matter entirely, but everyone with a pet knows veterinary care costs more now than even five years ago.
When Bruno swallows a toy and has an obstruction, you can bet that will be at least a $5,000 life saving surgery. Or when Sophie tears a cruciate ligament, you can expect a $6,000 surgery if she’s going to walk comfortably again. How about when new puppy Oliver contracts parvo at the park because he was too young to be fully vaccinated? Easily an $8,000 hospitalization. These are unfortunately common occurrences that all pet owners should be prepared for.
We’ve heard from families who lost their pets because they couldn’t afford vet care: young, healthy pets who shouldn’t have had to lose their lives simply because their owners couldn’t afford treatment. Three year old dogs who swallowed a toy and the bowel obstruction surgery was too expensive. Five year old dogs who broke a leg but their owner couldn’t afford orthopedic surgery. It is, unfortunately, economic euthanasia.
For most families, pet insurance can literally mean the difference between life and death for their pets. We don’t have $10,000 (per pet!) sitting aside just in case of a veterinary emergency. That isn’t practical for us. For a monthly fee, we spread that risk to pet insurance companies.
The biggest complaint we hear though is that “pet insurance is too expensive”. For a one year old Labrador in NY, as of February 2025, we purchased an accident/illness insurance policy for $26/month with Lemonade. For an eight week old Labrador as of November 2025, we purchased an accident/illness policy from Pet’s Best for $31/month. These are plans that will be lifesaving if any emergency arises. We could’ve gone cheaper (less coverage) and we certainly could’ve gone more expensive (better coverage), upwards of $100/month for plans to include regular wellness care like vaccines and flea prevention. Our dogs are insured with Trupanion, Lemonade and Pet’s Best. There are dozens of companies though, with all different reimbursement rates, coverage, and price points. Quotes for pet insurance are easily available online: Chewy, Trupanion, Lemonade, Fetch, Embrace, Pet’s Best, Fido, Pumpkin, AKC, ASPCA, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Healthy Paws, the list goes on. Some employers even offer pet insurance as a benefit. It’s important to shop around and read the fine print to learn the differences between plans. We have never had a claim denied, but you need to know what is and what isn’t going to be covered before rushing in.
And before you think “I’ll just put that money into a savings account instead” think of this: many accidents happen when dogs are young, so putting even $100/month aside isn’t going to pay the major vet bills when puppy is only six or eight months old. We’ve had one year old dogs with claims paid out for more than $12,000… we’d be saving for ten years to pay the vet bill at that rate.
If your dog is a senior (and at higher risk for illness), accident and illness coverage might be too expensive. Some geographic areas are also quite expensive, since pet insurance rates are partially dependent on the cost of vet care in your zip code. If even the cheapest accident and illness plan isn’t affordable, there are a few companies offering accident only plans. Those plans cover accidents only (no illnesses or hereditary issues like diabetes, cancer or hip dysplasia), but they will be lifesaving for issues like bowel obstruction, poisoning, car accidents, broken legs, bite wounds, etc. For example: Pet’s Best has an accident only plan for dogs of all breeds and all ages for just $9 per month. That’s $9 to provide peace of mind and life saving medical treatment for less than the cost of a pizza.
Remember too: you must have pet insurance in place before the accident or illness occurs. Virtually no plans are going to cover preexisting conditions.
There are tons of expenses when it comes to pet ownership. If you have to choose though, please cover their “needs” before the “wants”. And if even $9/month isn’t in the budget, please reconsider before adding a dog to the family in the first place.
Every single one of our dogs has pet insurance, not as a luxury but as a necessity. When our older dogs’ plans become too expensive (rates increase with age/risk) we still keep the accident only coverage. I could never look my dog in the eyes and decide their fate based solely on the cost of treatment… and I don’t have to. Pet insurance has saved our dogs’ lives and quality of life many times over, and every single dog has had a claim in our family. So is pet insurance worth it? It is to us!
