So, you want to buy pet insurance. As a pet owner, this is a big step because you’re committing a year of monthly payments to keeping your pet safe and healthy. Like other insurance companies, several factors affect the cost of pet insurance, and location is one of them.
For all of you Nebraska dwellers, we’re exploring 10 of the best pet insurance companies for your state. Each of these companies has its pros and cons, and you better believe we’re listing each in this comprehensive post.
Let’s get started.
A Quick Comparison of Our Winners for 2024
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Best Overall
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Spot |
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Lemonade |
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Fetch |
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Pets Best |
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Embrace |
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The 10 Best Pet Insurance Providers in Nebraska
1. Spot Pet Insurance – Best Overall
Spot is our best overall option. They have five deductible options ranging from $100–$1,000 and three reimbursement options. They’re also liberal with their annual coverage options.
As far as coverage goes, you can choose accident and illness coverage or accident-only coverage. From there, you can customize your plan based on your budget. If you’re willing to pay a little more monthly, you can add wellness coverage to your plan. We like that Spot includes behavioral in their essential coverage, plus exam fees. That’s hard to find in a pet insurance company.
The downside with Spot is their waiting periods and customer service. You have a 14-day waiting period for accidents, longer than other companies. They also don’t offer customer service on the weekend, so if you submit a claim on a Saturday, you have to wait to speak to someone for two days.
2. Lemonade Pet Insurance
Lemonade is affordable with flexible plans to match your budget and needs. Their accident-only plan starts at $10 per month, but you can opt for one of their comprehensive policies for better coverage.
With Lemonade, you only get the option of choosing a $100, $250, or $500 deductible. However, they have a highly flexible payout limit ranging from $5,000–$100,000.
Lemonade also offers a puppy wellness rider that covers vaccines, exams, spay/neuter, and other expenses related to puppy care. We love this.
Lemonade’s downfall is its enrollment policies. They’re picky about the pets that can enroll, especially senior pets. And that’s even if they offer coverage in your state. We feel that Lemonade is best for puppies and young adult dogs but not great for senior dogs.
3. Fetch Pet Insurance
Fetch has standard accident and illness coverage, including dental, boarding, and lost pet fees. They’ll also cover behavior, physical therapy, and some alternative therapy. Plus, they’ll cover exam fees. That includes virtual visits and emergency exams. Sadly, they don’t have a wellness rider, but their essential coverage is fair.
They also have excellent discounts. With fetch, you can get a 10% military discount, a 10% veterinary discount, and a 10% service pet discount. Overall, fetch can be pricey depending on the policy you choose. Still, if you have qualified for any of these discounts, their services could be well worth it.
4. Pets Best
Pets Best has customizable plans and no payout limits (unless you choose the 5K option). They have three reimbursement options at 70%, 80%, or 90% and offer several deductible options ranging from $50 to $1,000. This drastically changes your monthly price, making it an excellent choice for dog owners on a tight budget.
When you sign up, you have three policies to choose from. Each plan comes with behavioral coverage and end-of-life coverage. If you want wellness coverage, you can choose from two coverage plans. But if you want to save money, you can go with their accident-only coverage, which starts as low as $11 per month.
In addition, Pets Best has no upper age limits. Their biggest flaw is their customer service waiting times. But if you’re okay with long waiting periods and want a highly customizable policy, we recommend checking out Pets Best.
5. Embrace
Embrace is number four on our list. Embrace offers one customizable plan with comprehensive accident and illness coverage. They also provide wellness for an additional monthly fee.
Unlike other pet insurance companies, Embrace may cover curable pre-existing conditions depending on the situation and timing. They judge the circumstance on a case-by-case basis, so you’d have to chat with the reps and your vet to find out.
The downside is the price. It’s not the cheapest, and they don’t offer unlimited annual coverage. They also include a $25 admin fee when you sign up, which adds to the price. It’s only a one-time fee, though. But we think they make up for this with their fast claims processing times and by offering orthopedic and behavioral in their essential coverage.
6. Figo
Figo is another one of our favorites. They offer generous reimbursement options up to 100% and have a comfortable deductible range between $100–$750. When you sign up, you have three plans to choose from. Each policy qualifies for $5,000, $10,000, or unlimited annual coverage. Their essential coverage comes with behavioral and end-of-life coverage, and they offer a wellness rider for a monthly upcharge.
We love that Figo helps cover lost pet advertising/award fees, boarding fees, pet theft, vacation cancellation, and third-party property damage. Like Embrace, Figo might cover pre-existing curable conditions if your pet hasn’t shown symptoms in the last 12 months. They also don’t have upper age limits.
Your policy price will creep up if you create a highly customizable plan, but you can avoid this by only purchasing the services you know or think you might need.
7. HealthyPaws
Healthy Paws offer standard accident and illness coverage with one straightforward plan. You can customize this plan, but options are limited. Still, you get unlimited annual coverage no matter the policy, and they’re generous with alternative therapy coverage.
What stands out the most about Healthy Paws is their smartphone-based claims submissions. You don’t have to deal with faxing or emailing claim submission forms if your pet ever gets sick. All you do is upload the photo of the vet bill onto the Healthy Paws app and wait for approval. The best part? Claims only take about two business days to process. That’s fantastic. Especially when you’re dealing with a sick pet.
Healthy Paws does get expensive even with just one pet, and they don’t offer a wellness rider. There’s also a one-time $25 fee when you sign up. But if fast, easy claims processing is important to you, we highly recommend Healthy Paws.
8. ASPCA
Next is ASPCA. You might be familiar with their poison control line, but they also offer affordable pet insurance. They generously cover standard accidents and illness coverage, plus behavioral and dental disease in their base coverage. Of course, you can pay a little more for a wellness rider.
Sadly, their plans aren’t as customizable as other company policies. You have three reimbursement options and only three deductible options. Their plans come with limited annual coverage and a long 30-day reimbursement period. It’s not bad, but it could be better.
On the bright side, ASPCA offers customizable accident-only coverage. You can choose your deductible, annual payout limit, and reimbursement. Unfortunately, the cheapest accident-only option is $11, which doesn’t offer much.
Overall, we feel that ASPCA is a very affordable option if you don’t mind their plans being limited.
9. MetLife (Formerly PetFirst)
Metlife offers three customizable plans with standard accident and illness coverage. They offer four deductible options between $50–$500 and three reimbursement options. Plus, they have a wellness rider.
Unfortunately, they have an annual payout limit of $10K and don’t have an accident-only plan, so their prices seem a little high for what you get. But their orthopedic coverage is great. You can get coverage for knee and spine injuries in just the essential coverage. They also have fast claims processing and cover exam fees. Ultimately, MetLife is a great option if you need orthopedic coverage.
10. Prudent Pet
Prudent Pet is last on our list. Prudent Pet has three customizable policy options based on what you can afford. You can select a deductible between $100–$1,000 and choose a 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement.
Our favorite perk about Prudent Pet is their 24/7 vet chat, which comes in handy for those that can’t always drive to a vet. No matter your policy, all customers get access to this perk. Even their accident-only plan qualifies for the vet chat.
On top of that, they have fast claims processing and offer boarding and lost pet coverage. They also cover alternative therapies. What we don’t like is the price. Compared to other companies, their prices are high, especially if you customize it with additional riders. Ultimately, we think Prudent Pet is best for owners living far away from vet offices. The vet could be helpful.
Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Pest Insurance Provider in Nebraska
Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Pest Insurance Provider in NebraskaWhat to Look for in Pet Insurance (for Cats, Older Dogs, Etc.)
Policy Coverage
Policy coverage is the first thing you should look for in a pet insurance company. You want your policy to be as comprehensive as possible with the most affordable rates.
There’s always an exception in the insurance industry, so your pet insurance company may choose to exclude one of these. Or they might offer a variation. For instance, a company may cover prescription medicine but not prescription food.
In addition to accidents and illnesses, you’ll want to look out for the following:
Customer Service & Reputation
The best companies offer extended customer service hours and several options for reaching out. Not every insurance company can have more than a phone or email, but it should be easy to reach someone. Submitting a claim should be easy, whether you’re old school or prefer to submit claims via phone. Either way, submitting a claim and contacting someone to ask questions shouldn’t be a hassle.
Claim Repayment
You’ll have to work around a waiting period when you submit a claim. Some companies will reimburse you in 24 hours, and other companies can take up to 30 days or more. It varies with every company, but be honest about what you’ll need. Are you willing to wait 30 days for your reimbursement?
Price Of Policy
With pet insurance, you want to go with the most affordable price- not the cheapest. Price varies with each company based on these factors:
You can expect to pay around $50 per month for a dog and $28 for a cat. Dogs cost more for accident and illness coverage since they’re more likely to have an accident or get sick. But regardless of your pet’s species, prices increase as your pet ages.
Plan Customization
Usually, the best pet insurance companies have comprehensive accident and illness coverage with customizable options and monthly rates. This helps you avoid paying for coverage you may never use. But suppose you don’t want to deal with all the bells and whistles. In that case, we recommend going with a company that offers detailed coverage with limited customizations.
FAQ
What’s Considered an Accident for Pet Insurance?
Accidents are the medical emergencies you can’t plan for, such as lacerations, toxic ingestion, foreign object ingestion, UTIs, and leg injuries. Any diagnostics and surgeries related to that accident are usually covered unless you hit your payout limit.
Does Pet Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?
Usually, pet insurance companies don’t cover pre-existing conditions. But some companies will cover curable pre-existing conditions if your pet hasn’t shown symptoms within a specific time frame.
Is Pet Insurance Offered Outside the U.S.?
Many U.S. pet insurance companies only provide coverage in the U.S., but some pet insurance companies offer coverage for international travel.
Can I Choose My Vet?
Yes. The only exception is if you have pet insurance through an employer. Sometimes, coverage through an employer limits who you choose for a vet.
How Do Claims Submissions Work?
Claim submissions are different for every company. Generally, each company allows claim submissions through fax, email, or snail mail. Many companies are starting to offer smartphone submissions, but most do it through email.
What’s a Waiting Period?
A waiting period is the time it takes for your insurance policy to take effect. Accident coverage usually begins first, followed by illness and orthopedic.
What the Users Say
In Nebraska, 51.3% of households own pets, but it’s hard to say how many of these households have pet insurance. Nebraska isn’t one of the top states for insured pets, but that’s not uncommon in the Midwest. Even so, that doesn’t diminish the value of pet insurance and keeping your pet safe.
Pet owners with pet insurance agree that the benefits of pet insurance should outweigh the cost. It’s not good being stuck with a policy you’re spending too much on and never using.
Accident-only coverage is a great option for pet owners wanting to dip their toes in the pet insurance pool. Your pet will only have coverage for injuries, but it’s cheap and takes some weight off your shoulders during a crisis.
Which Pet Insurance Provider Is Best for You?
For Nebraska, we feel that Spot is the best overall option for pet owners. They have reasonable prices thanks to flexible deductibles. Plus, they have behavioral health included in their essential coverage.
Overall, you want a company that covers the necessities first. Listen to your gut about which company works for you. Be careful about highly customizable plans, as you might be carried away paying for services you don’t need.
The best insurance provider for you fits your budget, has terrific customer service, and has little to no issues with claims processing. Remember, you can always make changes to your policy later.
Conclusion
ConclusionFor Nebraska dwellers, we can’t recommend Spot, Lemonade, and Fetch enough. They have great prices, customizable plans, and decent customer service. But every company on this list is highly recommended. Take some time and get some free quotes. Get a feel for what you’re willing to pay, and then decide which company feels right to you.
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Featured Image Credit: thodonal88, Shutterstock
