Click to Skip Ahead
State Farm is a well-established insurance company that had its 100th anniversary in 2022. It’s based out of Bloomington, Illinois, and it’s the number-one auto insurance provider in the United States. It also provides home and life insurance 1.
State Farm has even delved into pet insurance by partnering with one of the giants in this business, Trupanion. Here, we look at the pet insurance that State Farm/Trupanion offers, how much it might cost, and whether it’s worth it.
The Importance of Pet Insurance
Pet insurance isn’t mandatory but it’s certainly helpful! The American Pet Products Association found that pet owners in the United States spent $34.3 billion in 2021 on vet care and product sales (which includes prescriptions and anything else to do with health care)2.
It also found that a pet owner might spend an average of $700 a year for routine vet care for a dog, including surgery, and $380 a year for a cat.
This shows that vet care can be quite expensive. These statistics don’t even cover unexpected costs, like emergencies.
Sudden illness, emergency surgery, cancer, broken bones, or diabetes are all potential emergency situations that could strike at any time. Pet insurance can be the difference between paying the vet bills and going into debt.
How Much Does State Farm Pet Insurance Cost?
The cost of State Farm/Trupanion depends on several different factors. Not every person with the exact same breed of dog will necessarily pay the same price.
Your monthly cost will depend on your pet’s species (cat or dog), breed, age, sex, and health, as well as your location and the deductible that you choose.
Therefore, we can only provide you with an estimate for a dog and a cat, but this will hopefully give you a better idea of what to expect.
A 1-year-old domestic shorthair male cat might cost $31.00 per month, with a $500 deductible.
A 1-year-old mixed breed female dog between 50 and 90 pounds might cost about $70 per month, also with a $500 deductible.
That said, even if you have a dog or cat that fits these exact parameters, you might still pay a little more or less because the final price depends on many other factors.
Additional Costs to Anticipate
There aren’t necessarily any additional costs to pet insurance. Once you’ve decided on the deductible, you’ll consistently pay the premium every month.
Trupanion does evaluate the rates that you pay every year, which might change depending on whether you are overpaying or underpaying. The prices are set to reflect the cost of veterinary care where you live. Trupanion doesn’t automatically increase its rates every year, and it also doesn’t increase as your pet ages, but you will see a change in your monthly premium over time.
Trupanion also offers a Recovery and Complementary Care coverage package for an extra cost, but this is optional. It covers treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, behavioral modification, rehabilitation, naturopathy, hydrotherapy, and homeopathy.
Top Rated Pet Insurance Companies
What Does State Farm Pet Insurance Cover?
State Farm reimburses pet owners for 90% of any covered services, which include unexpected illnesses and injuries, surgeries, diagnostic tests, prescriptions, veterinary supplements, prosthetic devices, and herbal therapies.
It also covers hereditary and congenital conditions that are known to be breed-specific, such as elbow and hip dysplasia and diabetes. But it’s important to note that State Farm only covers cats and dogs, not any other animals.
What Does State Farm Not Cover?
Many pet insurance companies cover fees for basic vet treatments, like vaccinations and annual wellness checks, but unfortunately, this is not an option for State Farm. The policy also doesn’t cover spaying/neutering, planned surgeries not considered essential, routine blood work, or dental cleanings.
State Farm doesn’t cover any conditions that your pet already has when you apply for coverage. However, this is the case for most insurance companies. So, if your cat was diagnosed with diabetes before you apply for insurance, any treatments for diabetes won’t be covered.
How Do Deductibles Work?
There is a bit of jargon used in insurance that might be confusing if you haven’t dealt with it before.
The deductible is what you pay toward the pet insurance before you are reimbursed. How much you pay for your deductible depends on the breed, age, etc. of your pet.
You can choose a deductible from $0 to $1,000, though the average pet owner pays about $250. The more you pay into the deductible, the lower your monthly premium.
Some pet insurance companies have an annual deductible, but State Farm offers a per-condition deductible, which means you only pay the deductible if your pet develops a new health condition. Once the deductible is paid, the State Farm policy will start to pay out 90% for anything related to the health condition for the rest of your pet’s life. This means you won’t end up paying multiple times for the same condition.
For example, if your deductible is $200 and the vet’s bill comes to $800, you have to pay the $200 deductible, and State Farm will pay $600. Since the insurance covers 90%, you must also pay an extra 10% of the bill. But if this is an ongoing health issue, the next vet bill related to that condition would only require you to pay 10% of the bill.
While this is a great option, remember that if your pet has more than one health condition, you’ll end up paying a deductible for each one.
How Do the Claims Work and When Do You Get Reimbursed?
Filing a claim with State Farm/Trupanion can be easy if your veterinary clinic has the Trupanion software. This means your vet can get paid directly by Trupanion rather than you paying the bill and then waiting to be reimbursed.
If your vet doesn’t have the software, you can call Trupanion and speak to the support team about your options. Otherwise, if you pay the vet and put a claim through to State Farm, it will typically reimburse your claim within 24 hours.
Is There a Waiting Period for State Farm Pet Insurance?
Almost every pet insurance company out there has a period when you’re waiting for the insurance to kick in. State Farm has a waiting period of 5 days if your pet is injured and 30 days for any illnesses, starting from the time that you initially enrolled in the insurance plan.
Once you’re past the waiting period, all covered medical conditions receive coverage. However, if your pet falls ill during the waiting period, it is considered a pre-existing condition and won’t be covered at the end of the waiting period.
Conclusion
State Farm pet insurance, working with Trupanion, definitely has a few advantages and could be the right company for your needs. The coverage will last your pet’s lifetime, requiring only a deductible once for each condition. The ease of not paying the vet directly for the 90% coverage is also a bonus.
But do keep in mind that it only covers cats and dogs, and its 30-day waiting period for illnesses is longer than most other insurance companies. It also doesn’t provide any wellness coverage.
Investigating pet insurance for your pet or pets is a great idea, as we all want to be able to afford to keep our pets around for as long as possible.
- Related Read: How Much Does Progressive Pet Insurance Cost?
Featured Image Credit By: Bogdan Sonjachnyj, Shutterstock
