One of the first pet insurance providers in the United States, PetPartners provides customizable health insurance plans for pets across the country. They're also the exclusive provider for the Cat Fanciers’ Association and the American Kennel Club — but is it the best choice for your furry family member?
Learn more about PetPartner insurance policies, premium rates, annual limits, and more so that you can choose what’s best for your pet while minimizing the strain on your wallet.
Table of Contents
- PetPartner Pet Insurance background
- PetPartners Pet Insurance review
* [Available plans](#plans) * [Exclusions](#terms) * [Pricing](#rates) * [Discounts](#savings) * [Claims and reimbursement times](#processes) - What we like about this coverage
- What could be improved
- Is PetPartners pet insurance worth it?
PetPartners Pet Insurance background
Currently based in North Carolina, PetPartners is one of the first companies to offer health insurance for pets in America with policies underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company.. The company was founded in the 1980s to provide pet insurance for the Kennel Club of Great Britain and began offerU.S. in 2002.
In addition to offering individual pet policies, PetPartners is the exclusive provider for the largest purebred cat registry — the Cat Fanciers’ Association and the American Kennel Club.
PetPartners Pet Insurance review
Available plans
PetPartners offers Accident and Illness coverage and Accident-Only coverage that includes coverage for services such as laboratory tests, MRI, X-rays, CT scans, ultrasound, hospitalization, surgery, prescription medication, chemotherapy, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, euthanasia, etc.
For the Accident & Illness coverage, the company offers two customizable options: a Companion Care plan and a Companion Care Lite plan. The latter is more basic and comes with set coverage limits: $100 annual deductible, an 80% reimbursement rate, and a $500 reimbursement limit per incident, with unlimited incidents per year.
It should be noted that the Companion Care plans are only available for pets under the age of nine.
PetPartner’s Accident-Only coverage is called AccidentCare and comes with an unlimited annual coverage limit, a $100 deductible, and a 90% reimbursement rate. This plan covers the same services as the Companion Care plans but only for ailments resulting from injuries or accidents. The AccidentCare plan is only available to pets nine years and older.
PetPartner requires customers to wait 14 days before submitting an illness claim and two days for accident claims. In addition, the company has a waiting period of 180 days on claims for certain orthopedic conditions such as cruciate ligament conditions and intervertebral disc disease. For AKC members, waiting periods are shorter — five days for illnesses and only one day for accidents.
PetPartners also offers two preventative care plans, as well as three add-on riders. The two preventative care plans are Defender and DefenderPlus which offer wellness and routine care benefits such as vaccinations, health screenings, and regular checkups. The ExamPlus add-on rider reimburses exam fees for primary care vet visits, whereas SupportPlus covers expenses in the event that your pet passes away and is available only for pets under the age of five.
Exclusions
Like most pet insurance providers, PetPartners doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, as well as the following conditions and services: exam fees, congenital and hereditary conditions, cosmetic and elective procedures, wellness and routine care, and breeding.
Note: Customers might have trouble determining which conditions are excluded from which plan and figure out which combination of riders they need to purchase in order not to end up with a denied claim. For instance, the company’s policies exclude congenital and hereditary conditions, and coverage for these conditions can be added for an extra fee.
Pricing
Although PetPartners’ prices might look very low at first glance, it is important to remember that the basic policy includes significantly less coverage than typical Accident and Illness Plans offered by other companies.
The Companion Care coverage allows customers to choose from:
- 7 annual coverage limits ($2,500, $5,000, $7,500, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, or unlimited)
- 3% reimbursement rates (70%, 80%, 90%)
- 8 deductible amounts ($100, $250, $300, $400, $500, $600, $750, or $1,000), which means that the monthly cost could vary significantly depending on how you have customized your plan.
The two wellness plans have a flat monthly rate regardless of your pet’s age and breed. The Defender (wellness) plan costs $17 per month, or $29 per month for the DefenderPlus plan.
Discounts
PetPartners offers a 5% discount if you insure multiple pets. This discount is lower compared to most other pet insurance providers like Embrace and Geico who offer a 10% multi-pet discount.
Claims and reimbursement times
In order to file a claim, customers are required to download a claim form from the company’s website, fill it out, and send it by mail, email, or fax. Claims are usually processed within 14 days and only reimbursed in check.
What we like about this coverage
PetPartner’s policies are highly customizable with various upgrades, a wide range of deductibles, different coverage levels, and, most importantly, low base premiums.
The company also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your policy for any reason and you haven’t received reimbursement for any claims in this period, you can ask for a 100% refund of all premiums you paid.
What could be improved
PetPartner’s plans cover significantly fewer services compared to other insurers. For instance, the base plan doesn’t cover common things such as exam fees and inherited disorders and requires customers to purchase additional upgrades. So, while the company’s premiums are lower than average, these exclusions should definitely be taken into consideration when comparing plans offered by other pet insurance providers.
PetPartners also has very limited options when it comes to older pets: the plans are limited entirely for pets age nine and older and some coverage options for new enrollments starting at age five.
The company also offers a 5% discount for multiple pets which is much lower compared to the 10% discount per pet some other providers offer.
Finally, PetPartners doesn’t offer an option to file claims digitally. Instead, customers need to print and fill out a form, then submit it by mail, fax, or email.
Is PetPartners pet insurance worth it?
With the many customization options, PetPartners is a perfect choice for anyone looking to save money on their pet insurance. However, the affordable prices might lead some pet owners to purchase a policy that covers far less than they originally thought, so it is absolutely necessary to read the fine print and make sure you understand what you are getting for your money.
If you’re not sure that PetPartners is the right choice for you, we recommend checking out our pet insurance comparison charts to evaluate top providers in detail side-by-side.
