Does Pet Insurance Cover Routine Care?

Vaccinations – After the first round of vaccines, your pet needs booster shots every year or every 3 years depending on the vaccine. Annual vaccinations are for Lyme, Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Rabies, Distemper, and Canine Influenza. After the initial vaccine, boosters for Rabies and Distemper can be administered every 3 years. It is highly recommended that you vaccinate your pet to protect them from major preventable diseases.

Dental Care – We are supposed to brush our teeth twice a day. For pets, keeping up with their dental care is important. It helps prevents tooth decay and infection. While you can brush your pet’s teeth every day, they may still need a prophylactic cleaning with an ultrasonic scaler and polisher. Both dogs and cats can develop plaque and tartar that can lead to dental calculus, gingivitis, and tooth decay. A lack of dental hygiene can cause bad breath, painful tooth decay, and tooth root abscesses.¹

Flea and Tick Prevention – These are tiny parasites that can pose a huge problem for your pet’s health. Apart from diseases like Lyme disease, Babesia, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, ticks can also cause severe rash, and can carry tapeworms.² There are medications and natural remedies that can help prevent fleas and ticks.

Heartworm Prevention - Heartworm is a parasitic nematode worm which infests the hearts of dogs, cats, and other animals. Heartworms can damage the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, and could lead to death. It’s recommended you give your pet preventive medication regularly to help prevent infestation.

Grooming – Grooming is an important part of routine care, needed to help maintain the overall health of pets. It generally includes things such as bathing, nail, and fur trimming, brushing of teeth, and ear cleaning. While some people opt to take care of this at home, a regular visit to a professional can provide a thorough grooming of your pet.

Vaccinations - Whether or not pet insurance covers vaccines depends on the specific plan you have. Some pet insurance providers may offer coverage for vaccinations in an add-on for an extra cost, while others may not offer any coverage options for them.

Dental Care – The accident-only plans that many providers offer may cover dental extractions resulting from covered injuries. Some accident and illness plans can cover dental diseases like gingivitis, stomatitis, periodontal disease, tooth abscesses, and oral growths/tumors. Dental cleaning is not usually covered in a base pet insurance plan. Some providers offer optional wellness add-on coverage that can cover the eligible costs of routine dental cleanings.

Heartworm, Flea, and Tick Prevention - Most of the plans in the market don’t cover flea and tick prevention in their base coverage. Some providers offer preventive care add-ons that can cover the eligible costs of flea and tick control for pets.

Grooming - Pet insurance plans typically do not cover grooming. You should check the provider’s coverage to see if they offer coverage for routine grooming services.