Prudent Pet Insurance Review 2024: Pros and Cons

Prudent Pet earned 4.5 stars out of 5 for overall performance. Its various plans cover congenital and hereditary conditions, behavioral treatments and alternative therapies, dental illnesses, and some prescription food. It also has a quick claims processing time and will waive its six-month waiting period for knee injury coverage with a vet exam.

Strengths: Prudent Pet has a $100 deductible option for some pets, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee for new policyholders. You can enroll any dog or cat that’s at least 8 weeks old.

Weaknesses: You have to pay extra if you want Prudent Pet to cover sick exam fees. It also doesn’t have a mobile app, so you’ll manage your policy through its website.

Prudent Pet offers several plans and optional add-ons to choose from.

Note: Coverage options and availability may vary depending on where you live and the age and breed of your pet.

Prudent Pet’s Essential plan covers accidents and illnesses up to $10,000 per year. It includes:

• Treatment, surgery and hospitalization for any covered illness or injury, including cancer.

• Alternative therapies if prescribed by a vet.

• Dental injuries or illnesses.

• Hereditary conditions and congenital birth defects.

• Prescription medications. 

• Complications from breeding, pregnancy or whelping if the breeding date is after the waiting period.

• Up to $250 per policy year for behavioral disorders.

Prudent Pet’s Ultimate plan is the most comprehensive option. It has no annual coverage limit and reimburses for:

• Treatment, surgery and hospitalization for any covered illness or injury, including cancer.

• Alternative therapies if prescribed by a vet.

• Dental injuries or illnesses.

• Hereditary conditions and congenital birth defects.

• Prescription medications. 

• Complications from breeding, pregnancy or whelping if the breeding date is after the waiting period.

• Up to $1,000 per policy year for behavioral disorders. 

• Up to $500 for lost pet advertising and rewards. 

• Up to $500 for medically necessary boarding at a kennel or cattery.

• Up to $500 if your pet is stolen or lost.

• Up to $1,000 for end-of-life expenses.

• Up to $1,000 if your vacation plans are disrupted because your pet needs life-saving care. 

Prudent Pet’s accident-only plan doesn’t cover illnesses but will pay for:

• Treatment, surgery and hospitalization for injuries caused by a covered accident, including bite wounds and broken bones. 

• Alternative therapy if prescribed by a vet.

• IV fluids and medications. 

• MRIs, CT scans and X-rays. 

• Prescription medications. 

Prudent Pet has three wellness plan options — Low, Medium and High. Depending on which plan you choose, it may cover:

• Heartworm test or FeLV screen.

• Wellness blood screening (High plan only).

This add-on helps cover veterinary exam fees for illnesses or accidents. If you add it to your base Prudent Pet plan, you won’t have to pay for exam fees yourself.

Prudent Pet’s insurance plans don’t cover:

• Exam fees, unless you’ve purchased an add-on for this coverage.

• Costs related to routine care like grooming, training or flea and tick preventives.

• Elective procedures like spaying, neutering, routine anal gland expression or tail docking.

• Routine breeding, whelping or pregnancy. 

• Intentional injuries or those resulting from abuse, racing or occupational activities.

• Conditions related to war, nuclear incidents or public health events.

• Repetitive poisoning or ingestions.

• Intervertebral disc disease if any disc in the same part of the spine showed pre-existing symptoms before the effective date of the policy.

Deductibles: A pet insurance deductible is the amount you have to pay before your plan reimburses you for vet expenses. With Prudent Pet, you can typically choose a deductible of $100, $250, $500 or $1,000 per year. Wellness plans have no deductible.

Reimbursement amounts: After you meet your deductible, Prudent Pet will reimburse you for a percentage of your covered vet bills, up to your policy limit. You can generally choose a reimbursement percentage of 70%, 80% or 90%. Reimbursement percentages don’t apply to wellness plans.

Prudent Pet applies your reimbursement percentage first, then your deductible. This results in a smaller payout than you’d get from other insurers that subtract your deductible first. Say you have a $1,000 vet bill with an 80% reimbursement rate and $500 deductible. Prudent Pet would reimburse $300 (80% of $1,000 = $800, minus the $500 deductible).

In contrast, insurers that take out the deductible first would reimburse $400 for the same scenario ($1,000 bill minus the $500 deductible = $500, then 80% of $500 = $400).

Coverage limits: Prudent Pet’s annual coverage limits may vary based on where you live and your pet’s characteristics. In our quotes, we saw a $10,000 limit for Accident-Only plans and limits of $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000 for Essential plans. There’s no annual coverage limit for Ultimate plans.

Age restrictions: Your pet must be at least 8 weeks old to enroll in coverage. Prudent Pet has no upper age limits.

Waiting periods: A waiting period is the time between when you buy your policy and when your coverage starts. Prudent Pet’s waiting periods are five days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses and six months for knee issues. Prudent Pet will waive the six-month waiting period if you take your pet in for an exam within the first 30 days of the policy, and your vet confirms they have no knee issues. Prudent Pet will cover pre-existing conditions after your pet is cured and symptom-free for 365 days.

The cost of Prudent Pet insurance will depend on where you live and your pet’s age and breed. Below are sample monthly rates from Prudent Pet for six common dog breeds at ages 2 and 8. Our sample dogs lived in Katy, Texas, and had accident and illness coverage with a $250 deductible, $5,000 of annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate. Your own price will vary.

We also gathered rates for a variety of cat breeds with the same coverage limits as above. Rates below are sample monthly premiums for cats living in Katy, Texas.

Prudent Pet offers a multipet discount when you have policies for two or more pets.

Prudent Pet is licensed to sell policies in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C.

Availability may change at any time. Coverage may not be available to all pets in a given state.

Website: You’ll find a free quote tool, sample policies for each plan and a thorough FAQ section on Prudent Pet’s website. This website is also where you go to file a claim and view your policy information.

App: Prudent Pet insurance has no mobile app. You’ll need to manage your policy through its website.

Claims: You can file a claim through your client portal on Prudent Pet’s website. The company says it pays most claims in 24 hours.

Customer service: You can live chat with customer service on Prudent Pet’s website, email [email protected] or call 888-820-7739.

Not ready to make a decision? You may be interested in these other pet insurance companies:

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines that ensure fairness and accuracy to help you choose the financial products that work best for you. In our pet insurance reviews, we consider coverage, discounts, financial strength ratings from AM Best and more to determine our star ratings.

Our rating system rewards companies that cover a wide range of potential expenses, offer many ways to customize your plan and have a strong financial rating. Within the consumer experience category, we looked at features such as mobile app ratings and whether the company offers direct vet payments. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.