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Pet Insurance Calculator
Use this pet insurance calculator to estimate what cover for your dog or cat is likely to cost each month. Pick your pet's type, age and size, choose a coverage level, deductible and reimbursement percentage, and the calculator shows an estimated monthly premium range, the annual cost, and how a sample vet bill would be split between you and the insurer.
Premiums are estimates; real quotes vary by insurer, breed and location.
How the deductible changes your premium
The chart shows your estimated annual premium at each deductible, with your other choices held fixed. A higher deductible always means a lower premium.
How it works
Pet insurance works like health insurance for your pet: you pay a monthly premium, and when your pet needs covered treatment, you pay part of the bill and the insurer pays the rest. The price depends mostly on how likely your pet is to need expensive care, and on how much of the bill you ask the insurer to take on.
Pet type is the biggest single factor. Dogs cost more to insure than cats, because dogs are larger, more accident-prone, and more likely to need surgery. A typical accident and illness plan runs roughly $30 to $70 a month for a dog and $15 to $35 a month for a cat.
Age matters because the risk of illness rises steeply as a pet gets older. A puppy or kitten under a year old is cheapest to insure, and the price stays fairly flat through ages one to three. From about age four the premiums start climbing, and by age ten they can be 60% higher than for a young adult pet.
Breed size affects the price because bigger animals need bigger doses of medicine, bigger operations, and more anaesthetic — and large breeds are prone to expensive problems like hip dysplasia and bloat. Small dogs and cats are cheapest, medium dogs sit in the middle, and large dogs cost the most.
Coverage level decides what the policy pays for. Accident-only cover is the cheapest option — it pays for broken bones, swallowed objects and other injuries, but nothing for illness. Accident and illness cover is the standard choice: it adds infections, cancer, allergies and chronic disease. Comprehensive cover adds routine care on top — vaccinations, dental cleaning and annual check-ups — and costs the most.
Annual deductible is the amount you pay yourself each policy year before the insurer starts sharing bills. A $100 deductible means the insurer helps almost immediately, but you pay for that convenience every month. A $1,000 deductible cuts the premium by roughly a third, but you need to be able to pay the first $1,000 of a bad year yourself.
Reimbursement percentage is the share of each covered bill the insurer pays after the deductible. At 70%, you pay 30 cents of every dollar above the deductible; at 90%, you pay only 10 cents. The 80% level is the most popular compromise: the premium stays reasonable, and a big bill still leaves you with a manageable share.
The sample vet bill shows how the split works in practice. Say the bill is $1,000 and your deductible is $500. You pay the first $500, which leaves $500. The insurer pays 80% of that, which is $400, and you pay the remaining $100. So your total share is $600 and the insurer pays $400. If the bill is smaller than the deductible, you pay the whole bill yourself.
Worked example
Take a 3-year-old medium-sized dog on an accident and illness plan, with a $500 annual deductible and 80% reimbursement, and a sample vet bill of $1,000.
Step 1: Start with the base rate for a medium dog, which is $38 a month.
Step 2: The age factor for a 3-year-old (1–3 year band) is 1.00.
Step 3: The coverage factor for accident and illness cover is 1.00.
Step 4: The deductible factor for a $500 deductible is 1.00.
Step 5: The reimbursement factor for 80% reimbursement is 1.00.
Step 6: The estimated premium is $38.00 a month, or $456 a year. Allowing for differences between insurers, the calculator shows a range of $32 to $44 a month.
Step 7: Split the $1,000 vet bill. You pay the $500 deductible first, leaving $500. The insurer pays 80% of that, which is $400, and you pay the remaining $100. Your total share is $500 + $100 = $600, and the insurer pays $400.
Try it yourself: choose Dog, age 3, Medium, Accident + illness, a $500 deductible, 80% reimbursement and a $1,000 vet bill, then press Calculate. The tool gives exactly the same answer — an estimated premium of $32 to $44 per month (about $38), $456 per year, and on a $1,000 bill you pay $600 while the insurer pays $400. Change the deductible to $1,000 and watch the annual premium drop in the chart.
FAQ
How much does pet insurance cost per month?
Most dog owners pay roughly $30 to $70 a month for accident and illness cover, and most cat owners pay roughly $15 to $35 a month. The exact price depends on your pet's age, size and breed, where you live, and the coverage, deductible and reimbursement level you choose. A young, small, healthy pet with a high deductible is cheapest to insure.
What does the deductible mean in pet insurance?
The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket each year before the insurer starts paying. With a $500 annual deductible, you pay the first $500 of covered vet bills yourself in a policy year, and the insurer shares the cost of bills above that. A higher deductible means a lower monthly premium, but more to pay when something goes wrong.
What does 80% reimbursement mean?
It means that after you have met your deductible, the insurer pays 80% of each covered bill and you pay the other 20%. For example, on a $1,000 bill with a $500 deductible already met, the insurer would pay $800 and you would pay $200. If the deductible has not been met yet, you pay the deductible first and the 80% applies only to what is left.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Almost never. A pre-existing condition is any illness or injury your pet had signs of before the policy started, and insurers exclude it from cover. This is why it pays to insure a pet while it is still young and healthy — once a condition is on the record, no new policy will cover it. Some insurers will cover a curable condition, like an ear infection, if your pet stays symptom-free for a set waiting period.
Is pet insurance worth it for an older pet?
It can be, but the maths gets harder. Premiums rise sharply with age because older pets are far more likely to need expensive treatment, and some insurers will not take on a new policy for a very old pet. If your pet is already 10 or older, compare the yearly premium against the cost of the treatments it is most likely to need, and be honest about whether you could pay a $3,000 to $5,000 vet bill from savings instead.