Multi-Pet Insurance Plans
Veterinary background provided by Dr. Jennifer Coates DVM
Updated October 2022
When looking for insurance, whether for your home, family or pets, it’s often best to have the most streamlined all-in-one approach. Maybe you’ve even shared health, home or another type of insurance with a spouse or family members before. If so, you’re already on your way to understanding multi-pet insurance plans. This type of insurance plan provides pet insurance for multiple pets in one household.
Having one plan for all your pets can reduce your stress, streamline your paperwork and be an extremely pet-parent-friendly way to make sure your pets are all medically cared for. In some cases, it can even get you a discount. Whether you’re looking to add additional pets to an existing insurance plan or you’re new to pet insurance and want to find a plan that covers your whole crew, we can help you make sense of the information you’ll come across while shopping for pet health insurance.
Can I buy pet insurance for multiple pets?
Yes, you can buy pet insurance that covers more than one of your pets. But before you look into pet insurance for multiple pets, you might first ask: Is pet insurance worth it? We believe it is.
Insuring a pet early can help make sure your pet is covered in case of emergency—and it can protect you from paying out of pocket for costly medical interventions. Many pet parents find that paying a monthly premium is far less stressful—and, frequently, less expensive—than waiting to see whether their pet ends up needing specialized medical care during their life. If you have more than one pet, that means there are even more possibilities for accidents, emergencies and medical conditions—and even more reasons to seek pet insurance for multiple pets.
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How does pet insurance work for multiple pets?
Multi-pet insurance plans allow you to get all your pets onto one insurance plan. Think of multi-pet insurance plans as a sort of family plan for your companions. As with other types of family plans, there is usually a discount available for multiple members being on the same plan. For instance, some providers of pet insurance for multiple pets offer a 5% discount when more than one pet is added. Other companies offer a 10% discount for customers with more than one pet.
Though every little bit helps, at first glance a 5% or 10% discount might not seem like much of a break. But is that really the case? Take a look at an example: The average cost of a single-dog insurance plan is $49 per month for full coverage. If you insure two dogs and your discount applies to both of them, you’d end up saving $58.80 per year with a 5% discount and $117.60 per year with a 10% discount. If you’re like most pet parents, that extra money each year could be well spent on pet food, toys, treats and accessories. Keep in mind that each provider offers different discounts associated with pet insurance for multiple pets. Discounts might not apply to the original insured pet and often can’t be stacked, which could limit your potential for savings.
When it comes to the way pet insurance for multiple pets functions compared to other types of insurance plans, there is very little difference. Typically, payments for covered treatments are reimbursed to pet parents by the insurance provider after a claim is received and processed. Since treatments and exclusions are a bit different from one insurance company or plan to the next, it’s important to research your options diligently before you enroll in a new insurance plan. There may also be a cap on the number of pets that can be covered by one insurance policy, and this number may differ from one provider to another.
What’s the best pet insurance plan for multiple pets?
Your specific circumstances—including your budget, your pets’ health needs and other factors—will determine which specific pet insurance plan is right for you, but there are some considerations that make good guidelines. In general, the best pet insurance for multiple pets is a policy that includes all your pets on the same insurance plan and that is obtained as early as possible once your pets are brought home.
Making sure your pets are covered as soon as they meet minimum age requirements helps ensure that they have the right medical coverage when they need it. And keeping all pets on the same plan usually means less stress about billing and claims—as well as bigger discounts. Additionally, most pet insurance policies don’t cover pre-existing conditions, so it’s ideal to get your pets insured before any conditions develop. To learn more, see our article about pre-existing conditions.
Most multi-pet insurance providers allow pet parents to insure whatever combination of dogs and cats share their home up to a set maximum number of pets. For instance, two dogs, three cats or two cats and a dog—so it’s usually okay if pets of different types share the same insurance policy.
Before you enroll in pet insurance for multiple pets, use Pet Insurance Quotes to get free quotes. Comparing insurers allows you to select the pet insurance plan that fits both your budget and your pets’ needs. For a useful breakdown of the types of discounts you can expect from some of the most popular insurance providers, keep reading. And if you’re new to the whole process of insuring pets, check out our FAQs about pet insurance.
Are discounts available for multiple pet insurance?
Discounts are just one potential benefit of multi-pet insurance. All pets on one insurance plan means a major reduction in hassle for pet parents. With just one provider of pet insurance for multiple pets, you won’t have to keep track of different requirements regarding paperwork, billing and claims from multiple providers.
Aside from the headache relief of a streamlined pet insurance process, the greatest incentive for pet parents to find a single provider for all their pets is the possibility of a discount. Some of the most popular pet insurance providers also offer discounts for more than one pet being on the same plan. We’ve collected some information about the discounts offered by these companies to help you make your decision about the plan that’s right for your pets.
Here are some popular pet insurance providers that offer multi-pet insurance plans and, where relevant, the discount you’ll receive if you use them as your provider:
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | 10% off for each additional pet |
Embrace Pet Insurance | 10% off for policies with two or more pets |
Prudent Pet Insurance | 10% off for more than one pet |
Nationwide Pet Insurance | 5% off for multiple pets |
Pets Best Insurance | 5% off for multiple pets |
FIGO Pet Insurance | 5% off for each additional pet |
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No multi-pet discount offered |
Fetch Pet Insurance | No multi-pet discount offered |
Trupanion Pet Insurance | No multi-pet discount offered |
How much does pet insurance cost for multiple pets?
Individual insurance providers have different criteria that matters most to them when they set their pet insurance cost. Therefore, it’s unlikely that you’ll receive the exact same multi-pet insurance quote from the different providers that you compare. However, there are certain factors that many providers use as guidelines to help them determine the exact cost of pet insurance for multiple pets, including:
- Age Are your pets newly adopted puppies and kittens or are they aging companions who are starting to slow down? Younger pets are typically less expensive to insure, which is one reason it’s a good idea to get insurance early.
- Type and breed Dogs are a little more expensive to insure than cats, and certain breeds can also incur a higher premium due to the risk of genetic disorders. You can expect to pay a higher premium on pet insurance for multiple pets if, for instance, you have two purebred German Shepherds rather than two mixed breed cats.
- Zip Code Pet parents who live in locations with a higher cost of living can expect to pay a higher premium for pet insurance. If you live in Los Angeles, your multi-pet insurance will probably be more expensive than if you live in Topeka.
- Number of pets While many pet insurance providers offer a discount for two or more pets on the same plan, remember that each additional pet on the plan brings the responsibility of a higher total monthly premium. We believe that it’s wise to insure all your pets, but you should be prepared for the higher monthly cost of multiple insured pets.
Are pet insurance plans customizable for multiple pets?
Just because all your pets are on the same insurance plan doesn’t necessarily mean you need to accept the same coverage and deductible for all of them. If your pets have different needs, you might be able to customize insurance plans for each one. For instance, you might get accident and illness coverage for some pets and accident-only insurance for others—all while enjoying the benefits of pet insurance for multiple pets.
You may also be able to choose different premiums and deductibles for different pets on the same plan. Options for customization vary by provider, so if you’re interested in customizing plans for multiple pets, find out what your choices are before committing to a specific pet insurance company.
Why is pet insurance coverage for multiple pets important?
Pet insurance for multiple pets is important because it benefits your pets’ health while also reducing your stress—and, in many instances, reducing your overall spending on your pets’ healthcare. If all your pets are on the same policy, you’ll have only one monthly or annual premium to pay instead of receiving a separate bill for each pet. You’ll have fewer individual insurance agreements with different prices and different areas of coverage to keep track of, and you may even be able to get a discount for bundling all your pet insurance with one provider.
Ultimately, pet insurance for multiple pets is important because a multi-pet plan sits at the intersection of your budgeting needs and your pets’ healthcare needs. If one or more of your pets has a medical emergency, you don’t want to have to make hard decisions about their future and your own finances in that difficult moment. Find a multi-pet insurance policy that’s a good fit for your budget so you can focus on enjoying life with your pets instead of worrying about their protection. And you might even use the money you save on multi-pet pet insurance to buy a few extra treats for your pets.
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