Is pet insurance worth it?

The best time to sign up for pet insurance is when your pet is young. Puppies and kittens are the ideal candidates because they’re more likely to be in good health with no pre-existing conditions. It’s important to sign up when your pet is healthy because Fetch does not cover pre-existing conditions. In general, no pet insurance policy does. A pre-existing condition is any injury, illness or condition your pet has exhibited before you enroll in pet insurance or during your waiting period. Mature pets without health concerns can also benefit from coverage, but the cost of covering an older pet will be more expensive.

We’re proud to provide a transparent policy that clearly spells out what’s not covered. We’ll cover any condition that’s not explicitly excluded. For a complete list of exclusions in our policy, click here. Other pet insurance providers write their policies in a more restrictive way. They only disclose what’s covered.

Like other pet insurance policies, our accidents and illness policy has a one-time waiting period of up to 15 days. The waiting period begins 2 days after you sign up for Fetch and is clearly outlined in your policy documents. As an example, if you signed up for Fetch on January 1st, your pet’s coverage would begin on January 18th. Any accident, illness or condition your pet has during this period will not be covered. All the more reason to sign up for pet insurance when your pet is healthy. Actual waiting periods vary by state. In some states there is no waiting period for the accidents portion of our policy. You can review sample policies for your state by clicking here.

Every 6 seconds, a pet parent gets hit with an unexpected vet bill of $1,000 or more. That’s where Fetch pays off. We cover the unpredictable accidents and illnesses that occur during the normal life of a pet. When you budget for pet insurance during the good days, the emergencies can be much easier to handle.

Pet parents with insurance are required to pay vet bills at the time of service. However, before you walk out of the vet’s office you can take a picture of your paid invoice — as well as all supporting medical records — and submit a claim right on your phone with our award-winning Fetch app. Most claims are paid in under 10 days, in accordance with your co-pay and deductible — explained below.

Our policy is similar to other types of insurance, such as human health care, auto and home insurance. It comes with an annual “deductible” and “co-pay” that you can customize to fit your budget. The deductible is a one-time amount you have to pay each year before receiving any benefits from Fetch. The co-pay is different. It’s the portion of each bill you’re responsible for paying every time you submit a claim. Co-pays and deductibles can be confusing, so here’s a simple example for a dog with a broken a leg.

After meeting your annual deductible, you only have to pay the co-pay. For example, if the dog with a broken leg got hit with another vet bill in the same 12 months of their policy period for $1,000, their parent would be responsible for the co-pay of 10% (or $100) and we’d reimburse $900. Important to note: the deductible resets itself every year.

With Fetch, you can use any licensed veterinarian in the U.S. or Canada — including emergency vets and specialists. There is no network. You can use multiple vets of your choosing and change vets at any time.

In order to process your claims, we will need your pet’s medical records for the 1 year prior to enrolling in Fetch. You can submit them in a matter of minutes with our easy-to-use app. If you didn't go to the vet prior to signing up, no problem. Just schedule a vet visit and submit your medical records as soon as possible after you enroll. If your pet receives a clean bill of health, Fetch will cover all future accidents and illnesses your pet may encounter throughout their life. If the checkup uncovers any medical issues, those conditions would not be covered.