Prudent Pet Insurance Review of 2022 – MarketWatch

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In this article: Pros and cons | Plans and coverage | Premiums | Customer reviews | The bottom line 
Pet health insurance can help protect you from spending excessive amounts on unexpected vet bills. In addition to the financial security that comes with purchasing a policy, you get the peace of mind that your dog or cat will be treated immediately after an emergency. Pet insurance can also help you pay for your pet’s routine care to encourage the overall health and happiness of your furry friend.
Founded in 2018, Prudent Pet offers two standard plans and a comprehensive plan that provides unlimited annual coverage for vet bills and reimbursements for a few coverage items that many competitors don’t offer, such as lost-pet advertising and vacation cancellation fees. Keep reading to find out why we at the Home Media reviews team found Prudent Pet to be one of the best pet insurance companies on the market.
Get a free quote from Prudent Pet by entering your zip code and pet’s details into this online form.
+ Offers three pet insurance plans, which is more than most other providers
+ Includes a 24/7 live vet chat with each plan
+ Offers preventative care add-ons at three flexible monthly prices
– Doesn’t have a mobile app, unlike most competitors
– Has higher plan prices than many competitors according to the dozens of quotes we received from multiple companies, especially for high-risk breeds
 
 
Accident-Only Plan: This is Prudent Pet’s cheapest pet insurance plan that covers up to $10,000 per year for treatments, procedures, surgeries, specialized care and other costs related to accidents, including bite wounds, teeth injuries, swallowed objects and broken bones. It doesn’t cover any illnesses or other conditions, but it could be a good option if you’re looking for less expensive coverage on accident-related emergencies.
Essential Plan: This plan also has a $10,000 annual coverage limit, but it extends coverage to illnesses, cancer, hip dysplasia, hereditary conditions, skin conditions, digestive illnesses and more. It includes up to $250 per year for the treatment of behavioral disorders.
Ultimate Plan: This plan covers everything in the Essential Plan but extends annual coverage to unlimited and behavioral disorder coverage to $1,000 per year. It also provides reimbursement for a few extra unexpected costs, such as advertising and reward money if you lose your pet, boarding fees if you’re hospitalized for more than four days and can’t take care of your pet, mortality costs like burial and cremation fees, replacement costs if your pet is lost or stolen and vacation cancellation fees if your pet’s covered treatment requires you to cancel a planned trip.
Veterinary exam fee coverage: Vet exam fees that you may incur when visiting your vet can add up, so Prudent Pet offers this additional coverage for around $5–$12 per month to help pay for those costs.
Wellness coverage add-ons: You can choose between three preventative care coverage options to be added to your policy. The Low option provides policyholders with $210 in annual coverage, the Medium option comes with $315 of annual coverage and the High option comes with $460 of annual coverage.
Below is a breakdown of each covered treatment’s specified limits in each coverage level:
Although Prudent Pet’s policies are comprehensive, they do have a few exclusions — which is common throughout the industry. Prudent Pet doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions that your pet has before the policy’s effective date, which it defines in the policy as, “a medical condition which first occurred or showed clinical signs before the effective date of this policy or which occurred or showed clinical signs during the policy waiting period.”
A few other Prudent Pet coverage exclusions include fees related to breeding, pregnancy and whelping, holistic therapies not administered or prescribed by a vet, experimental treatments, organ transplants and elective procedures.
For a full list of coverage, exclusions and policy limitations, review Prudent Pet’s sample pet insurance policy.
Your annual plan limits may be fixed depending on the plan you choose, but you can select between the following deductibles and reimbursement rates to customize your policy’s premium:
 
 
We pulled dozens of quotes for a variety of pets to get a sense of how much Prudent Pet policies often cost. Prices vary depending on your location, your pet’s details and the plan you select, but here are some sample monthly quotes for the Essential Plan with a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate:
Prudent Pet has an A+ rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), but its page doesn’t feature any reviews or complaints from customers. However, the company does have more than 500 reviews on Trustpilot and a few on Google Reviews, of which a very small percentage are negative.
Most customers express satisfaction with the company’s claims process, policy management and overall customer service, but some customers complain about the high plan prices and unexpected denied claims. We reached out to Prudent Pet about the negative reviews and received the following comment in response:
“Unfortunately, a lot of our negative reviews come from pre-existing condition questions. We are not permitted to cover conditions that were present before the inception of the policy, which is the case with the majority of pet insurance companies. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope we can help you in other ways.”
Here are some Prudent Pet insurance reviews from Trustpilot and Google Reviews:
“I took [my pet] in to get his first exam and vaccinations, and I submitted an invoice for the [treatments] needed. The next day I received an email from Prudent Pet letting me know the claim had been approved and a check was being sent to me for over half of the total invoice. This was a very quick turnaround, and I was very impressed with the results.” — Ruben C. on Trustpilot
“This company has found every way possible not to cover a penny of my $1,000+ claims I have submitted for my dog.” — Caity H. on Google Reviews
“My claim was processed so quickly! I had my claim settled within three days of submitting a claim. The reason it even took three days is [because] I was delayed in providing records. I received a friendly reminder via text and email. I am very happy and satisfied with the service I was provided.” — RVS on Trustpilot
“They do not fairly apply out-of-pocket payments to deductibles, thus after almost $1,500 out of pocket for illness issues, I still haven’t ‘met’ my $250 deductible. They do not supply appropriate policy documents so you cannot reference what is supposed to be covered per your quote as those documents disappeared and were replaced with non-specific generalized information which does not detail the plan you actually pay for.” — Sarah on Trustpilot
 
 
*The monthly cost is based on sample quotes for accident-and-illness plans for a 4-year-old mixed dog in Columbia, S.C.
 
 
Prudent Pet stands out for its impressive Ultimate Plan that comes with unlimited coverage and extra reimbursements for items such as lost-pet advertising and mortality costs. We recommend it to pet parents who want to get the most out of their coverage.
If you want to compare quotes with a few other pet insurance providers, we recommend Lemonade for affordable rates and Healthy Paws for its unlimited coverage. 
 
 
For claims filing, you can use Prudent Pet’s online artificial intelligence (AI) technology and customer portal to submit the details and be reimbursed through direct deposit. For customer service, you can call 888-820-7739, fill out the online contact form or reach out through the company’s live website chat function.
Yes, Prudent Pet policies come with a five-day waiting period for injuries and a 14-day waiting period for illnesses and all other conditions. This means you won’t be able to file a claim for any covered treatments until after that condition’s dedicated waiting period has ended.
There is also a six-month waiting period for cruciate ligament and knee issues unless you provide medical notes from an exam within 30 days of the policy’s start date, specifying that your pet doesn’t have any pre-existing conditions related to its knees.
No, Prudent Pet provides only dog insurance and cat insurance, as with most other top insurers.
No, you’re not required to provide your pet’s medical records to initiate coverage and sign up for a policy. However, a sample policy does state that if you don’t provide records from within 12 months of the effective date of the policy, the first documented vet exam after that date will be used as the basis for determining any excluded pre-existing conditions.
Yes, you can file a claim for reimbursement from any licensed veterinarian in the U.S. as long as your pet’s condition and treatments are included in your policy’s coverage.
 
 
Our review of pet insurance companies is based on in-depth industry research that includes reading hundreds of customer reviews, simulating the quote and purchasing process, speaking to representatives on the phone to assess the customer service experience and surveying 1,000 dog and cat owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage. We have scored each provider on a 100-point scale based on those elements.
Here are more details about each factor and how they’re weighted: 
We use our rating system to compare and contrast each company against key factors to help us determine the best pet insurance companies in the industry. Additionally, we keep our research up to date and revisit our reviews on a regular basis.

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