Pet insurance reimburses part of your vet bills when a dog or cat is injured or falls ill. You pay a monthly premium, pay the vet yourself (unless the insurer pays the clinic directly), and the insurer pays back a percentage of the eligible cost after your deductible. This guide explains how the coverage works, what it costs on average, what is excluded, how the main Canadian providers compare, and when a policy is likely to pay off. Other specialty coverage, from travel medical to umbrella liability, is listed in the travel, pet and other insurance hub.
How pet insurance works
- Your pet gets sick or injured. You take them to a licensed vet.
- You pay the vet bill. Unlike provincial health coverage for people, you usually pay first. Some insurers, such as Trupanion at participating clinics, can pay the vet directly at checkout.
- You submit a claim. Upload the itemized invoice (and medical records if asked) through the insurer’s app or website.
- You get reimbursed. The insurer pays back a percentage of the eligible cost after your deductible.
Three settings on the policy decide how much comes back:
| Setting | Options | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Reimbursement level | Set by the plan: 80% at Petsecure and Desjardins, up to 90% at Trupanion and Fetch | You pay the rest of each eligible bill after the deductible |
| Deductible | Annual, per-incident, or per-condition (lifetime) | Annual: paid once a year. Per-incident: paid for each new incident. Per-condition: paid once per condition, ever |
| Payout limit | A set amount per condition, per accident or per year, up to unlimited | Caps what the insurer pays; lower limits cost less |
An annual deductible works in the owner’s favour when a pet has several unrelated issues in one year, while a per-condition deductible suits a chronic condition that needs treatment year after year. Deductibles are compared across all insurance types in insurance deductibles explained.
Types of coverage and average premiums
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), whose members write almost all pet insurance in Canada, publishes average annual premiums each year. Its 2026 State of the Industry Report gives these Canadian averages for 2025:
| Coverage type | What it includes | Average annual premium, dog | Average annual premium, cat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accident only | Broken bones, poisoning, lacerations, swallowed objects | $251 | $212 |
| Accident and illness | Accidents plus illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, infections, allergies and digestive issues | $1,176 | $601 |
| With wellness | Accident and illness plus routine care (vaccines, dental cleaning, annual exam) | $2,623 | $1,499 |
On a monthly basis, the average accident and illness premium works out to about $98 for a dog and $50 for a cat. These are averages across all insured pets; the premium quoted for a particular pet depends on its species, breed, age and location and on the deductible, reimbursement level and payout limit chosen.
Accident-only coverage leaves out the illnesses behind many large bills, and wellness coverage pays for predictable costs you could otherwise budget for directly.
Pet insurance providers in Canada
| Company | Underwriter | Reimbursement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trupanion | Trupanion | Up to 90% | Lifetime per-condition deductible; no annual, lifetime or per-condition payout limits; can pay participating vets directly |
| Petsecure | Petline Insurance Company | 80%, including exam fees and taxes | Plans with limits per accident and per condition each year, up to an unlimited plan |
| OVMA Pet Health Insurance | Petline Insurance Company | Confirm with the insurer | Offered through the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, available to residents of Canada |
| Desjardins Pet Insurance | Petline Insurance Company | 80% | Your vet can arrange direct payment with Petline for some complex cases |
| Pets Plus Us | Northbridge General Insurance Corporation | Confirm with the insurer | Annual deductible, co-insurance and benefit limits apply |
| Fetch | AXIS Reinsurance Company (Canadian Branch) | Up to 90% | Any licensed vet in Canada or the US |
Plan details change and differ by province, so confirm the current reimbursement level, deductible and limits in the policy wording before buying. Pet insurers can be compared through a broker or by getting quotes directly; the trade-offs of each route are in insurance broker vs buying direct.
What affects the price
Premiums vary with the species (dogs cost more to insure than cats on average, as the table above shows), the breed and size, the pet’s age, where you live, and the deductible, reimbursement level and payout limit you choose. Many insurers raise premiums as a pet ages, although some, including Trupanion, say they don’t raise rates just because a pet gets older. Because conditions diagnosed before enrolment are excluded, the age at which you start matters more than the premium in any one year.
What’s covered and what isn’t
| Typically covered | Examples |
|---|---|
| Accidents | Broken bones, lacerations |
| Illnesses | Cancer, diabetes, infections |
| Surgeries | ACL repair, tumour removal |
| Hospitalization | Overnight stays |
| Diagnostics | X-rays, bloodwork, MRI |
| Medications | Prescriptions |
| Emergency care | After-hours visits |
| Common exclusion | Details |
|---|---|
| Pre-existing conditions | Anything diagnosed or showing symptoms before coverage started |
| Waiting-period claims | Every policy has a waiting period after enrolment; its length varies by insurer and can differ for accidents, illnesses and orthopaedic conditions |
| Routine and preventive care | Vaccines, annual exams, spay/neuter (unless wellness coverage is added) |
| Breeding-related costs | Pregnancy, whelping complications |
| Cosmetic or elective procedures | Ear cropping, tail docking, declawing |
| Bilateral conditions | If one knee has a condition, the other knee may be excluded |
| Breed-specific exclusions | Some insurers exclude known breed-specific conditions |
| Behavioural issues | Training, anxiety |
When pet insurance pays off
Routine care (exams, vaccines, spaying or neutering) is predictable and usually not covered by an accident and illness policy. The bills that insurance exists for are the large, unexpected ones: diagnostic imaging, emergency and intensive care, surgery for a swallowed object, a fracture or a torn ligament, and cancer treatment. A minor illness may not exceed the deductible, while an ACL tear, a cancer diagnosis or a chronic condition that needs ongoing treatment is where a policy returns real money.
Over a pet’s life, total premiums can exceed what the policy pays back unless there is a major health event. An illustrative example, using the NAPHIA average accident and illness premium for a dog and an assumed $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement:
| Annual premium (dog) | Years paid | Total premiums | One major claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,176 | 10 | $11,760 | A $8,000 treatment returns $6,000 |
The example premium is an average, not a quote, and the claim is an assumed amount. The value of insurance is protection against the worst case, the same logic as home or car insurance. Insurance fits best when:
- an emergency bill in the thousands of dollars would be hard to absorb,
- you want treatment decisions not to depend on cost,
- the breed is prone to inherited health issues, or
- the pet is young, so coverage starts before conditions develop.
It adds less when you have savings set aside for pet emergencies, when the pet is already a senior with pre-existing conditions (higher premiums, more exclusions), or when you are comfortable setting a limit on what you will spend on veterinary care.
Choosing and keeping a policy
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What’s excluded? | Breed-specific and bilateral exclusions are the common surprises |
| Which deductible type? | Changes how much each claim returns |
| How long are the waiting periods? | Check accident, illness and orthopaedic separately |
| How fast do premiums rise with age? | Decides whether the policy stays affordable |
| How are claims paid? | Reimbursement to you, or direct payment to the vet |
| Any licensed vet, or a network? | Any-vet policies give more choice |
Premiums fall with a higher deductible, a lower reimbursement level or a lower payout limit, and some insurers offer a multi-pet discount. Letting a policy lapse can mean losing continuous coverage, and a new policy would treat existing conditions as pre-existing.
Filing a claim
Claims need an itemized invoice, the insurer’s claim form and, when asked, the pet’s medical records. The general steps for any insurance claim are in how to file an insurance claim, and if a pet claim is refused, the appeal route is in what to do when an insurance claim is denied.