Pet insurance
Pet wellness plans: what they cover and when they pay off
Last reviewed October 30, 20266 min readBy the Goodsurance editorial team Reviewed by the Goodsurance editorial team
A pet wellness plan pays for planned, routine care, such as checkups, vaccines and teeth cleaning. Regular pet insurance does not pay for these. There are three ways to handle this care: add wellness to an insurance policy, join a vet clinic's membership plan, or pay as you go. Each one can make sense, based on what care your pet will really get.
What a pet wellness plan is
Most pet insurance pays for the things you do not plan: accidents and illnesses. Wellness care is the opposite. It is the care you know is coming, such as a yearly checkup, shots, tests and teeth cleaning.
A wellness plan pays a set amount for each of those items. It does not pay a share of the bill like your main policy does. If the plan says it pays up to $50 for a checkup, that is the most you get back, even if your vet charges more.
Wellness plans are also called routine care or preventive care. Insurers use all three names for the same idea.
Three ways to pay for routine care
1. A wellness add-on to an insurance policy. You buy it on top of an accident and illness plan. You pay your vet, send the bill, and get paid back up to each limit. ASPCA Pet Health Insurance says its preventive care is not a stand-alone plan; you must have one of its base plans. Fetch says the same. Embrace calls its Wellness Rewards a membership, not insurance.
2. A vet clinic membership plan. Some vet chains sell a yearly package of care that you pay for in monthly or yearly payments. Banfield's Optimum Wellness Plans are one example. Banfield says they are not pet insurance. You can use them at any Banfield hospital, and only there. Its plans include office visits, exams and vaccines, and some add a dental cleaning or a spay or neuter. Banfield says that if you cancel early, you may owe the full price of the care you already used, minus what you have paid.
3. Pay as you go. You pay your vet for each visit. Nothing is added to your monthly bill, and you can use any vet. Some people set aside money each month in savings for this.
| Question | Insurance add-on | Clinic plan | Pay as you go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Need an insurance policy? | Usually yes | ✗ | ✗ |
| Which vets? | Per the insurer's terms | That clinic chain | Any vet |
| How you are paid | Paid back up to set limits | Listed care is included | You pay the full bill |
| Fee to leave early? | Some charge one | Some charge one | ✗ |
Embrace and Banfield both say you may owe money if you leave before the year ends.
What people pay on average
NAPHIA, the trade group for pet insurers, reports average yearly premiums (what you pay for the plan) for 2025. It puts plans with wellness built in as a separate group. They cost more on average:
| Pet | Accident and illness | Plans with wellness built in |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | $836 a year | $1,414 a year |
| Cats | $435 a year | $859 a year |
Be careful with these numbers. They are averages across different plans and pets. The gap between the two columns is NOT the price of a wellness add-on. The two columns are different plans, not the same plan with and without wellness. NAPHIA counts add-ons sold on top of a policy as a separate group. Plans with wellness built in may also have richer base coverage. To see the real price of an add-on, look at the insurer's own quote. Our page on pet insurance cost explains what drives the base price.
How insurers build their wellness add-ons
Here is what four insurers show on their own websites, checked October 29, 2026. Prices and limits can change and can differ by state and pet age.
| Insurer and option | Most it pays per year | Price shown | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pets Best EssentialWellness | $305 | $14 to $21.75 a month | Pays nothing toward spay, neuter or teeth cleaning. |
| Pets Best BestWellness | $535 | $26 to $32.58 a month | No deductible. Starts the day after you enroll. |
| Fetch Wellness (Essentials, Advantage, Prime) | $390, $700 or $1,200 | From less than $18 to less than $40 a month | No deductible and no waiting period. Needs a Fetch policy. Fetch says these new plans are not in every state yet. |
| Embrace Wellness Rewards | $300, $500 or $700, plus an extra $25 for some care | By quote | Embrace says it is not insurance. Not sold in Rhode Island. |
| Spot Gold and Platinum Preventive Care | Set per item, such as $50 for a wellness exam | Not shown on the page we checked | Not subject to the deductible. Amounts are from a notice Spot posts for California residents and may differ in your state. |
Every one of these pays per item, not per bill. Read the item list, not only the yearly total. A plan with a big total can still pay little for the care your pet actually gets.
A plan that says it pays up to $535 a year only pays that much if your pet uses every item on the list, up to each item's limit. Most pets will not.
Does pet insurance cover vaccines?
Not a regular accident and illness plan. Vaccines are planned care. To get help paying for shots, you need a wellness add-on or a clinic plan. Some examples from insurers' own pages:
- Fetch: vaccines are paid up to $50, $80 or $125 a year, based on the tier.
- Pets Best: up to $30 (EssentialWellness) or $40 (BestWellness) for vaccines or titers (a blood test that checks if a shot is still working), plus up to $15 for rabies. Pets Best says amounts vary by state.
- Spot: up to $20 per core vaccine with Gold, or $25 with Platinum, based on a notice Spot posts for California residents.
- Lemonade: its Routine Vet Care package includes three vaccines a year.
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance: both its Basic and Prime options list core vaccines for dogs and cats.
Puppies and kittens need the most shots in year one. See pet insurance for puppies and kittens for more on that first year.
Does it pay for itself? A worked example
Here is a simple way to check. The numbers below are made up to show the math. They are not any insurer's real prices. Use your own vet's prices and your own plan's limits.
The add-on (example): costs $25 a month, which is $300 a year. It pays up to $50 for an exam, $50 for vaccines and $150 for a teeth cleaning.
Your vet's prices (example): exam $70, vaccines $90, teeth cleaning $400. Total: $560.
| Your pet's year | Add-on pays back | Add-on costs | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam, vaccines and a cleaning | $250 | $300 | You pay $50 more than paying as you go |
| Exam and vaccines only ($160 bill) | $100 | $300 | You pay $200 more than paying as you go |
In this example, the add-on costs more than it pays back, even in a busy year. That is not always true. An add-on can come out ahead if your pet uses many items on the list, such as flea, tick and heartworm medicine you would buy anyway. Run the math with your own numbers before you decide. For the main plan, see is pet insurance worth it.
Questions to ask before you sign up
Ask these of any insurer or clinic. Get the answers in writing. If your pet needs dental care or a spay or neuter this year, check those items first. They often share one limit.
Wellness plan checklist
What does it cost per year, in total?
Multiply the monthly price by 12.
What is the limit for each item?
Per-item caps decide what you get back.
Do any items share one limit?
Cleaning and spay or neuter often do.
Can I use any vet?
Clinic plans work only at that clinic chain.
Is there a fee if I cancel early?
Some plans charge for care already used.
Is it sold in my state?
Options and prices differ by state.
Common questions
Quick answers, fast .
Tap any question to expand. Each links to a fuller standalone answer.
Is a pet wellness plan worth it?
It depends on what care your pet will get. Add up your vet's prices, then compare what the plan would pay back to what it costs per year. If it pays back less than it costs, paying as you go is cheaper.
Is a pet wellness plan the same as pet insurance?
No. Insurance pays for accidents and illnesses. A wellness plan pays set amounts for planned care. Embrace and Banfield both say their wellness programs are not insurance.
Does pet insurance cover vaccines?
Not a regular accident and illness plan. A wellness add-on can help. For example, Fetch's add-on pays up to $50, $80 or $125 a year for vaccines, based on the tier.
Can I buy a wellness plan without pet insurance?
Not usually from an insurer. ASPCA Pet Health Insurance and Fetch both require a base plan. Vet clinic plans, such as Banfield's, do not need insurance, but you can only use them at that chain.
Do wellness plans have a deductible?
The ones we checked do not. Pets Best, Fetch and Embrace all say there is no deductible for their wellness options.
References
- NAPHIA: State of the Industry 2026 highlightsAverage 2025 yearly premiums by plan type, dogs and cats; 'Insurance with Embedded Wellness' is its own category, separate from wellness endorsements
- Pets Best: Routine care and pet wellness coverageEssentialWellness and BestWellness item limits, totals, monthly prices
- Fetch: Wellness plansEssentials, Advantage and Prime item limits, totals, prices; no deductible or waiting period
- Embrace: Wellness RewardsYearly amounts; extra $25; not insurance; cancellation fees; not in RI
- Spot: Notice to California residentsGold and Platinum per-item preventive limits
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance: Preventive careBasic and Prime services; not a stand-alone plan
- Lemonade: Puppy and kitten preventative packageRoutine Vet Care, Routine Vet Care Plus and Puppy/Kitten packages
- Banfield: Optimum Wellness PlansNot pet insurance; paid monthly or yearly; any Banfield hospital; early cancellation terms
- Banfield: What is included in Optimum Wellness PlansServices in each plan tier