If you’re planning to take your pet on an adventure in one of Colorado’s beautiful parks, you might want a pet insurance policy to ensure its accidents are covered. Additionally, many policies also cover illnesses and other unexpected conditions that can come with excessive vet bills, such as hip dysplasia, cancer and more.
We at the Guides Home Team dug into the data, analyzing companies on significant factors, such as customer care, plans and monthly pricing, to help Colorado pet parents find the best pet insurance company for them and their four-legged friend.
The Best Pet Insurance in Colorado in 2023
Here are the top providers of pet insurance in Colorado:
Coverage & Cost: Although Lemonade’s prices are often considerably lower than other providers, it offers impressive coverage on both accidents and illnesses, paying for veterinary bills such as diagnostic tests, emergency care, hospitalization, surgery and more. It doesn’t include preexisting conditions, behavioral treatments, dental illness and elective procedures. It also excludes physical therapy and vet visit fees unless you purchase add-ons.
You can also add optional coverage for preventative care, which helps pay for your pet’s routine treatments and vet visits, including a wellness exam, a fecal test, three vaccines, a heartworm test and a blood test. For a bit more per month, you can also add a routine dental cleaning and heartworm, flea or tick medication to that coverage.
The average prices below are for mixed dogs and cats between 1 and 9 years old in Colorado Springs, Colo., with $5,000 annual coverage, a $250 deductible and 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement rate:
- Dogs: $19–$55 per month
- Cats: $13–$27 per month
To learn more: Lemonade Pet Insurance Review
Get a quote: Use this online tool to get a quick quote from Lemonade and sign up for your policy.
Coverage & Cost: With seven annual limit options between $2,500 and unlimited, you can purchase coverage for either accidents only or accidents and illnesses, including cancer, behavioral issues, respiratory infections, hip dysplasia and other conditions. Spot’s plans exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, breeding health issues and elective procedures.
Its Gold and Platinum preventative care plans help pay for your furry family member’s routine care, including a dental cleaning, a wellness exam, a fecal test, vaccines and more. The Gold plan is around $10 and comes with $250 total per-item limits per year, and the Platinum plan costs around $25 and comes with $450 of per-item coverage limits per year.
To show you how low your customizable Spot plan can be, here are quoted prices for dogs and cats in Colorado Springs, Colo., with $2,500, 70{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement and a $1,000 deductible, which don’t vary based on each pet’s age and breed:
- Dogs: $10.71 per month
- Cats: $9.42 per month
To learn more: Spot Pet Insurance Review
Get a quote: Fill out this online form for an instant quote from Spot based on your zip code and pet’s details.
Coverage & Cost: With a policy from Embrace, your pet’s unexpected accidents and illnesses are covered, including allergies, dental trauma, cancer, injuries and more. It includes coverage for exam fees in the standard policy, and it pays for expenses like hospitalization, surgery and alternative treatments. It doesn’t cover pre existing conditions, breeding- and pregnancy-related issues and cosmetic surgeries.
For extra coverage on preventative care, you can add the optional Wellness Rewards plan with $250, $450 or $650 of annual coverage on 100{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} of vet bills related to your pet’s regular health care, such as checkups, anal gland expression, vaccinations and grooming.
Here are some averages from our quotes for 1- to 9-year-old pets in Colorado Springs, Colo., with $5,000 annual limits, $300 deductibles and 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement rates:
- Dogs: $50–$85 per month
- Cats: $25–$51 per month
To learn more: Embrace Pet Insurance Review
Get a quote: Fill out this online form for a pet insurance quote from Embrace.
Coverage & Cost: ASPCA Pet Health Insurance offers the Accident-Only Coverage plan and the Complete Coverage plan to ensure pet parents get the exact coverage they need. While the first covers only accidents, such as toxic ingestions, broken bones and sprains, the latter is more inclusive, paying for your cat or dog’s illnesses and other conditions. Neither plan covers elective procedures, preexisting conditions and breeding-related health complications.
You can also add the Basic or Prime preventative care add-ons for coverage on things like a dental cleaning, wellness exam, vaccinations and a fecal test with either $250 or $450 of total per-treatment limits per year.
Here are some sample average rates from quotes for pets in Colorado Springs, Colo., with $5,000 of annual coverage, $250 deductibles and 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement rates:
- Dogs: $42–$97 per month
- Cats: $22–$40 per month
To learn more: ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Review
Get a quote: Fill out this online form for an instant quote on an ASPCA Pet Health Insurance policy.
Coverage & Cost: Fetch’s standard policy comes with coverage for accidents and illnesses with annual coverage caps of $5,000, $15,000 or unlimited. It pays for treatments such as surgery, cancer treatments, holistic care, telehealth services, behavioral therapies, dental procedures and more.
It also covers boarding fees if you’re in the hospital for more than four days, advertising and reward money when losing your pet and vacation cancellation fees if your plans change when your pet gets sick. However, it doesn’t offer any preventative care add-ons, and it doesn’t cover preexisting conditions or cosmetic procedures.
Fetch’s prices can be much higher for older pets. Here some examples of 1- to 9-year-old pets’ premiums in Colorado Springs, Colo., with $5,000 annual coverage, $250 deductibles and 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement:
- Dogs: $28–$133 per month
- Cats: $20–$49 per month
To learn more: Fetch by The Dodo Pet Insurance Review
Get a quote: Check prices on your pet insurance premiums from Petplan by using this quote tool.
Coverage & Cost: Choosing Healthy Paws means you’ll get unlimited annual, per-incident and lifetime coverage for your pet’s accidents and illnesses. It reimburses you for things like emergency care, specialty care, alternative treatments, surgery and more, but it excludes behavioral treatments, exam fees, pre existing conditions and any preventative or routine care treatments.
Healthy Paws’ pricing stays pretty consistent with the averages below from our sample quotes, but policies on pets more than 6 years old can’t be customized and come with higher deductibles and lower reimbursement rates.
- Dogs: $39–$78 per month
- Cats: $18–$36 per month
To learn more: Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Review
Get a quote: Use Healthy Paws’ online tool for a free quote on your pet’s policy.
Coverage & Cost: Prudent Pet offers a range of coverage options with three different plans. The Accident-Only Plan pays for your pet’s accidents, such as teeth injuries, broken bones and bite wounds. The Essential Plan pays for those incidents in addition to illnesses, including hip dysplasia, cancer, birth defects and other conditions. Both of those plans come with $10,000 of annual coverage.
The Ultimate Plan is the provider’s most comprehensive plan, and it covers accidents and illnesses with no annual coverage limit. It also includes reimbursements for lost-pet advertising and reward money, vacation cancellation fees, boarding fees if you’re hospitalized for more than four days, mortality costs, such as burial fees, and replacement if your pet is lost or stolen.
Below are average premiums in Colorado Springs, Colo., on the Essential Plan with a $250 deductible and 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} reimbursement rate for pets between 1 and 9 years old:
- Dogs: $47–$105 per month
- Cats: $28–$63 per month
To learn more: Prudent Pet Insurance Review
Which is the Best Provider of Pet Insurance in Colorado for You?
As a pet owner, one of the worst things that could happen is having to worry about affording the cost of your expensive vet bills after an emergency impacts your furry friend’s health. With pet insurance, you get the financial peace of mind that you can pay for your pet’s health care without hesitating or forking out excessive money.
Although Lemonade is our top pick for affordable and comprehensive pet insurance plans with a fast claims process, other great options exist. If you want unlimited annual and lifetime coverage caps, you might pick Healthy Paws, but Prudent Pet may make more sense if you’re looking for some extra coverage included in your plan.
Compare Pet insurance Providers in Colorado
*Each provider’s monthly cost is based on accident and illness policy premiums from quotes we obtained for 4-year-old medium-sized dogs in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Types of Pet Insurance Plans
Pet insurance comes with an annual coverage limit that the provider agrees to pay each year, an annual deductible that you owe before coverage kicks in and a reimbursement rate, which is the percentage of each vet bill the provider agrees to pay. It’s also separated into plan options and add-ons. Here are more details about the different types of pet insurance plans:
- Accident-only plan: For coverage on just accidents, injuries, bite wounds, cuts and other unexpected incidents that affect your pet’s physical health, you can purchase this plan. It’s typically less expensive than accident and illness plans, since it’s not as comprehensive.
- Accident and illness plan: For a higher premium, you can purchase this plan, which covers everything in accident-only plans, plus general illnesses and other conditions, such as hip dysplasia, cancer, hereditary conditions, allergies and more.
- Preventative care add-ons: Also known as wellness care and routine care, preventative care can typically be added to your policy for an additional cost, and it helps pay for regular treatments your pet needs, such as annual checkups, vaccinations, microchipping, fecal tests and more with the intent to help encourage your pet’s overall health and protect it from diseases.
How to Choose the Right Pet Insurance Provider
Our goal is to make choosing your policy easier by recommending providers based on their unique benefits that may be particularly attractive to your specific needs. However, first you need to understand a key factors to help narrow down your choices:
- Plan type: If you’re leaning toward purchasing an accident-only policy, that weeds out a few options, since not all providers currently offer those plans. Look to Prudent Pet, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance and Spot for comprehensive accident-only plans at affordable rates.
- Coverage limits: Some pet insurance providers, including Prudent Pet, Spot, Fetch and Healthy Paws, offer options for unlimited coverage, which means you’ll never have to pay out of pocket for covered vet bills beyond your deductible and copay, so those insurers may be your best options if you’re looking for that.
- Policy customization: You can lower your policy’s premium by choosing higher deductibles, lower reimbursement rates and lower annual coverage limits, and each provider offers different options to choose from. For instance, while Petplan offers only three deductible choices, Embrace offers five that you can customize to your needs.
- Wellness coverage: Preventative care add-ons can be extremely valuable to help you get the most out of your pet insurance, especially if you have a younger pet that requires a bit more initial treatments and vet visits early in its life. Those can get expensive, so preventative care can help you save a substantial amount of money. When we surveyed 1,000 pet owners, 42{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} of them that got their animal before it turned 1 paid between $200 and $500 for those initial vet bills, and 27{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} paid more than $500.
Methodology: Our System for Ranking the Best Providers of Pet Insurance in Colorado
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:
- Monthly pricing (25 points): How much each company charges for its pet insurance plans is an important part of a customer’s decision. The best pet insurance companies combine comprehensive coverage and plan options with affordable rates.
- Plans (15 points): The top pet insurance companies offer accident and illness plans, accident-only plans and wellness or preventative care add-ons to give customers the option to choose a plan that’s best for their pet.
- Covered treatments (15 points): With this factor, we scored companies based on the treatments and procedures they cover. Companies with a breadth of included treatments and unique coverages received more points than providers with more standard or general policies.
- Customization options (10 points): Customizing your policy is a valuable way to ensure you only pay for what your pet needs. Providers with more annual-limit, deductible and reimbursement-rate options earned the highest scores.
- Customer care (10 points): We scored companies on their website accessibility and overall usability, customer service availability, mobile apps (if any), money-back guarantees and veterinarian telehealth options, awarding points to the insurers with more customer experience offerings.
- Industry reputation (10 points): To determine each company’s industry reputation, we reviewed up-to-date ratings and accreditation information from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and scored companies on their years of experience in the industry and their state availability.
- Waiting periods (10 points): Companies with shorter accident, illness and orthopedic waiting periods between the sign-up and coverage start date scored higher than companies with longer waiting periods.
- Eligible age (5 points): Some companies don’t offer policies for pets that are over a certain age. We deducted points from providers that have age limits for covered pets.
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.
Hilary Snow is a communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. She has worked for a number of well-regarded outlets and content marketing companies local to North Carolina, including The Greater Wilmington Business Journal and ZillaMetrics.
Parker King is a writer, editor and SEO content strategist with a master’s degree in professional communication from Clemson University and years of experience in the digital marketing industry. She specializes in writing, editing and optimizing personal finance, home services and insurance content.
