You’ve probably heard of Nationwide before, but did you know that they are one of the most prominent providers of pet insurance? If you’re looking to get coverage for your dog then they are a company that’s probably worth considering. Their policies range from extensive to nearly comprehensive, and unlike many of the other providers that you’re likely to come across, this company has had their hat in the ring for over three decades and counting. Are they the right provider for you and your pet? We’re about to cover everything you need to know to make this decision easy.
Is Nationwide Pet Insurance Good?
Nationwide is an insurance company with a long-standing and well-deserved reputation in the United States. Most people are familiar with their name for more human-related policies though, like home, car, and renter’s insurance. What about their pet health insurance though, is it any good?
You may be surprised to hear that Nationwide has been insuring dogs for nearly 40 years now – a much longer track record than most of the other providers you’ll come across. Aside from dogs and cats, they even offer plans that provide coverage for the care of exotic pets. It’s always nice to know when you’re working with a company that’s been around the block a time or two. Beyond that, here are some things you should consider when you’re trying to select the best plan for your dog:
Coverage
Nationwide plans come in three basic tiers so that you can find the coverage that fits best with your dog’s care. They are as follows.
Whole Pet With Wellness
This is their most extensive plan, and it provides coverage for just about every type of care you could provide for your pet. In fact, they claim that it’s the most extensive amount of coverage that you can get for your pet’s health care anywhere. Reimbursements under this plan are based on the price of your vet bill, and they will pay a percentage regardless of the total price of the bill. This policy offers some nice perks that you won’t get with any of the other policies, like having no waiting period for hereditary conditions, included dental cleaning, and quite a few specialized procedures.
Major Medical
If the Whole Pet plan is a bit pricey or seems a bit excessive for your needs, you can opt to just get the Major Medical policy on it’s own, or combine it with the Wellness Plan described below. With the Major Medical policy, the amount of reimbursement that you can get for each type of treatment is capped (regardless of your veterinary bill). Major Medical covers most of what the Whole Pet policy covers, but obviously does not include wellness care and lacks some of the perks that you get when you sign up for the whole pet plan.
Wellness
Unlike many of the other providers you’ll come across, with Nationwide you can elect to just sign your dog up for the Wellness policy for routine and preventative care – things like heartworm prevention, wellness bloodwork, and vaccinations.
Exclusions
Of course, there are some things that just aren’t covered under a pet insurance policy, and this company is no different. The nice thing about Nationwide is that they will consider some pre-existing conditions if you have records that your pet has been cured for the last six months. As for the rest of their exclusions, this will vary based on the coverage that you choose. However, here is a basic idea of what’s not covered:
Whole Pet w/ Wellness
- Pre-existing conditions (see note above)
- Grooming
- More (see their website for more information.
Other Plans
- Pre-existing conditions (see note above)
- Congenital disorders
- Hereditary conditions
- Cruciate ligament injuries (waiting period of 12 months)
- Wellness care
Does Nationwide Pet Insurance Pay The Vet Directly?
The standard procedure for reimbursement with Nationwide pet insurance is to send you a reimbursement check for bills that you have already paid. You would have to contact them directly to see if the pet insurance company would be willing to pay the veterinarian directly, and you would also have to get your vet to agree to this as well. Keep in mind that you would still have to pay the vet the remainder of the bill that the reimbursement doesn’t cover.
How Much Does Nationwide Pet Insurance Cost?
As most pet owners are aware, there are a variety of factors that will ultimately determine how much your pet insurance plan will cost – including, but not limited to, details about your pet (i.e. breed, age, gender, etc.), where you and your pet live, and the extent of coverage you are looking to carry in your pet’s insurance plan.
That said, to give you an idea, we used Nationwide’s online quoting system to find what the cost would be to carry insurance a fairly average dog – a 1-year old labrador retriever living in Seattle, WA. Given this information, we were quoted $98.41/month for the Whole Pet With Wellness Plan, $52.17/month for the Major Medical With Wellness Plan, and $34.67/month for the Major Medical plan.
Does Nationwide Pet Insurance Cover Dental Cleaning?
The Whole Pet With Wellness plans offered by Nationwide Pet Insurance do provide coverage for dental cleaning. However, dental cleanings are not included in coverage under Nationwide’s Major Medical With Wellness or Major Medical insurance plans.
Should You Get Nationwide Pet Insurance?
If you’re looking for a comprehensive policy to make sure your dog is covered (or even one of your exotic pets for that matter), then this company is one of the few providers that will give you everything that you’re looking for. It’s also a great feeling to be working with a company that has such a long-standing reputation in providing insurance, as many of the alternative companies you’ll find are relatively new. This is something that may never turn into an issue, but the risk of a newer company folding is certainly there so it’s something to keep in mind.
One thing to note for those who are a bit worried about Nationwide Pet Insurance reviews from customers on sites like Yelp or otherwise: We find in our research that online reviews for dog insurance are often quite negative on these types of sites, regardless of the provider. We tend to attribute this to the fact that people care very much for their pets, and when something goes wrong they often take to the internet to write bad reviews to attack the company image. Most of the insurance providers are pretty explicit about what is and is not covered in their policies. Make sure you evaluate online customer reviews with an objective eye, and compare the reviews across different providers rather than simply taking a star rating at face value.
At the end of the day, the pet insurance provider that you choose is going to come down to the coverage you’re looking for, the monthly premium the providers quote you, how much you trust the company, and a number of other factors. There’s a lot to like about Nationwide Pet Insurance, so it’s worth getting a quote to see if they are the right fit for you and your pet. However, if you’re feeling like Nationwide just isn’t the provider for you, then head over to our main page of dog insurance reviews find the right fit for your pet.
