Progressive Review: Pet Insurance That Pays Your Vet Directly

This pet insurer is a good fit for: Anyone who wants to bundle with Progressive's other insurance products and wants a pet insurance policy that will pay the vet directly.

Progressive Pet Insurance Snapshot

Pricing
Progressive states on its site that you can get comprehensive pet health insurance for $1 a day. Progressive has partnered with Pets Best to offer pet insurance. Pet insurance plans for dogs start at $9 per month for the accident-only plan, and start at $36 per month for comprehensive accident and illness coverage. Cat health insurance premiums start at $6 per month for accident-only coverage, and start at $21 for plans with coverage for accidents and illnesses.

The cost of pet insurance depends on many variables, such as the type of pet, breed, sex, age, location, annual coverage limit, and the deductible. A comprehensive accident and illness insurance plan for a small breed dog through Progressive costs $239.76 to $574.56 per year. Insurance for a common house cat through Progressive is estimated to cost $161.16 to $386.28 per year.

Discounts

Progressive offers a 5% discount when you get a BestBenefit pet insurance policy offered by Pets Best through them. You will get another 5% if you insure more than one pet.

Perks
Progressive states that it offers customizable coverages and rates based on your budget. A Progressive Pet Insurance plan gives you access to the Pets Best's 24/7 Pet Helpline. You can talk to veterinary experts who can answer your pet parenting questions. Pets Best allows you to easily submit claims through their Android and iOS apps. One of the biggest perks is that Pets Best offers Vet Direct Pay, where they will pay your vet directly. Most insurers require you to pay out of pocket and will reimburse you for veterinary care costs.

Customer Service

Pets Best does not offer 24/7 customer care or a live chat option. You can submit a claim online in your Customer Account, through the Mobile App, or via fax or email. If you submit a claim online, you can upload a copy of your veterinarian reimbursement release form when you upload your invoice. Once your claim has been processed, they send any eligible reimbursement amount to you or straight to your vet's office.

Top perks

Vet Direct Pay

Most pet insurance companies reimburse you after you pay the vet bill out of pocket. If you are hit with a very large and unexpected vet bill, you may have to deplete your savings account or max out your credit cards. Vet Direct Pay is an optional claims reimbursement feature that's available with all pet insurance plans. You can have Pets Best pay your vet directly for any claim reimbursement amount. Once your claim has been processed, they will send any eligible reimbursement amount directly to your vet.

24/7 Pet Helpline

Progressive Pet Insurance by Pets Best offers a 24/7 Pet Helpline where you can talk with Veterinary Experts day or night. Veterinary experts are available to help educate and provide advice and decision support to pet owners by phone, live chat, and email, from urgent care to behavioral questions, and any other question you may have. The 24/7 Pet Helpline is included with your policy when you become a Pets Best customer at no extra cost to you. This service has no limits on usage during your policy term, so pet owners always have access to veterinary experts as long as they are a customer.

Wide range of coverage plans

BestBenefit plans offer multiple levels of coverage. It can be customized to meet your pet insurance needs and your budget. Pets Best pet insurance plans for dogs and cats cover accidents, illnesses, surgeries, cancer, and more. It also offers wellness coverage for routine care, along with specialized coverage plans. Your pet can see any licensed veterinarian, and you can easily manage your policy and submit claims from your mobile device. You can choose your deductible, from $50 up to $1,000, to best fit your budget.

No age limit

You can enroll your puppy or dog in an accident-only or accident and illness plan at any age and keep the same level of coverage as they grow older.

What could be improved

Only available for cats and dogs

Only cats and dogs are covered under Progressive Pet Insurance by Pets Best. You will have to find another insurance company if you have a different kind of pet.

Exam fee not included

Almost every vet visit includes an exam fee. Pets Best does not reimburse you unless you add it on to your plan. This means you'll need to pay more if you'd like exam fees covered. Other insurance companies include exam fees as part of their coverage.

Two annual limit options

Plans only have two annual limit options for accident and illness policies: $5,000 or unlimited. This can make it harder to keep your plan affordable while maintaining great coverage over the years.

No 24/7 customer care

Best Pets does not offer 24/7 customer service or live chat. Its operating hours are Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST and Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. MST.

Pricing for Accident Only plans is $6 per month for cats and $9 per month for dogs.

If you want a pet insurer that offers no deductible and pays the vet directly: Trupanion also pays the veterinarian directly, which means pet owners pay less out of pocket. Trupanion also has flexible deductibles, including a $0 deductible. As opposed to annual deductibles that pet owners have to pay every year with most pet insurers, Trupanion's deductible is a condition-based, lifetime deductible that pet owners pay only once per issue and all its complications.

If you want a pet insurer with a declining deductible and that covers the exam fee: Embrace has a feature called the "Healthy Pet Deductible." For every year a pet owner doesn't receive a claim reimbursement, the deductible is reduced the next year by $50. Many pet insurance companies have waiting periods from 14 to 30 days before coverage kicks in. Waiting periods for Embrace are just two days for accidents and 14 days for illnesses. Many insurers also do not cover the cost of a pet's exam fee, but Embrace covers the exam fee for all covered accidents and illnesses.

You can customize your coverage by choosing from three types of insurance plans: routine care, accident-only, and accident and illness.

Accidental injury insurance

Accident-Only plan for dogs

The Accident-Only plan is the most affordable coverage for your dog. This type of pet insurance for dogs can cover vet bills associated with injuries like broken bones, bite wounds, and swallowing foreign objects. It doesn't cover illness. Pricing: $9 per month

Accident-Only plan for cats

This type of cat insurance can cover bills associated with injuries such as bites, wounds, broken bones, and swallowing objects. This plan won't cover illness. Pricing: $6 per month

Accident and illness insurance

BestBenefit plan for dogs

A BestBenefit plan can cover everything an Accident-Only plan does, plus any illness your dog suffers, unless it involves a pre-existing condition. With this plan's comprehensive coverage, you can get reimbursed for emergency care, diagnostic tests, and visits to specialists. Estimated cost: $36 per month

BestBenefit plan for cats

A BestBenefit plan can also cover any ailment your cat suffers except pre-existing conditions. This comprehensive coverage can reimburse you for diagnostic exams, emergency care, and specialist visits. Estimated cost: $21 per month

Routine care insurance

EssentialWellness and BestWellness plans for dogs

Routine care coverage can be added to a BestBenefit plan to cover wellness exams, annual vaccines, dental cleanings, and routine or preventive care with no deductible. Progressive offers two levels of wellness coverage.

EssentialWellness pricing: $16 per month

BestWellness pricing: $26 per month

EssentialWellness and BestWellness plans for cats

Either of these plans can be added to your BestBenefit plan to cover wellness exams, dental cleanings, annual vaccines, and routine or preventive care, with no deductible. There are two levels of wellness coverage options for both kittens and older cats.

EssentialWellness pricing: $16 per month

BestWellness pricing: $26 per month

Progressive offers a 5% discount when you get a BestBenefit pet insurance policy offered by Pets Best through them. You will get another 5% if you insure more than one pet. Their site doesn't list any more discounts. Since Progressive and Pets Best are separate, they may offer other discounts.

You can sign up for Progressive pet insurance online. You first enter your pet's information to get your quote. Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC provides quotes from American Pet Insurance Company on the Progress site. Note that Progressive refers pet owners seeking Progressive® Pet Insurance by Pets Best to Pets Best Insurance Services. Pets Best is not affiliated with Progressive.

Progressive offers insurance for dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens. Progressive will cover any cat or dog breed.

Pets Best is the insurance company that provides the coverage and customer service. Pets Best has a 4.1 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot based on 2,970 reviews. Consumer Affairs gives Pets Best 3.5 out of 5 stars, and U.S. News gives it 3.8 out of 5 stars. The service ratings for Pets Best are wide-ranging. Some customers are pleased with the coverage and service, while others have called out the expensive cost of Progressive's pet insurance.

Progressive is best suited for people who:

• Want a pet insurer to pay the vet directly so they don't have to pay out of pocket.
• Want a 24/7 emergency vet hotline to call if there are medical issues.
• Want an unlimited plan with no annual limit
• Want to cater coverage based on budget

But you may want to consider Trupanion if you want your vet to be directly paid by the insurer, but don't want to pay a deductible, or Embrace for a declining deductible and covered exam fees.