One of the biggest players in the world of pet insurance is Nationwide Pet Insurance. Yes, it’s the same as that Nationwide, the one that plays jingles all over the television and radio about how they’re on your side. Below we’ll look at Nationwide’s background in the pet insurance world, pros and cons, how price quotes compare with other pet insurers and what the coverage is like. We’ll also look at what it is like to get an online quote from Nationwide.
- About Nationwide Pet Insurance
- Pros and Cons
- Nationwide Pet Insurance Ratings
- How Much does Nationwide Pet Insurance Cost?
- How Nationwide Pet Insurance Quotes Compare with Other Similar Companies?
- How Easy to Get A Quote from Nationwide Pet Insurance
- Coverage Options
About Nationwide Pet Insurance:
As for Nationwide’s background, its pet insurance brand actually got its start as Veterinary Pet Insurance (or VPI) back in 1982. It was the first company to offer pet insurance in the United States. In 2014, Nationwide made the move to roll all of its insurance companies under one header brand of Nationwide. The company writes that its mission stays the same, and that’s to help pets have access to the care they need.
That’s why if you look for VPI Pet Insurance, you inevitably end up back at Nationwide’s website. If you’d like to know more about the VPI situation, you can read more about it in our VPI review here.
Nationwide Pet Insurance is underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company within California and National Casualty Company out of Ohio for the rest of the U.S.
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Pros:
- It insures exotic animals like birds, rodents and reptiles, in addition to dogs and cats.
- The Nationwide brand means you’re getting the comprehensive coverage of a well-known and highly rated national insurer.
- Nationwide Pet Insurance is famous for its very comprehensive coverage of things other insurers typically won’t cover, like therapeutic diets and behavior treatments.
Cons:
- Like all pet insurance companies, Nationwide does not cover ongoing pre-existing conditions. However, it may cover pre-existing conditions that have been cured for at least six months.
- Monthly prices tend to spike very drastically as your pet ages, much more than the other plans we compared.
- Only the highest-tier whole pet with wellness plan comes with an unlimited annual benefit.
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Nationwide Pet Insurance Ratings:
As a company, Nationwide currently has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Reviews at Yelp for Nationwide Pet Insurance specifically are mixed, as they tend to be on the site. Many reviewers state they are satisfied with quick and painless reimbursement process. Other reviewers report claims being denied and closed too early. And still others are unhappy that their claims were deemed pre-existing conditions. Premiums may also rise as the dog ages.
Nationwide Pet Insurance is not accredited with ConsumerAffairs. Satisfaction ratings at the site sit at just over one star, with similar complaints as those on Yelp.
Consumers Advocate, on the other hand, rates Nationwide Pet Insurance with a 4.3/5 (excellent) rating. They like Nationwide’s whole pet with wellness plan, which they state is one of the most comprehensive coverage plans on the market. They also rate Nationwide highly for covering exotics, in addition to cats and dogs.
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How Much does Nationwide Pet Insurance Cost?
In order to get an idea of how Nationwide’s rates in terms of price, we pulled eight quotes, comparing between location (Texas vs. Florida), age of the animal (1-year-old vs. 5-years-old) and breed (Labrador Retriever vs. German Shepherd). All quotes have $10,000 annual benefit and $250 annual deductible.
- Texas, small/medium dog, 1-year-old: $71 per month
- Texas, small/medium dog, 5-year-old: $103 per month
- Texas, big dog, 1-year-old: $71 per month
- Texas, big dog, 5-year-old: $103 per month
- Florida, small/medium dog, 1-year-old: $80 per month
- Florida, small/medium dog, 5-year-old: $96 per month
- Florida, big dog, 1-year-old: $80 per month
- Florida, big dog, 5-year-old: $96 per month
Nationwide pet insurance’s rates per month jump drastically as the animal ages. However, prices between breed stay exactly the same by location. Prices in Florida are a little more expensive for the younger animal, but prices in Texas are a little more expensive for the older animal.
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How Nationwide Pet Insurance Quotes Compare with Other Similar Companies?
In order to get an idea of how Nationwide’s rates in terms of price, we compared it against Trupanion Pet Insurance and ASPCA Pet Insurance. We also pulled eight quotes from each, comparing between location (Texas vs. Florida), age of the animal (1-year-old vs. 5-years-old) and breed (Labrador Retriever vs. German Shepherd).
In order to keep comparisons even, we went with comparable deductible ranges, so either $250 or $200.
Here is the price comparison of the three companies:
| Nationwide | Trupanion Pet Insurance | ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Small/Medium Dog | 1 year old | $30 | $67 | $47 |
| 5 years old | $54 | $91 | $57 | ||
| Big Dog | 1 year old | $35 | $65 | $43 | |
| 5 years old | $63 | $88 | $52 | ||
| Florida | Small/Medium Dog | 1 year old | $38 | $73 | $36 |
| 5 years old | $73 | $95 | $43 | ||
| Big Dog | 1 year old | $48 | $74 | $32 | |
| 5 years old | $92 | $74 | $40 |
As you can see, Nationwide Pet Insurance is distinctly cheaper than Trupanion. Nationwide Pet Insurance is a bit more experience than ASPCA Pet Insurance, especially in Florida. However, coverage from Nationwide is more comprehensive than ASPCA. Nationwide covers dental diseases, behavior treatments and therapeutic diets even in its whole pet mid-range plan.
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How Easy to Get A Quote from Nationwide Pet Insurance:
Nationwide makes the quote process very painless. There’s a “get a quote” option near the top right of the page. Once you select that, this page pops up:
You simply enter basic information about your pet, like age and type of animal. Not shown is a field that allows you to enter either your phone number or email. Then you hit the “get a quote” button. After that, you get this very simple and straightforward page:
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Coverage Options:
The main benefit of how Nationwide Pet Insurance does their quotes is that it outlines in very simple terms what is all covered between your three plan options. If you want increased coverage for wellness exams, for example, you simply select the whole pet with wellness plan, which is about $25 more expensive per month for a 1-year-old small/medium dog in Texas, as in the case above.
It’s also worth noting that both the whole pet and whole pet with wellness cover dental diseases. At that point, your price is over doubling from $31 to $71 if you move up from major medical, but you can also get additional options, like 90 percent back on veterinary bills.
The site also has a very comprehensive scroll page allowing you to compare individual conditions covered between each plan. For instance, if you wanted to know more about dental coverage, you can see that dental cleaning and gingivitis are only covered under the whole pet with wellness plan.
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The Bottom Line:
- Nationwide Pet Insurance started out as VPI. Then Nationwide simply rolled VPI Pet Insurance under its brand umbrella, so you’re getting the combined benefit of the company that first offered pet insurance in the U.S. with a major national insurer of everything from homes to boats.
- Nationwide Pet Insurance is more expensive than its competitors, but it’s well known for its extremely comprehensive coverage. Under its three plans, you can choose between major medical coverage, whole pet and a top-tier plan that adds additional wellness options. Nationwide is also somewhat unique in that it covers dental disease, which many plans won’t do.
- Nationwide is also very unique in that it insures exotics like birds and reptiles. That’s hard to find in the pet insurance world.