Nationwide Pet Insurance Review 2023

Nationwide Pet Insurance was formed in 2014 after it acquired the famous Veterinary Pet Insurance (founded in 1982). The Veterinary Pet Insurance Company had the distinction of working with TV’s beloved Lassie, the Scottish Rough Collie dog. The pet insurance company stands apart from many other pet insurance service providers since it not only provides coverage for cats and dogs, but also other pet animals like birds, reptiles, goats, rodents, and amphibians, which is why a lot of consumers who have exotic pets prefer it, according to Nationwide Pet Insurance Reviews.

The company is underwritten by the Veterinary Pet Insurance Company. Nationwide has helped saved thousands of dollars, especially for pet owners who own exotic pets. To get a quote, call the Nationwide Insurance phone number at 1-877-738-7874.

How We Reviewed

We reviewed Nationwide by taking a look at multiple factors of both the standard pet insurance and discount memberships, which can help pet parents decide the best plan for them. We considered the following factors:

• Nationwide pet policies and coverages
• Nationwide plan exclusions
• Deductibles and waiting periods
• Claims and reimbursements
• Pricing and plans
• Nationwide Pet Insurance rating and review
• Customer support
• Financial stability 
• Comparison with other pet insurance companies

Where is it Available?

Nationwide is available in all 50 states of the United States. The company is headquartered in California and Nationwide Insurance location is 1800 East Imperial Highway Suite 145 Brea, CA 92821 USA.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Review

Types of Coverages

Nationwide offers coverages for dogs and cats, as well as exotic animals, including:

• Goats
• Amphibians
• Ferrets
• Hamsters
• Geckos
• Gerbils
• Iguanas
• Lizards
• Chinchillas
• Guinea pigs
• Hedgehogs
• Mice
• Opossums
• Rats
• Potbellied pigs
• Snakes
• Rabbits
• Tortoises
• Turtles
• Sugar gliders

Nationwide offers per-incident benefit schedules. The coverage plans include:

Whole Pet With Wellness

Whole Pet with Wellness is the most comprehensive pet insurance policy provided by Nationwide and covers a large range of illnesses, accidents, and routine care, including surgeries, emergency veterinary care, parasite prevention, and vaccination. The plan offers:

• Accidents and illnesses
• Hospitalization and surgeries
• Chronic conditions
• Hereditary conditions
• Prescription medication
• Heartworm and flea prevention
• Pet dental insurance
• Vaccination
• Wellness exams
• Hip dysplasia
• Emergency veterinary care
• Behavioral treatment
• Alternative and holistic treatment, including pet physical therapy
• Pet rehabilitation
• Pet prosthetics
• Spay/ neutering surgery
• Vet exam fee
• Pet cancer
• Burial and cremation

It is the only plan that offers unlimited coverage for cats and dogs.

Major Medical With Wellness

This plan covers several illnesses along with routine wellness care. These care options include:

• Accident and illnesses
• Hospitalization and surgeries
• Pet chronic conditions
• Some pet hereditary conditions with a one-year waiting period
• Pet prescription drug coverage
• Vaccination
• Heartworm prevention
• Flea prevention
• Wellness exam
• Pet bloodwork checkups
• Urinalysis
• Cancer treatment
• Burial and cremation

Coverage is based on the pet parents’ benefit schedule.

Major Medical

The Major Medical plan covers only pet emergency care and non-routine care. Coverage includes both partial and full coverage for cancer treatment and some hereditary conditions. This plan includes:

• Accidents and illnesses
• Some hereditary conditions
• Cancer treatment
• Chronic illnesses
• Burial and cremation

This plan allows you to visit any vet in the world and get access to the Nationwide Pet Insurance helpline.

Aside from these three plans, pet parents can also buy pet wellness coverage separately.

Pet Wellness Plan

The Pet Wellness Plan is Nationwide’s most limited and affordable plan, and as its name indicates, offers coverage for preventive treatment and routine care. The coverage includes:

• Heartworm and flea prevention
• Fecal tests
• Deworming tests and parasite prevention
• Vaccination
• Pet blood work tests
• Vet exam fees
• Microchipping

The Pet Wellness plan is not yet separately available in every state.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Coverage Limits

You will need to go through the fine prints to get an adequate measure of Nationwide’s coverage. The Major Medical and the Major Medical with Wellness plan don’t carry an annual limit but offer reimbursement based on a per-procedure basis.

Examples include chemotherapy benefits, which are capped at $2,400 per year.

The company also takes in pets that are no more than 10 years of age, which is a younger age than what most other pet insurance services allow for. However, once your pet is enrolled, it will be covered as long as you renew your policy and continue to pay your premiums.

Additionally, it also requires a physical exam to be completed within 12 months of enrollment.

What’s Not Covered?

Since all the three major policies offer a different amount of pet insurance coverage, they exclude certain services more than others. For example, the basic Major Medical plan doesn’t cover preventive care, prescription medication, diagnostic tests, and behavioral and holistic treatment.

The Whole Pet With Wellness Plan is among the most comprehensive policies and it comes with a few exceptions, except for things like:

• Pre-Existing condition
• Pet pregnancy and breeding
• Grooming and boarding
• Cosmetic procedure
• Non-veterinary fees like waste disposal or taxes

However, Nationwide is more relaxed when it comes to pre-existing condition exclusions. For example, if you can show medical proof that a certain pre-existing condition has not bothered the animal for a minimum of six months, it ceases to be a preexisting condition, and Nationwide may provide you reimbursement for it.

How Much Does Nationwide Pet Insurance Cost?

Since Nationwide offers a wide range of policies, some with very comprehensive pet insurance coverages, it is no surprise that their premiums are a bit on the high end. Unfortunately, the company does not offer an easy way to cut down this cost like taking higher deductibles or capping the annual limit. The pricing can be quite expensive for pet owners, especially those who have dogs over 5 years of age.

Like all pet insurance companies, the cost of a certain plan varies per user, depending on the type, age, breed, location, medical conditions, and other factors of the pet.

The lowest you can expect to pay for the Whole Pet With Wellness Plan is $64 per month; $35 per month for the Major Medical plan and $22 for the Wellness Plan.

Deductibles and Benefits

Most Nationwide Pet Insurance plans have an annual deductible of $250. Since this deductible is charged annually and not per-event, this means once you have paid it, you can kick back and relax for the entire year until you reach your plan limit.

Whole Pet is the only plan that offers unlimited benefits. The other two major plans do not offer unlimited benefits and reduce the dollar amount that can be spent on conditions based on the benefit schedule.

The benefit schedule can be pretty limiting since if your pet has a serious disease like cancer, you will hit the maximum limit pretty soon.

This is why unlimited annual plans are often preferred by pet owners.

Nationwide Pet Insurance also offers 90% reimbursement in its Whole Pet plan. The two lower-tiered plans are reimbursed according to the benefit schedule, which caps the payout at a set amount for each condition.

The lack of reimbursement options can also be pretty limiting for pet parents.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Discounts

Nationwide Pet Insurance can offer discounts under some conditions. These include:

Multi-pet discount: It offers a 5% discount for families with multiple pets.

Multi-policy discount: You can also get a 5% cut on your premiums if you hold another Nationwide policy like home and car insurance.

Annual payments: If you pay the entire year’s premiums in a lump sum, you can save $20 on processing fees.

Ease of Buying

Buying a policy from Nationwide Pet Insurance is super-easy. All you need to do is:

• Go to petinsurance.com and click on Start quote to open up your application process.
• Enter basic information about you and your pet, including your name, contact details, location, and your pet’s name, species, breed, and age.
• View the three packages offered to you and choose the one you find suitable.
• Answer a few more details about your pet, including whether it was spayed/neutered, its medical history, preventive care received, and the details of the vet you use.
• Enter your address and payment details.
• Once your application is submitted and payment has been made, you can access coverage after the waiting period.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Claim

Nationwide offers pet parents a few different ways to submit their claim:

• Go to the website of Nationwide Pet Insurance. Login to your account and submit the claims directly from your computer.
• You can also submit a claim directly through your smartphone if you install the VitusVet app.
• Alternatively, you can also download the Nationwide Pet Insurance claim form from the website, fill it, and email, fax, or send it through standard mail.

Claim filing is available 24/7. Nationwide reimburses all claims in 14 to 30 days of receiving the necessary documents.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Waiting Period

Nationwide’s waiting period depends on what plan you have selected:

Whole Pet with Wellness and Major Medical plans: 14 days

Pet Wellness Plan: 24 hours

Cruciate ligament events: 12 months

Although a 14-day waiting period for illnesses is pretty standard, it is a long time for reimbursement for accidental injuries.

Customer Satisfaction and Financial Strength Review

Nationwide Insurance BBB (Better Business Bureau) has an A+ rating. However, this is not indicative of customer reviews since it holds 1 out of 5-star ratings among average visitors who reviewed the site on BBB. A high majority of all Nationwide Pet Insurance complaints are about poor customer care, slow reimbursement times, and billing issues.

Nationwide Insurance AM Best rating, however, stands at A+, which is superior and is indicative of the high financial stability of this company, even during times of economic crises. Additionally, it has a rating of 1.14 from the 2019 National Association of Insurance Commissioners complaint index. Since the national index is 1.00, the rating means it has about an average number of complaints.

Nationwide Pet Insurance Customer Service

Nationwide can be contacted through numerous channels:

Nationwide Insurance New Enrollment Phone Number: 1-800-872-7387

Nationwide Insurance 24/7 Vet Helpline: 1-866-VET-874

Nationwide Insurance Customer Care: 1-800-540-2016

Nationwide Website: www.petinsurance.com

Nationwide Insurance Address for Mail: P.O. Box 2344 Brea, CA 92822-2344

Comparison With Competitors

Nationwide Pet Insurance vs Trupanion

Trupanion is the No. 1 rival of Nationwide Pet Insurance. However, when it comes to coverage, Nationwide takes the cake as it provides coverage to not just cats and dogs but also to exotic animals. Additionally, it also provides a wellness plan, a feature missing from Trupanion.

Trupanion, however, has a per-condition deductible while Nationwide has a per-event deductible. Additionally, Trupanion offers an unlimited lifetime policy on its plan while Nationwide offers this only on the single top-most plan.

Nationwide Pet Insurance vs Healthy Paws

The major difference between the two is that Nationwide offers a wide range of pet insurance policies with varying levels of coverages that owners can choose from, while Healthy Paws offer a simple but comprehensive pet care plan. Additionally, Healthy Paws also offers deductibles, ranging from $100 to $500, and has multiple reimbursement percentage options, including 70%, 80%, and 90%.