Who's The Cheapest Pet Insurance In Canada?
We Filtered Out The Crap And Found The Only Ones Worth Considering
We found the most popular insurance companies according to Reddit & Twitter and got quotes for English and French bulldogs.
Something You Should Know About Canadian Brokers
While researching the area we found very few people in Canada pay for pet insurance Instead most owners in Canada prefer to save money instead, here's a screenshot from Reddit so you see what we mean.
Why Canadian Pet Insurance Is Expensive & Sucks
- Very little choice in the market, we genuinely struggled to find +5 insurers in a country of +37 million people
- Canadians culturally prefer to save money, thrift shop and penny pinch
- Insurers tend to give great coverage but payout a smaller % in proportion to the US or EU
So is there a point in insuring my puppy? Yes, it all comes down to what deal you get, much like shopping for a car, it's not worth paying $600 to cover a $1,000 car. But $20 a month on a $4,000 dog is a bargain, everything is relative so don't follow the crowd and consider what works best for you. In certain countries it's a legal requirement to buy car insurance, with dogs you have the choice of working out risk : reward and making an informed choice based on your dog. You need to ask yourself "does this dog carry much financial risk to me?" and just work out the math from there.
Below is the only insurers worth considering, they all provided quotes for English bulldogs and frenchies too. We had no problem generating quotes. We included tabs to their review pages and comments we found online worth mentioning.
To save money make sure you're only paying to cover things you actually want. From there focus on what percentage they payout in the event of a claim.
Trupanion Insurance Review
This site gets great reviews on Trustpilot, in fact it has the most! Expensive premiums but that's offset by no limits on paying out. We found some people annoyed about rising annual premiums on Yelp, one about not covering a puppy who reacted to a vaccination, but nothing scam like. Trustpilot currently rates 4.5/5
What We Like
Reputable, well known, unlimited coverage, active on review sites at replying to people, decent website not from the 90's.
What We Dislike
Many reports on different platforms about policy premiums creeping up +20% each year. So price compare each year.
PetsPlus US Review
According to Google this new insurer is really getting going in 2021 and has partnered with some big players like Costco. We found lots of Google reviews but not many elsewhere. Biggest complaint is too slow to payout. Due to the amount of negative reviews we seen, we would not recommend this insurer until they fix their customer service.
What We Like
Large partners, nice website and offer a 4lifeguarantee so that they will keep covering a dog for it's not life and not like some insurers and stop after 7 years. They promise to only increase the premium inline with your vet bills being claimed.
What We Dislike
Unfortunately this company has to work harder in responding to people and paying out. Leaving owners months at a time without a response is ridiculous. They are also not active enough in replying to their negative online reviews.
Petplan / Gopetplan Review
The blue frenchies on their website are a great start. This is the only insurer we found that covers things like homeopathy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care and laser therapy. Supporting pseudoscience is dubious in our opinion though, why would they want to cover something like this? They also cover senior dogs and offer good dental coverage like broken teeth. Trustpilot scores a modest 4.2/5
What We Like
Most of the negative reviews out there are from crappy owners. One person blamed them after his pup got ran over, others because the waiting period found pre-existing conditions. To be fair they're transparent in their coverage and responding to folk.
What We Dislike
Not active on review sites anywhere. Some people online felt they were better off banking their premiums instead because the payout they received just wasn't enough e.g $700 back on a $2,000 vet bill. Perhaps more payout and less weird coverage?
PetSecure Review
Offering coverage options by percentage. We noticed the company was raising money for a sick dog on their Facebook page and matching donations, we thought that was decent of them. No presence on Trustpilot or Yelp, the only place for reviews was Google reviews. Underwritten by Petline insurance company.
What We Like
Nobody complaining about price quotes online, just service. 4 different price plans. One covers everything even advertising costs for a lost pet, behavioral therapy, cremation and kennel fees. A bit odd, but it makes them stand out.
What We Dislike
Lots of people complaining about not getting responses to their support emails. They do reply to their Google reviews though so at least they're aware of the problem.
24 PetWatch Review
They offer alot of the same options as the broker PetSecure. They can cover things like kennel fees if your bulldog needs to sleep over. Cover hereditary illnesses, the usual vet bills and lost pet recovery costs (I don't know who is panic buying this though) Yelp reviews are horrific if we're honest here. Underwritten by PTZ insurance & Northbridge so no relation to the brokers above.
What We Like
They have a lost and found poster maker on their website.
What We Dislike
According to an Investopedia review their plans are confusing with annoying clauses. You must have the dog reviewed by a vet within 30 days of ownership. They gave them an overly generous 3.9/5 almost suspicious compared to the 1.5/5 yelpers gave!
The Most Common Questions People Are Asking Google.
How To Get The Cheapest Dog Insurance?
Search twitter and Instagram for promos or sign up for our promo emails. Don't be afraid to phone them and simply say it's cheaper somewhere else, I do this every year with car insurance and it saves me $50 on the spot.
Is It Ever Worth Buying Pet Insurance?
It depends on your luck and how decent your insurance provider is. If you need to pay a huge amount of money for an operation or your pet dies then insurance is brilliant, however you could pick a poor provider who then loads your next policy up or hides something in the fine print. At the end of the day insurance is only as good as the cover you pay for. Some policies are $1,000 a year but they only payout a max of $1,000 so what's the point? You need to examine the coverage being offered, you will find deals if you sit down and look.
How Long Does It Take For Pet Insurance To Pay?
It depends on the provider, this should of been made clear to you when you signed up. Some providers will payout within 7 days others could be 2 months to deter you from claiming (always claim!) By reading the reviews we've linked to above you should be able to see what current customers are experiencing.
Will Pet Insurance Cover Dental?
Depends on the options you selected at join up. They all have that coverage, but if you selected a cheaper policy then it might not have been included. It's up to you to read what exactly it is you're buying. Ask your vet what a dental bill could potentially be and then if it's worth having it added to your premium.
Does Pet Insurance Cover C-Sections?
Never, never, never... otherwise commercial breeders would exploit the living daylights out of it. A c-section in the dog world is considered a part of dog breeding, not accidental or an illness.
Should I Insure A French Bulldog?
It's a personal choice, if you know the costs of vet care in your area then you can decide if it's worth it. Don't buy it if you're scared from the things you read online, buy it because it makes financial sense to you. Treat it like you would with a car and shop around, try loads of quotes and examine the coverage they offer, it's a business transaction and you should look around each year for more competitive quotes.