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With its comprehensive standard plan, basic accident-only plan, and wide range of deductibles, reimbursements, and annual limits, Spot Pet Insurance may offer some of the strongest, most realistic plans for pet parents.
Spot caters best toward thorough pet parents who want it all—not just above-and-beyond standard medical coverage at a customizable rate, but coverage that can help ease their pet’s anxiety (with coverage for behavioral conditions and holistic treatments), as well as their own (with a 24/7 veterinary expert helpline they can access when something unexpected pops up).
We think that Spot checks nearly all the boxes on a list that any pet parent could want—though it may not be the best option for those looking for an exhaustive preventative plan add-on.
Spot Pet Insurance Review: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Offers a catastrophic, accident-only plan | No customer service on the weekends |
| Short waiting period for common orthopedic conditions | Waiting period of 14 days for accidents (longer than some competitors) |
| Wide range of deductible and annual limit options | Fewer discounts offered than some competitors |
| Alternative therapy coverage for things like acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and chiropractic care | Small processing fee if you don’t pay annually |
| 24/7 pet helpline |
Who Is Spot Pet Insurance Best For?
Spot Pet Insurance is a strong option for many pet parents. New pet parents in particular may appreciate the combination of comprehensive coverage and a 24/7 vet helpline—an offering that can help make new pet ownership a little less stressful.
Which pet owners may want to look elsewhere?
We don’t think you should choose a pet insurance provider based on their wellness plan offering, but if you are on the hunt for a wellness add-on that offers a lot of preventative care coverage, you may want to look elsewhere.
Spot Pet Insurance: A Brief Overview
| Deductible Options | $100, $250, $500, $750, $1000 |
| Reimbursement Options | 70%, 80%, or 90% |
| Annual Limit | $2,500 to unlimited |
| TrustPilot Rating | 4.3 out of 5 |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Phone Number | 1-800-905-1595 |
| Waiting Periods | 14 days |
| Sample Policy | https://spotpetins.com/sample-policy/ |
| Headquarters | Miami, FL |
| App | Yes |
| Telehealth | Yes, 24/7 |
| Claim Reimbursement Timeline | 10-14 days on average |
| State Availability | All 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
Types of Coverage Available
Spot offers a few different plans for pet parents, including:
- A catastrophic accident-only plan
- A standard accident and illness plan
- Two preventive plans—known in general terms as their wellness add-ons
What does Spot Pet Insurance cover?
Spot’s standard accident and illness policy includes but is not limited to:
- MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays
- Alternative therapies like acupuncture
- Exams, surgery, and hospitalization
- Tooth extractions
- Cancer treatment
- “Curable” pre-existing conditions
- Prescription food and supplements
- Virtual vet visits
- IV fluids, IV medications, and prescriptions
- Microchip implantation
- Dental illnesses
- Infectious diseases and diseases from parasites
What isn’t covered under Spot Pet Insurance?
Spot doesn’t cover the following under its standard accident and illness plan:
- Prescription food or supplements that don’t treat a covered condition
- Funeral services
- Illness or injury due to maltreatment, racing, or any kind of organized fighting
- Anal sac expression
- Boarding fees
- Experimental treatments
Spot’s accident-only plan offers targeted coverage
With Spot’s cheaper accident-only plan, eligible treatments are only covered in the case of an accident or injury, not an illness. Covered treatments can include but aren’t limited to:
- Vet exam fees
- MRI, CT, or X-ray scans
- Surgeries and hospitalizations
- IV fluids and medications
- Tooth extractions
- Prescription medications
Spot offers two optional wellness add-ons for preventive care
While wellness plans vary slightly depending on the provider, they typically take care of items that you can plan for, like annual wellness exams, preventative care, spaying/neutering, dental cleanings, and vaccinations.
Spot’s preventative plans, Gold and Platinum, have slightly different coverage and plan costs:
Gold: Starting at $9.95, the gold plan offers some coverage for dental cleanings, heartworm and flea prevention, blood tests, and vaccinations.
Platinum: Starting at $24.95, this plan offers coverage for the same items as the Gold plan plus other benefits including spaying or neutering, but at a slightly higher amount.
Does Spot Pet Insurance cover spaying and neutering?
Like nearly all pet insurance plans, Spot’s standard accident and illness plan doesn’t cover spaying or neutering. However, Spot’s Platinum wellness add-on offers spaying or neutering coverage up to $150 for the procedure.
Customizations: Deductibles, Reimbursement, & Coverage Limits
One of the best benefits of a Spot Pet Insurance plan is how customizable it is. Their options provide pet parents the flexibility they may need to make their policy suit their own needs and budget. That’s critical when the decision between pet insurance and a pet-savings account can come down to how customizable plans are.
Spot provides several different options for your deductible, reimbursement amount, and annual coverage limits, as displayed below. Get a quote to see how different selections impact your premiums.
Deductible options:
- $100
- $250
- $500
- $750
- $1,000
Reimbursement amounts:
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
Coverage limits:
- $2,500
- $4,000
- $5,000
- $7,000
- $10,000
- $15,000
- $20,000
- Unlimited
Pre-Existing Conditions and Congenital Illnesses
Spot considers a pre-existing condition to be any condition, injury, or change to your pet’s health that first occurs or displays symptoms before your coverage starts (or during the initial waiting period). Like all pet insurance providers, Spot doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions.
However, Spot may cover a “curable” pre-existing condition—in this case, one that shows no symptoms and requires no treatment for six months (180 days). This is not applicable to orthopedic conditions, like ligament and knee issues.
Spot’s “curable” timetable is excellent when compared to other providers—many have longer periods, anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
Hereditary and congenital conditions—those that are passed down genetically or are present at birth—are covered by Spot as long as they’re not a pre-existing condition and no signs are evident before the policy starts or during waiting periods.
Waiting Periods
There’s a 14-day waiting period—beginning on the first effective date of your coverage—for diagnosis, treatment, or surgery related to accidents and illnesses.
This short waiting period also includes orthopedic conditions like hip dysplasia, patellar luxations, and cruciate ligament tears. Spot is one of the few pet insurance providers to have such a short waiting period for these common and expensive issues—many companies have a waiting period anywhere from 6 to 12 months.
Examination Coverage
Spot’s policy covers exam fees you incur for eligible accidents and injuries. An annual wellness exam is not covered under Spot’s standard plan, but you may be reimbursed up to $50 for an annual exam under either of Spot’s preventative plans.
Age Limits and Breed Restrictions
The minimum age your dog or cat must be for a Spot pet insurance plan is 8 weeks, but there is no upper age limit.
Spot offers coverage for every breed, whether purebred or mixed.
Dental Coverage
Looking for pet insurance that covers dental? A standard Spot accident and illness pet insurance policy covers dental diseases and tooth extractions for dental accidents. It doesn’t pay for orthodontic or cosmetic dental services such as caps, crowns, fillings, implants, root canals, or planing.
Like nearly all pet insurance providers, Spot doesn’t cover dental cleanings; however, some of this cost may be offset with the purchase of a Spot preventative plan add-on.
Coverage for Holistic and Behavioral Therapies
Both Spot’s standard and accident-only plans cover alternative therapies as long as the treatments are performed by a veterinarian at a licensed facility. Spot defines alternative therapy as “treatment that does not generally fall within the realm of conventional veterinary medicine.”
These treatments could look like remedies such as acupuncture, rehabilitative therapy, hydrotherapy, and chiropractic care, and may be particularly beneficial to pet parents who are looking for potentially less invasive solutions to their pet’s health issues.
Other Features
Spot’s high degree of customizability sets it apart from the rest, but it’s got a few other features in its standard plan that make it pop, too.
Prescription food coverage: Many pet insurance providers don’t cover prescription food, even when prescribed by a vet. Spot’s prescription food coverage may be particularly crucial to those with pets who have difficult dietary restrictions or a particular illness (one that’s not a pre-existing condition).
Microchip implantation coverage: Microchipping isn’t typically covered by most providers—if it is, it’s often under a plan add-on. Spot covers the cost of microchip implantation under its standard plan.
24/7 helpline: If you’re a pet parent, you’re likely aware that it’s not always easy to get in to see a vet right away. Newer pet parents especially may have peace of mind knowing there’s a 24/7 vet helpline to assist them when they’re not sure if their pet needs emergent care.
Behavioral training: If you’ve got a pet with a behavioral issue—such as anxiety or aggression—Spot accident and illness plans will cover vet-recommended sessions with a certified trainer, something that many providers won’t.
Customer Experience
Choosing a pet insurance provider with a solid customer service experience is important for many pet parents, especially since navigating insurance can be confusing.
Here’s a high-level overview of Spot’s customer service.
How to get in touch
Pet parents can contact Spot by calling 1-800-905-1595 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday to speak to a representative. Phoning seems to be the most recommended way to get in touch, unless you’re canceling a policy, in which case you can also reach out via email and snail mail (more about that below).
How to submit a claim
With Spot, you can submit a claim within 270 days from the date of your pet’s treatment. Through your member login on the Spot app or website, you can start a claim and input the necessary information before submitting:
- Name
- Address
- Contact information
- Signature
- Description of condition and treatment
- All relevant receipts, including an itemized breakdown of the fees incurred for actual costs
You can also choose to have participating veterinarians submit a claim on your behalf, and in some cases, Spot can pay the vet directly.
How to receive your reimbursement
Spot typically takes up to two weeks to process your claim. Pet parents can choose whether they’d like to be reimbursed via direct deposit—which takes about 2 to 3 business days once the claim has been approved—or physical check, which typically takes 7 to 10 business days to arrive.
How to cancel a policy
To cancel a policy, you’ll need to contact Spot via email (service@customer.spotpetins.com), telephone, or in writing through snail mail. If you want to cancel within the first 30 days of the effective date on your policy, Spot will refund the entire premium if you haven’t submitted any claims.
Spot will also refund any premium that you’ve already paid for any period after your last day of coverage.
Spot rankings and reviews
Spot rates a 4.3/5 on Trustpilot, while it’s been given an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 3.72/5 customer review score. On TrustPilot, many users expressed that Spot’s app is user-friendly and the customer service was kind and helpful.
Discounts
Spot offers fewer discounts than some of its competitors, but pet parents looking for a multi-pet discount can score 10% off, with that same percentage applied to those who are offered Spot Pet Insurance through their employer.
How We Reviewed
When reviewing pet insurance coverage, Rover takes many factors important to pet parents into consideration, including breadth of coverage, customizability, waiting period convenience, customer service experience, and more. We take a close look at customer satisfaction scores on TrustPilot and Better Business Bureau, while acknowledging that each pet parent has their own experience that may not apply to every consumer.
The above information is provided in cooperation with Spot. If you have specific questions about their policies, please reach out to Spot (see how to get in touch).
This article was prepared with information available as of October 17, 2023, and may not reflect more current changes.
