Pet Assure Review: Can You Really Save 25% On Vet Bills?

It’s no secret that vet bills get expensive, but Pet Assure has your back.

This employer-sponsored veterinary discount program provides a 25% discount on veterinary services at participant veterinarian offices.

This isn’t a pet insurance program, so any pet with any issue, illness, or injury qualifies.

About Pet Assure

Pet Assure has been helping make pet care less expensive since 1995.

Today, they have veterinarian networks throughout the 50 states. You can enter your zip code here to find out a participating veterinarian in your area.

How to Enroll

Pet Assure is an employer-sponsored program only. They work with more than 6,000 employers throughout the US to provide the benefits.

Click here to see if your company participates or you can ask your employer. Talk to your HR department to learn how to sign up for benefits.

The Highlights

  • You automatically save 25% off vet services if you see an in-network vet
  • The benefits are only available through your employer (your employer must participate in it)
  • You don’t have a deductible to reach
  • There are no payout limits
  • You don’t have to worry about pre-existing condition exclusions
  • There’s no waiting period
  • It’s not pet insurance, but rather a discount program

What’s Different About Pet Assure?

Pet Assure is not pet insurance – it’s a discount pet plan. You don’t have to file a claim or meet any deductibles.

You receive a Pet Assure discount card, which you show the participating veterinarian and you automatically get the discount.

Your benefits start immediately upon signing up and you’ll receive your card in the mail and you can also download a digital card from your Pet Assure dashboard.

No need to worry about exclusions, your pet’s age, or which breeds are excluded. Everything medical is covered including pre-existing and hereditary conditions. You can use the discount as often as you want – there is no limit.

The most important thing is that you visit an in-network veterinarian. Unlike insurance, if you see an out-of-network provider, you don’t get any benefits or in this case, discounts.

Before you sign up, it pays to see if any veterinarians that you trust with your pet are on the plan.

How It Works

The first step is to see whether your employer offers this benefit. You can search the Pet Assure website or ask your HR director. If your employer does participate, you sign up for the program and find an in-network veterinarian in your area.

Discount Card

Each time you visit the vet for medical reasons, you show your discount card and your bill is automatically discounted by 25%. There are no payout limits – you can use the card as often as you need as long as you see a vet that accepts Pet Assure.

Keep in mind that you are responsible for the rest of the bill after the discount. While it’s nice that you don’t have to wait for reimbursement – the discount is automatic, if your pet has an emergency, you could find yourself with a hefty bill.

The Coverage

The covered services include:

  • Sick and wellness visits
  • Dental services including cleanings, x-rays, and exams
  • Emergency visits
  • Disease treatment, such as diabetes or cancer
  • Hospitalization and surgery
  • Preventative care including vaccinations
  • Spay and neuter services
  • Ultrasounds and imaging

Exclusions

There are no exclusions concerning medical care. The only exclusions are non-medical visits, such as:

  • Boarding
  • Grooming
  • Prescription foods
  • Medications
  • Outside lab work

The Plans

Pet Assure offers a few options, but they aren’t different plans, the cost just varies based on the type of animal you have (dog or cat) and how many pets you have.

The actual cost varies based on where you live, but plans for a single cat $8 – $10 per month and plans for a single dog cost $10 – $12 per month.

If you have two animals, you may save about 50% on the second animal and if you want an unlimited plan. It costs an average of $20 per month, saving you a significant amount of money on every pet you have beyond two pets.

Discounts

If you’re trying to decide if it’s worth the cost, look at the savings just on annual care for your pet. Let’s say your dog plan costs $12 a month, that’s $144 per year.

If you just have the basic, routine services for your dog, you’ll break-even on your costs:

  • Average wellness visit $45 (savings of $11.50)
  • Average vaccine costs $118 (savings of $29.50)
  • Dental cleaning/x-rays cost $475 (savings of $118.75)

Just routine services for your dog, you’ll save $148, which means you would break even. Any savings you earn on other services would make you come out ahead on the cost of the discount card.

Customer Reviews

People that use Pet Assure seem to love it. The most common reviews state that:

It’s convenient to use

You don’t have to worry about forms or deductibles. You show your card, get your discount and only pay what you owe. Also, you don’t have to worry about reimbursement or dealing with paperwork.

It’s easy to save money

You can tell right away if the plan will be beneficial for you just by asking your vet about the cost of routine care and comparing it to the annual cost of the discount card.

If you’ll break-even, any other services you pay for throughout the year will bring you ahead.

With more than one pet, it can be an even better deal. Multi-pet owners don’t pay full price after the first pet, making it even easier to break-even on the cost of the card, saving you even more money each year.

No pre-existing conditions

This is probably one of the most exciting features of the card.

If you’ve ever looked into pet health insurance for an animal with a pre-existing condition, you know that it’s impossible to get it covered and insurance companies do whatever they can to get around paying for the conditions.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Because Pet Assure is different than pet insurance, there are many benefits you may see including:

  • 25% savings – It’s hard not to focus on the fact that you save 25% no matter what. You don’t have to worry about an insurance company ‘approving’ the cost. You automatically get the discount at the time of service.
  • All conditions are covered – You don’t have to go through a list of conditions that may or may not be covered. You also don’t have to prove that your dog or cat never had this issue before. Pre-existing conditions and hereditary conditions are included.
  • No waiting period – You don’t have to wait to use your benefits like insurance requires. The minute you sign up, you can use your discount card.
  • No limits – You don’t have to worry about maximum coverage or reaching any limits. The discount is unlimited.
  • You don’t have to wait for reimbursement – Most pet insurance companies require you to pay the bill up front and then they reimburse you the portion of the bill they will cover. With Pet Assure, the discount happens at the time of service, which means no waiting for reimbursement.

Cons

Just as there are benefits Pet Assure offers, there are some downsides to consider:

  • It’s not pet insurance – Yes, you get a 25% discount, but if you’re looking at a large bill for emergency services, say $10,000, that’s only $2,500 savings. That leaves you on the hook for $7,500. If you had pet insurance, you may only pay a fraction of that, as most pet insurance deductibles are around $1,000 max.
  • You have to visit an in-network vet – You can only see the vets in the network to get the discount. If you go to a vet that doesn’t accept it, you don’t save the money.
  • You can only get it from your employer – Your employer has to offer the discount plan. If they don’t offer it, you can’t use it.

Should You Choose Pet Assure?

Pet Assure has its benefits, but only if your pet isn’t prone to emergencies. While no one can predict the future, you know your pet.

Do you find yourself in the ER often or seeking vet assistance because your pet isn’t well? If so, you may be better off with standard pet insurance.

If your pet is generally healthy and isn’t accident-prone, the Pet Assure plan may pay off, giving you a discount on your standard visits, while not leaving you with a hefty bill after an emergency that would only save you 25% of the cost.

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