Plan design

Deductibles, Reimbursement Rates & Annual Limits

Every pet insurance policy has three adjustable settings. Together they decide both what you pay each month and what you'll owe when a claim lands. Learn to set them, and you can build a plan around your budget instead of guessing.

Updated July 2026 · About a 6-minute read

When you get a quote, you'll usually be able to slide three dials up and down. Each one trades off monthly premium against out-of-pocket cost at claim time. There's no universally "correct" setting — the right combination depends on your budget and how much risk you're comfortable carrying yourself.

Dial 1: The deductible

The deductible is what you pay out of pocket before reimbursement begins. Most modern plans use an annual deductible — you meet it once per policy year, and after that, covered claims reimburse from the first dollar for the rest of the year. (Some older plans use a per-condition deductible instead, which you pay separately for each new condition — worth checking which type you're getting.)

• Higher deductible → lower premium. You absorb more of the small stuff, so the insurer charges less.
• Lower deductible → higher premium. The insurer starts paying sooner, so it costs more each month.

Common annual deductibles run somewhere in the $100–$1,000 range.

Dial 2: The reimbursement rate

After your deductible is met, the reimbursement rate is the percentage of the remaining covered bill the insurer pays back. The usual options are 70%, 80%, or 90%.

• 90% means you're left paying just 10% of covered costs after the deductible — great protection, higher premium.
• 70% means you shoulder 30% — lower premium, more exposure on a big bill.

Dial 3: The annual limit

The annual limit is the ceiling on what the insurer will pay in a policy year. It might be a set figure (say, $5,000 or $10,000) or unlimited. Once you hit a capped limit, any further costs that year are entirely yours.

• Unlimited/high limit → higher premium, but the strongest protection against a catastrophic year (major surgery plus complications, or long cancer treatment).
• Lower limit → lower premium, but a real risk of running out of coverage during a bad year.

How to set the dials for your situation

If you have some savings to absorb small bills

Lean toward a higher deductible and keep a solid reimbursement rate (80–90%) with a high or unlimited annual limit. You pay small stuff yourself, keep your premium down, and stay strongly protected against the events that would actually hurt financially. For many owners, this is the sweet spot: insurance doing what insurance is best at — covering catastrophe, not routine.

If a surprise bill of any size would be painful

Lean toward a lower deductible so reimbursement kicks in sooner. Your premium is higher, but you're less exposed to mid-size bills you couldn't easily cover.

If you're on a tight monthly budget

You can bring the premium down with a higher deductible and a 70% reimbursement rate — just go in understanding you'll carry more of each claim. Try to keep the annual limit reasonably high even here, since the whole point is protection against the worst case.

The one setting not to skimp on

If you're trimming to save money, the annual limit is usually the last dial to cut. Deductibles and reimbursement rates affect how much of an ordinary claim you cover — but the annual limit is your backstop against the genuinely catastrophic year. A low limit can leave you exposed exactly when insurance is supposed to matter most.