Nationwide | Pet Insurance Review

I have a love/hate relationship w/ Nationwide Pet since March 2018. I have insured 8 pets at one time. I work in vet med & rescue animals. Here's the Good, the Bad & the Ugly. Initially, NW only gave pets under 1-yr "Major Medical" plan. Reimbursement is based on medical condition & it's allowable amount. It is substandard coverage, and excludes common sense conditions, like intestinal parasites. Premiums were fair, however. The biggest problem w/ "Major Medical" was it allowed NW to consider EVERYTHING that happened during that first year of coverage on my puppy to be considered a "disqualifying condition" to upgrade to their "Whole Pet" plan, which is the true value. The doctor decided to try a newer medication on our puppy, and it didn't work. It was determined allergies were not his problem. However, NW used that one-time medication "experiment" to disqualify him for an upgrade. So, I had to wait 1 more year to upgrade. I had to prove he had gone 1-year without symptoms of something he was never diagnosed with. I'm glad it happened early, so I knew what kind of company I was dealing with. The "Whole Pet" plan was amazing. I'm so sad they got rid of it (at least in CA), but I imagine they were losing money like crazy. 90% reimbursment on everything, including wellness, no annual/ lifetime/ condition limits, & cheap premiums that rise slowly over the years, regardless of claims submitted. I should have worked for them as much as I promoted their company while working at vet hospitals. ~2020, NW stopped offering unlimited reimbursment (became $10k max). Then, no more 90% reimbursemnt (became 80% max), and then they replaced the Wellness add-on that had the same rules as the "Whole Pet" plan, with a worthless plan that limited reimbursement so much, that you actually paid more in additional premiums than your maximum allowable reimbursment for wellness. Finally, they discontinued the Wellness add-on all together. THIS WAS FOR NEW POLICIES. My existing policies remained unchanged. In 2024, NW suddenly raised all premiums by 50-400%! I couldn't risk canceling, my pets would have pre-existing conditions if I went to another company. My mom canceled her plan, and 2-weeks later her dog became ill. $20k later, and she still lost her dog. All out of pocket. I wasn't about to do that to myself. When that horrible year was over, they slapped me in the face with even more insult after being a loyal customer for 7yrs & I had 8 current policies. They CUT ALL MY POLICIES' COVERAGE TO 50% REIMBURSEMENT, and CUT ALL MY ANNUAL MAXIMUMS TO $3K/$5K!!! Many other categories were restricted with even smaller reimbursment maximums (i.e. behavioral, prescription food, wellness, etc). The worst part was... NEW CUSTOMERS WERE GETTING BETTER POLICIES THAN I HAD!!! They said I could not add coverage to my existing policies. My policies were stripped to the bone after 7-years, and I couldn't do a single thing about it. I was so pissed off, I canceled my 4-year old dog's policy. She had only 2 small claims in 4yrs. The only saving grace was NW significantly lowered their premiums. The lower prices matched the lower coverage. So, I kept the older pets' policies because it's cheap and it's at least some coverage. They discontinued the "Whole Pet" plan and replaced it w/ a "Modular" plan w/ minimal annual limits, but up to 90% reimbursment again. Wellness isn't by %, it's set amounts per item & is better than the one before. This year I canceled 2 more of my pet's policies. They didn't have any medical issues, so I figured it was time to get better coverage elsewhere for the same price. I may be back, however. While their practices have been less than ethical at times, they have been completely transparent about all their policies and coverage. If you do your due diligence as a consumer, nothing should surprise you. I failed to read all the fine print initially. They communicate constantly and have expanded customer service hours. Although I prefer email. Don't use checking account to pay cause they code it to draw from savings, and blame the bank. They pay all claims within 48 hours, and I have only had 1 claim denied in 7-years. It was because I didn't realize they don't cover intestinal parasites for puppies because they don't have "Whole Pet." I can trust them, and I like familiarity. Quick payment seals the deal. They won't suddenly disappear. I'm skeptical of all these companies I've never heard of. Although half are owned by the same parent company. They need better coverage options, and they rarely use common sense. I had a stray w/ no eyeball since a kitten, due to URI infection. They permanently excluded "occular trauma". So, if he scratches his existing eye when 10yrs old, it's not covered? Just beware of that crap. Get insurance B4 new pet comes home!

Very honest and very kind

Franklin made it great. He spent time going over many different options for my puppy. I asked A LOT of questions. He patiently answered them all. Now I am satisfied with the options I picked for illness and injuries, and I still have 30 days to review and update my choices! I have used Nationwide (formerly VPI) for about 15 years, and having looked into other companies, I haven't found another as good.

It was easy to use the application on the website to purchase pet insurance for my dog Freck

I like how they explain each step to you and what's next