Pet Insurance: Understanding Benefits and Options for Your Family

Summit Veterinary Care is a general practice and urgent care facility in Bristow, Virginia, dedicated to providing gold-standard, Fear Free certified veterinary care. With a strong focus on comfort, communication, and community, we offer comprehensive medical services in a welcoming, well-equipped environment.

One topic that comes up often during our visits is pet insurance. With rising veterinary costs and more advanced medical options than ever, many pet parents wonder whether insurance is the right choice. To answer the question: yes!

What Pet Insurance Actually Covers

While each company differs, most plans fall into a few categories:

• Accident Only: Covers things like broken bones, injuries, toxins, wounds, foreign body surgery, and emergencies.
• Accident + Illness: The most common type. Covers accidents and medical conditions like allergies, ear infections, GI issues, cancer, and chronic diseases.
• Wellness / Preventive Add-Ons: Optional coverage for vaccines, exams, flea/tick prevention, dental cleanings, and routine testing.

The key thing to remember: pet insurance is designed for unexpected problems, not pre-existing issues.

Why More Families Are Choosing Pet Insurance

Veterinary medicine has evolved dramatically; pets now have access to specialists, MRIs, advanced surgeries, long-term medications, and cutting-edge treatments. These options can be lifesaving, but they can also be expensive.

Pet insurance helps:

• Reduce the financial stress of emergencies
• Make high-quality care more accessible
• Support long-term treatment for chronic conditions
• Give families peace of mind
• Allow medical decisions to be based on what’s best for the pet, not just the budget

For many families, that peace of mind alone is worth it.

When to Sign Up

The best time to enroll is when your pet is young and healthy.
Why? Because pre-existing conditions, which is anything diagnosed before enrollment, won’t be covered. Getting insurance early locks in lower premiums and broader coverage.

That said, older pets or pets with existing medical conditions can still benefit from accident coverage or limited plans that help with unpredictable health issues.

How to Choose a Policy

Sorting through insurance options can feel overwhelming, but here are a few features we often recommend looking for:

• High annual coverage limits (or unlimited)
• Reimbursement options of 80–90%
• Deductibles you can comfortably afford
• Clear policies on hereditary and chronic conditions
• Fast, user-friendly claims processing
• Optional wellness add-ons depending on your needs

Is Pet Insurance Right for You?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some families prefer to save monthly, while others appreciate the predictability of a structured plan. What matters most is choosing an option that supports your budget and your pet’s long-term wellbeing.

If you’re unsure which route to take, our Fear-Free team at Summit Veterinary Care would be happy to help talk through your options.