Pet Insurance That Pays The Vet Directly 2025

You can reduce your out-of-pocket vet costs and you won’t have to wait for reimbursement if your insurer can make payment right to the veterinarian. Here are the best options, according to our analysis.

Direct vet pay means the pet insurance company sends payment directly to your vet for problems covered by your pet insurance policy. How and when the payments are made varies depending on the pet insurance company.

For example:

• If you have Trupanion pet insurance and your vet has Trupanion’s software, your pet’s vet bills will be paid at checkout.
• Pets Best doesn’t pay a vet at checkout. Instead, you’ll submit a claim, along with your vet’s signed reimbursement release form, and your vet will be sent payment if the claim is approved.

Pet insurance that pays the vet directly isn’t always a magic bullet for payment. Consider the following.

Pros

• You won’t have to pay the entire vet bill yourself upfront. Vet visit costs for treatment for problems like cancer, swallowed objects, diabetes, broken bones and heart murmurs can all cost thousands of dollars. If your policy covers your claim, direct vet pay will pay the vet bill, minus your deductible and copayment.
• You won’t have to wait for reimbursement. If your insurer pays the vet directly, you won’t have to wait for a reimbursement check to replenish your savings account or pay your credit card bill.

Cons

• Veterinarians may have to jump through hoops. Your vet may need to make extra effort to accommodate direct vet pay. For example, for Pets Best they’ll need to sign a Veterinarian Reimbursement Release Form. You submit this form and your claim form to Pets Best, and the vet has to wait for reimbursement. They might not want to do this.
• You could still get the bill. If your claim ends up being denied you’ll still have to come up with the money.

Pet insurance that pays the vet directly is a nice benefit that can help reduce your out-of-pocket costs, but there are a few things to be aware of.

	Ask your veterinarian if they’ll accept direct payment Your veterinarian is not obligated to accept direct payment from a pet insurer. They may prefer you pay your bills upfront and submit a claim to your insurer.
	Trupanion requires your vet to have its software If you have Trupanion pet insurance, the vet will need to have its software. If your vet doesn’t, you’ll need to pay your vet bills upfront and submit a claim.
	Your vet may need to sign a release form For example, Pets Best requires you to complete a release form and an authorized representative at your vet or clinic will need to sign it in order to do direct pay.
	You may need to give your insurer advance notice Healthy Paws requires advance notice before they’ll authorize paying a vet directly. This means you may not be able to take advantage of paying directly in emergency situations.

ASK THE EXPERT

Are Direct Pay Pet Insurance Plans Worth It?

Jason Metz

Insurance Lead Editor

Michelle Megna

Insurance Lead Editor

Les Masterson

Insurance Editor

Vet direct pay may not be the cheapest option

I don’t recommend choosing a pet insurance company based solely on its ability to pay veterinarians directly. You should also consider price and compare pet insurance quotes. For example, Embrace is one of the best pet insurance companies in our rankings and it does not offer direct vet pay, but it’s more than $100 cheaper per month compared to Trupanion.

Jason Metz

Insurance Lead Editor

Make sure you look at other coverage benefits

Vet direct pay is an attractive benefit, but I’d make sure you look at other important benefits. For example, Trupanion and Healthy Paws offer vet direct pay but don’t offer a 24/7 pet helpline or the option to add a wellness plan. Those features may be more important to you.

Michelle Megna

Insurance Lead Editor

Vet direct pay may be worth it if you cannot afford to pay vet bills upfront

If you don’t have the means to pay up front for large vet bills and wait for insurance reimbursement, you may want to consider a plan that offers vet direct pay so you can avoid credit card interest charges or borrowing money.

Les Masterson

Insurance Editor

If your pet insurance does not pay the vet directly, here are options to pay the bill while you wait for reimbursement:

• Payment plan. You may be able to negotiate a weekly or monthly payment plan with the vet.
• Financing. While it’s not optimal, you could seek a personal loan to pay for a large vet bill. Personal loan rates can range anywhere from 7% to 36%.
• Look for low-cost veterinary care. You can use a resource such as pethelpfinder.org to find veterinarians and clinics that offer payment plans, discounts and low income options in your area.
• Non-profit organizations. You can apply for assistance with a non-profit such as The Pet Fund, which helps pay for treatment such as cancer, heart disease and eye disease. You can also look into other resources from The Humane Society.
• Other alternatives. If you cannot afford to pay up front for your vet bills, ask if your vet accepts CareCredit, a credit card designed for healthcare expenses.

To find the best pet insurance that will pay the veterinarian directly, we collected data and scored each pet insurance company across several categories. We only scored pet insurers that mention direct vet pay on their websites. Only pet insurers offering an annual maximum coverage of $100,000 or unlimited were scored so that comparisons were fair among companies. If a company had more than one top-scoring policy, we show only the policy with the highest score.

• Pet insurance rates for mixed breed dogs (20% of score): We calculated average rates for medium-sized mixed breed dogs ages 3 months, 2 years, 5 years and 7 years for plans with unlimited coverage, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level, or the closest options available.
• Pet insurance rates for purebred dogs (20% of score): We calculated average rates for French bulldogs, German shepherds, golden retrievers, labrador retrievers and poodles ages 3 months and 3 years for plans with unlimited coverage, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement level, or the closest options available.
• Direct payment to vet (10% of score): Pet insurance companies that have the ability to pay a vet directly earned points. In order to receive points, this feature must be stated on the pet insurer’s website.
• Special waiting period (5% of score): Many pet insurance companies have a special waiting period for problems such as cruciate ligament issues and hip dysplasia. Plans that have no special waiting period, a waiting period of fewer than six months or the ability to have the waiting period waived scored higher. In certain states, waiting periods are dictated by state law and may vary.
• 24/7 vet telehealth line (5% of score): Insurers that provide access to a 24/7 vet telehealth line earned points.
• Routine wellness plans (5% of score): Insurers that offer optional wellness plans earned points.
• Multi-pet discount (5% of score): Many pet insurance companies offer a discount if you insure more than one pet. Insurers that offer a multi-pet discount earned points.
• Behavioral therapy (2% of score): Insurers that cover behavioral therapy in their base policies earned points.
• Alternative therapy (2% of score): Insurers that include alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic care and hydrotherapy in their base policies earned points.
• Dental illness (2% of score): Insurers that include coverage for dental illnesses, such as gingivitis and periodontal disease, earned points.
• Pays veterinary exam fees (1% of score): Policies that cover the vet exam fee received points. Not all insurers cover exam fees, even if the fee is for an illness or accident-related visit that’s covered by insurance.
• Stem cell therapy (1% of score): Insurers with coverage for stem cell therapy in their base policies earned points.
• Coverage for prescription food and supplements (1% of score): Insurers that reimburse for food and supplements prescribed by a veterinarian earned points.
• Euthanasia or end-of-life expenses (1% of score): Insurers that cover end-of-life expenses, such as euthanasia, cremation or burial fees, received points.
• Digital experience (5% of score): We evaluated pet insurers on mobile app ratings for both Android and Apple, if there’s a useful website search function and if there’s a live chat that provides helpful information.
• Likelihood to recommend pet insurers to others (5% of score) and satisfaction with customer service and price (5% of score): We surveyed 1,300 American pet owners with insurance that have purchased a new policy within the last 12 months, 100 per company. This online survey was commissioned by Forbes Advisor and conducted by market research company Talker Research, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. Data was collected from October 11-29, 2024. The margin of error is ± 1.5 point with 95% confidence. This survey was overseen by Talker Research, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).
• Satisfaction with claims process (up to 5% of score): We surveyed 1,300 American pet owners who have filed a pet insurance claim within the past 12 months. This online survey was commissioned by Forbes Advisor and conducted by market research company Talker Research, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. Data was collected from October 11 to November 4, 2024. The margin of error is ± 1.9 point with 95% confidence. This survey was overseen by Talker Research, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

Read more: How Forbes Advisor rates pet insurance companies