Geico Pet Insurance Review

One of the largest insurers in the country, Geico offers pet policies to U.S. animal lovers through Embrace Pet Insurance, a well-known veterinary insurance provider for dogs and cats. These flexible plans are easy on the budget and cover treatment your pets might need if they're sick or hurt. But Geico’s policies are better suited for some pets than for others. In this review, we’ll explore how to decide whether Geico pet insurance is the best option for your furry family members.

Pros Explained

• Suitable for any budget: Geico offers pricing for pet owners looking to save and for those who are willing to splurge.
• Three wellness options: Get flexible preventive care coverage with total annual benefits that range from $250 to $650.
• Great discounts: Geico will give you a discount just for spaying or neutering your pet. You can also save up to 10% by paying premiums annually and enrolling multiple pets.
• Choose your own coverage: There are various ways to combine Geico’s coverage options into a policy that suits your needs.

Cons Explained

• Barebones website: Owners looking for pet insurance information on Geico’s website will only find a single page with sparse information.
• Some policy term limitations: Geico doesn’t offer unlimited annual benefits, $0 deductibles, or 100% reimbursement like some competitors.
• Policies not serviced by Geico: These pet policies are all administered by Embrace Pet Insurance
• Low-value wellness plans: After you pay premiums for preventive care, you’ll only get $25 in savings if you use the plan’s full potential value.

Available Plans

Geico’s pet insurance offering consists of a single but highly customizable accident and illness plan, along with a wellness plan with three reimbursement percentages. Covered treatments include everything from exam fees to treatment and medication for most accidents and illnesses that aren’t pre-existing.

Coverage can be supplemented with a wellness rider that pays for preventive care services up to $250 to $650 per year, depending on which option you choose. By combining all the above options, there are 300 different ways to personalize your Geico pet insurance policy.

Plan Pricing

Geico’s flexible policy options mean that pricing is equally flexible. If you’re on a tight budget, basic coverage starts at just pennies per day. Those with a bit more flexibility will find that even the pricier high-limit, low-deductible plans are surprisingly affordable.

Wellness plans are a bit more expensive for what you get in return. You pay a flat rate for every animal regardless of age, breed, or size. But when you subtract the maximum annual benefit from the cost of 12 months of premiums, each plan only nets $25 in savings—and that’s assuming you take advantage of the full potential reimbursement amount.

Waiting Periods

Geico offers fairly competitive waiting periods for injuries is two days and illness is 14 days. An exception is made for orthopedic conditions, which aren’t covered until six months after your policy starts.

Pre-Existing Conditions

A downside of all pet insurance is that it doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions. If your pet had an illness or injury before the policy start date, Geico will deny coverage for any related claims. Conditions are determined as pre-existing depending on the date that symptoms first appeared, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve received an official diagnosis from a veterinarian yet.  

Coverage Limits

Annual limits for accident and illness coverage come in five tiers that start at $5,000 and go up to $30,000, with the latter being the most expensive. Unfortunately, Geico doesn’t offer an option to choose unlimited annual benefits, which helps explain how premiums are kept so low. With that said, $30,000 is more than enough coverage for an overwhelming majority of pets.

Wellness plans are available at three levels with annual limits of $250, $450, and $650. If you don’t meet the limit before the year is up, you’ll lose any remaining benefits.

Plan Exclusions

Geico lacks most of the glaring exclusions that are common among pet insurers, but there are a couple that still deserve mention. The provider reserves the right to discontinue coverage if a veterinarian has recommended that treatment be discontinued and the pet euthanized for humane reasons. You’ll also be on the hook for medical bills if your pet contracts a preventable disease for which you neglected to have them vaccinated.

Claims

Geico pet policies are administered by Embrace Pet Insurance, so any claims will be filed directly with this provider. Embrace offers digital claim filing methods through its website and a smartphone app which, combined with direct deposit, make getting reimbursed easy. You can also receive payment via check if you prefer. Overall, the claims process takes about 10 to 15 business days for review and an additional three to 10 days for payment to be received.

Customer Service

Like claims processing, customer service is also carried out by Embrace. Policy support is available by phone and email Monday through Friday during business hours and on Saturday mornings. For emergency health advice and other medical assistance, a 24/7 pet health line is accessible by phone, video call, and chat whenever you need it.

Third-Party Ratings

While Geico is generally a well-rated company, we evaluated third-party data on Embrace to get a more accurate picture of these pet policies’ industry reputation. Embrace has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau; its top listed underwriter, American Modern Insurance Group, has been given an A+ financial stability rating by AM Best.

Competition: Geico vs. Nationwide

Geico and Nationwide are long-standing rivals in the auto insurance industry. But when it comes to pet insurance, the two take vastly different approaches. Nationwide administers its own policies, which are available not just for dogs and cats but also birds, reptiles, and small mammals.

The provider’s top-tier plan includes benefits for accidents, illnesses, and preventive care and was priced at $66.57 for a two-year-old mixed breed dog. To build a comparable policy with Geico, you’d have to add a wellness rider to the provider’s highest coverage level for a total of $79.53, and even then you wouldn’t quite get the same level of care. For pet owners who want a more robust policy, Nationwide comes out on top.

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Methodology

Our methodology for reviewing pet insurance consists of quantitative data that includes policy pricing, coverage options, limitations, and much more. We also evaluate customer service strength and the convenience of the claims process, including any available technology. Finally, we take third-party data into consideration from companies like AM Best and the Better Business Bureau.