Pet insurance can help with unpredictable, high-cost events, but it isn't a fix for every barrier pet owners describe
September 27, 2026
More than half of U.S. pet owners — 52% — have skipped or declined veterinary care their pet needed in the past year, according to the PetSmart Charities-Gallup State of Pet Care Study. That includes 37% who visited the vet but turned down one or more recommended treatments, and 15% who didn't bring their pet in at all despite recognizing a need for care.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the reason is money. Seventy-one percent of pet owners who skipped or declined care point to cost, either they couldn't afford it, they didn't think the recommended care was worth the price, or both. That raises an obvious question for anyone who's ever hesitated at a vet's estimate: would pet insurance actually have changed the decision?
The PetSmart Charities-Gallup study, based on a survey of 2,498 U.S. dog and cat owners conducted between November 2024 and January 2025, found that skipping or declining care is closer to the norm than the exception. The rate is even higher among certain groups: 59% of pet owners aged 18 to 29, 58% of Black pet owners, 57% of Hispanic pet owners, and 55% of those in households earning less than $60,000 a year report having skipped or declined needed care.
The services pet owners are turning down aren't minor, either. The most commonly declined categories are diagnostic procedures such as blood tests (22%) and preventive care such as annual checkups and vaccinations (18%), followed by elective surgeries (16%), medications (11%), and — in the most serious cases — lifesaving surgeries (7%).
Dr. Matthew Murdoch, a veterinarian, points out that a drop in traditional vet visits may not capture the full picture, since some pet owners turn to newer clinics or alternatives such as online pet pharmacies, telemedicine, and house calls.
While traditional veterinary visits may decline, pet owners may still seek medical care through less conventional channels.
The study reflects that appetite for alternatives: roughly four in 10 pet owners say they'd use a community clinic (38%), a veterinary home visit (38%), or telemedicine (37%) if one were available to them.
Dr. Murdoch notes that veterinary medicine can now accomplish extraordinary things, from CT scans and MRIs to spinal surgeries and advanced chemotherapy.
“However, your pet doesn’t necessarily need these services just because they’re available. If you can’t afford a recommended service, it’s up to you to look for other options,” says Dr. Murdoch.
It would be easy to assume this is purely a lower-income problem, but the Gallup data shows financial pressure reaches pet owners at every income level. Among pet owners in households earning $90,000 or more who skipped or declined care, one in three say they did so because they couldn't afford it. Higher earners are more likely to decline care because they don't feel it's worth the cost (44%, compared with 16% of those earning less than $36,000), while lower earners more often say they simply can't afford it — but in both cases, the deciding factor is money.
Part of the problem may be a lack of alternatives offered at the point of care. Seventy-three percent of pet owners who declined care due to cost say their vet didn't offer a more affordable option, and fewer than one in four pet owners overall (23%) say they've ever been offered a payment plan.
A companion PetSmart Charities-Gallup survey of 933 practicing U.S. veterinarians, fielded in September and October 2025, found that vets are keenly aware of this dynamic. Ninety-four percent say a client's financial limitations sometimes (56%) or often (38%) restrict their ability to provide the care they'd recommend, and cost was cited more than twice as often as any other reason for declined treatment.
Interestingly, there's a gap between what vets say they offer and what pet owners recall being offered: 81% of vets say they often or always recommend an alternative treatment plan when a client declines care over cost, yet 73% of pet owners who declined care over cost say no lower-cost option was offered. Payment plans are a closer match — 41% of vets say they often or always offer one in that situation, in line with the relatively small share of owners who remember being offered one. The takeaway: if cost comes up during a vet visit, ask directly what lower-cost options exist rather than assuming none are available.
A veterinarian may start with the medically ideal plan and then work with the owner to identify the most important next step. Sometimes we are practicing not just ‘What is the best medicine?’ but ‘What is the best medicine we can realistically accomplish for this pet and this family?’
Skipping recommended care isn't a neutral decision — the Gallup data shows real consequences. Fourteen percent of pet owners who declined care report that their pet's condition worsened or that their pet died in the three months that followed. And 30% say they know a friend or family member whose pet died in the past five years because the owner couldn't afford treatment.
Pet insurance is designed to soften exactly this kind of financial pressure — but it's worth understanding what it does and doesn't solve before assuming it's the answer.
Most pet insurance works on a reimbursement model: you pay the vet bill upfront, then submit a claim and get reimbursed for the covered portion, typically 70% to 90%, after your deductible. That means it helps most with large, unpredictable costs — an emergency surgery, a sudden illness, a serious accident — rather than the day-to-day cost of routine visits, which some policies cover separately through add-on wellness plans.
It also comes with limits that matter for the exact scenario the Gallup study describes. Policies typically exclude pre-existing conditions and impose a waiting period — often 14 days for illness and shorter for accidents — before coverage kicks in. In other words, pet insurance is most effective as a decision made in advance, before your pet needs care, not as a solution once a costly diagnosis is already on the table.
If your pet is predisposed to hip dysplasia, for example, get ready for that bill! Look up the average cost of treating it, divide that by the amount of time you have to prepare, and begin saving. If what you would save every month is equal to or higher than an insurance premium, go with insurance. A little mathematics goes a long way.
For pet owners weighing whether it's worth it, BestMoney's guide to whether pet insurance is worth it walks through the math in more detail, and comparing how pet insurance actually works against your own pet's age, breed, and health history is a useful next step before buying.
Pet insurance isn't the only tool available, and for pet owners already facing an immediate cost decision, it won't help retroactively. Here are a few other strategies to explore:
Be honest with your vet about your budget. “Veterinarians would much rather know the financial constraints early so we can have an honest conversation about what is medically necessary, what is optional, and what alternatives may exist,” says Dr. Wooten. She suggests asking: “What is most important today? What can safely wait? Is there a stepwise approach? Are there lower-cost diagnostic or treatment alternatives, and what are the tradeoffs?”
Ask about payment plans directly. Given that only 23% of pet owners recall being offered one, it's worth asking explicitly rather than assuming none exists — many practices have options they don't always lead with.
Build a dedicated pet emergency fund. Setting aside even a modest amount specifically for veterinary costs can cover smaller emergencies without requiring insurance or financing.
Compare policies before you need one. Finding affordable pet insurance while your pet is young and healthy typically means lower premiums and no pre-existing condition issues down the road.
Look into community and nonprofit veterinary clinics, which often provide lower-cost basic and preventive care. It's also worth asking your vet for a referral: 76% of pet owners who skipped or declined care say they've never been referred to a lower-cost provider.
Use online pet owner communities as a supplement, not a substitute. Smith points out that online communities often include knowledgeable members who can help pet owners make smart decisions. “I’ve seen them uncover problems that have gone undiagnosed by a pet’s local veterinarian for a long time,” Smith explains. Treat that input as a starting point for a conversation with a veterinarian rather than a replacement for one.
To compare current pet insurance options based on your pet's age and breed, BestMoney's pet insurance comparison tool lets you see coverage and pricing from multiple providers side by side.
Usually, yes — but the diagnosed condition will typically be treated as pre-existing and excluded from coverage. Some insurers distinguish between curable and incurable pre-existing conditions and may eventually cover a curable one after a symptom-free period, so read a policy's terms carefully before you buy.
Most policies reimburse a set percentage of covered costs — commonly 70%, 80%, or 90% — after you meet your deductible, up to the policy's annual limit. You typically pay the vet upfront and then file a claim for reimbursement.
Standard waiting periods generally run one to 14 days for accidents and 14 to 30 days for illnesses. Our guide to pet insurance waiting periods explains how they work.
Tell your vet about your budget early, ask whether a stepwise or lower-cost treatment plan exists, ask about payment plans, and ask for a referral to a community or nonprofit clinic. Because pet insurance won't cover a condition that already exists, it's a tool for future costs rather than a bill you're facing today.
The Gallup data makes it clear that skipping veterinary care isn't a fringe experience — it's the reality for a majority of U.S. pet owners, across income levels. Pet insurance won't solve every version of that problem, but for pet owners willing to buy in before a costly diagnosis happens, it can turn an unpredictable, potentially devastating vet bill into a manageable, budgeted expense.
For related context on how veterinary costs are affecting pet owners' finances more broadly, BestMoney's survey on pet owners using debt for vet bills explores a closely connected piece of the same affordability picture.
Anna Baluch is an insurance and finance expert at BestMoney.com. With over a decade of writing experience, she specializes in insurance, banking, mortgages, personal loans, and retirement planning. Her work has been featured in publications like Forbes, Newsweek, Fox Business, Credit Karma, Insurify, and Realtor.com. Anna holds a bachelor’s in marketing from Northwood University and an MBA from Roosevelt University. Her goal is to empower consumers to make smart financial decisions.
