The quick answer is that no pet is too old for insurance. As your dog or cat ages, and more medical problems typically develop, the need for pet health insurance actually increases. Chronic disorders and medical problems that wouldn't be dangerous when young, can be easily life threatening as your pet grows older.

You may enroll your dog or cat as early as 8 weeks of age. Like children, young dogs and cats have the highest risk of accidents. Since their immune systems aren't mature they are more susceptible to infectious diseases.

Unlike other companies we don't have an upper age cutoff. As they grow older, our pets face the same risk of cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, and other problems of aging that we all do. An older pet may develop chronic disorders that require a lifetime of care and expense.

Pet insurance, as with all insurance, is for unexpected accidents and illnesses. As much as we would love to cover pets who are already ill or injured, the monthly premiums for everyone would simply be too costly. Many pet owners still choose to purchase insurance to cover any additional future illnesses, accidents, or injuries.

At Pets Best, we believe that your freedom of choice is important. That's why we have no network, no schedule of benefits and no pre-authorization procedures. We want your pet to receive the best care possible, which is why we also cover visits to specialists and emergency after-hours clinics. All we ask is that the veterinarian you see be licensed. The rest is up to you.

Wellness care, or routine care, is an option that you can add to your illness policy, if you choose. If you want to know if you signed up for BestWellness, contact us at 1-877-738-7237 or customerservice@petsbest.com.

An incident is an insurance term used to talk about separate illnesses or accidents. For example, if your pet breaks his or her leg, that's one incident, and all visits and expenses are covered under that one per-incident deductible. In other words, you only pay the deductible once for each separate illness or accident (rather than having to pay each time you visit the vet for any follow-up treatment), but the deductible resets and must be met each time you submit a claim for a new illness or accident.

In order to keep the premiums low for our policyholders we use a certain amount of care in selecting the pets to which we issue these premium policies. If your pet has one, or more, of several conditions that would prevent us from issuing an illness and accident policy, our Pets Accident policy still covers a variety of injuries and accidents.

Unfortunately, all companies have limitations and exclusions; otherwise they wouldn't be able to stay in business. Unlike other companies, we provide limited coverage on behavior treatments, pregnancy/breeding, first-year cruciate ligament, burial/cremation and hereditary conditions. You have several plans, deductibles and endorsements to choose from.

As soon as your application has been accepted by Pets Best, accident coverage goes into effect in three days. Medical and wellness coverage, if selected, starts 14 days after the effective date.

Once a condition is cured and does not require treatment, the condition is no longer pre-existing, and is then covered under the regular policy provisions.

If you prefer, you can simply pay the annual expenses of wellness care on your own. However, our BestWellness plan is designed to provide you with maximum benefits for checkups, vaccines and, more importantly, diagnostic tests, to monitor your pet's health. The benefits are more than double the cost. But, as always, the choice is up to you.

Yes. We cover thousands of medical conditions but unfortunately can't cover everything. We do try to make our limitations and exclusions as obvious as possible so that you know exactly what to expect when you purchase your policy.

Routine dental cleanings are covered under BestWellness - if you choose to add it to your policy – and dental work arising from an accident is covered under the accident portion of your policy. Just as other types of medical insurance don't cover the majority of dental needs, so are we unable to cover things like root canals and extractions, unless they are the direct result of an injury.

That depends. People who would rather save for a rainy-day fund may not feel comfortable purchasing insurance. We respect that. We also know that the odds are that your pet will have a large medical bill before you are able to save what we could provide you with almost immediately. As more and more people consider pets part of their families, pet insurance especially helps those who would do whatever it takes to keep their pets well and happy.

As they age, our pets face the same increasing risk of cancer, heart disease, kidney failure, and other problems of aging that we all do. Premiums increase as your pet ages to cover the increased veterinary costs associated with growing older but are normally less than you might expect.

Yes, each additional pet enrolled automatically qualifies for an additional discount. Those discounts are automatically reflected in our Quick Quote system.

The additional accounting involved with issuing monthly statements and tracking payments would greatly increase our costs. We use automatic monthly billing of your credit card, or your bank account, in order to keep Pets Best's premiums low and reimbursements among the highest in the industry.

It's pretty straightforward. Download a claim form. List your veterinarian's diagnosis, attach the original paid receipts (keep copies for your records), sign the form and get your veterinarian to sign it, too. Then mail it to:
Pets Best Claims
2710 Sunrise Rim Road, #100
Boise, Idaho 83705
Or, for faster service, fax it to us at 1-866-777-1434.

Subtract your deductible from your veterinary bill. Pets Best pays 80% of all remaining covered expenses.

The best way to keep premiums low is to have pet owners contribute a small portion of costs for each incident. That way cost is shared between the entire customer base and premiums stay among the lowest in the industry.

There is no deductible with our wellness benefits, which include complete diagnostic testing of your pet, spaying/neutering, teeth cleaning and parasite testing.

We won't make you wait for your money. Pets Best will process your claim within ten business days, after receiving the necessary information. Our goal is to have your check issued within five business days. Sometimes the need for medical records slows the process, but we know that you need your reimbursement as quickly as possible and work to turn claims around quickly.

No, our reimbursement payment is much simpler. Pets Best will pay 80% after the deductible you choose of all covered veterinary fees. And unlike other pet insurance companies we don't set veterinary fees or set amounts for reimbursements based on the age of your pet or a health category.

Yes. Call our toll-free customer service number, 1-877-738-7237, between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM (MST).

Unless you tell us to cancel, your policy will renew automatically. If at any time you wish to cancel your policy, simply notify us in writing via mail or e-mail and your policy will be canceled the day we receive your notice.

If your pet has a SmartID™ tag that was given in an earlier promotion and becomes lost, call the toll-free number on your pet registry card. Input your lost pet's registration number (found on your SmartID registration materials) into the Smart ID call center. Be sure to leave the phone number where you can be reached or leave a personal message.

Then, take these steps:
1. Consider downloading a Smart ID poster to place around the neighborhood.
2. Be sure someone is home. Many times your pet becomes disoriented and may return home.
3. Check with your local animal shelter. Be sure to ask neighbors about your pet. Many times we have found the pet nearby in a Good Samaritan's home.

The finder of your lost pet can the toll-free automated system and input the tag's special identifier number. The system then calls you with the phone number of the finder of your pet. At no time will your information be provided to others. It is simple to use, safe, private and works no matter where you are.

Pets Best is headed by Dr. Jack Stephens, the founder of the entire pet insurance industry in the United States. He's a former practicing veterinarian, avid pet enthusiast, and an insurance executive with over 25 years of experience.

Absolutely. Each state's Insurance Department protects the public by establishing licensing requirements for insurance companies. They also investigate policyholders' complaints and can impose fines and other punishments. If insurance companies don't follow state regulations, their license to sell insurance in those states will be revoked.

With 25 years of experience in the pet insurance industry, Jack Stephens is the industry leader. He launched Pets Best in 2005 and quickly raised the standard of pet insurance throughout America by steering away from benefit schedules and offering high limits and fewer exclusions.

Pets Best's primary mission is to provide financial assistance for pet owners, so that pets can always have the best of care. We also donate to non-profit pet foundations. Our cause-related donations are posted periodically on our web site, because we believe them to be worthwhile options for your donations, too.

Yes, and maybe more by the time you're reading this, because he knows that pets provide their owners with many health benefits. Jack and his wife, Vicki, help coordinate pet therapy teams where volunteers visit nursing homes, hospitals and other venues with their pets. They are actively involved in promoting health and happiness for both pets and their owners.