Michigan (MI) Cat Insurance FAQs

What will a cat insurance plan cover?

Suppose you decide to get your kitty covered by pet insurance. In that case, you can expect that your plan will cover expenses from veterinary emergencies like broken bones, infections, surprise surgeries, and allergic reactions.

However, your cat insurance is unlikely to cover veterinary expenses that are “standard” like routine wellness visits and checkups, vaccinations, and spay/neuter operations. However, some policies do offer wellness options for an additional premium. Further, if your cat or kitten has any sort of pre-existing health condition, your insurance likely will not cover that. However, your particular insurance company may offer add-ons to your basic insurance plan that you could purchase to cover these standard expenses.

In Michigan, how much will cat insurance cost me?

Your average monthly payment will be around $15 for a kitten and $20 for an adult for an average domestic shorthair cat’s basic insurance plan. For a large cat’s basic insurance plan, like the larger breed Maine Coon, the average will be around $17 for a kitten and $22 for an adult.

By location, Grand Rapids, MI seems to have higher monthly rates on average for pet insurance than areas like Detroit and Lansing.

Is it worth insuring my cat as a Michigan pet owner?

We understand that adding pet insurance to your monthly expenses may feel a bit excessive, but we believe our cats and kittens are worth it. Also, if your kitty does run into a veterinary emergency, having pet insurance on hand will save you from some pretty steep out-of-pocket expenses that you would otherwise have to pay all by yourself.

How does pet insurance work?

Pet insurance for your cat or kitten exists in the background until you need it. Normally, you’ll use your cat insurance when an unexpected emergency occurs by paying your vet directly and then submitting a claim for that bill to your insurance company. After you’ve paid your deductible, your pet insurance will reimburse you for what you may also know as your “reimbursement rate”, roughly 80% of what you paid your veterinarian.

How long after getting cat insurance can I submit a claim?

Each pet insurance company may differ, but typically you will need to wait around two weeks or more before you can submit any claims to your insurance. Thus, any vet emergencies that occur before this time period is up will still be up to you to pay.

Which is better, a high or low deductible?

Though we will explain both options, we cannot decide which is better for you. We advise you to consider your current and foreseeable financial situation to better determine which plan will be more affordable for you.

A pet insurance plan with a high deductible essentially means that you will pay less per month but more in the actual case of an emergency. A plan with a low deductible, on the flip side, means that you will be paying a little more each month so that you can pay less when an emergency strikes.

Check out your insurance company’s website to see if they provide an easy-to-use quote calculator that can help you when deciding between a plan with a high or low deductible.

How old does my cat need to be for me to get them insurance?

On average, most insurance plans will require that your kitten be around 8 months old before you can get them covered. This means that if your kitten has any vet emergencies before they reach this age minimum, you will be responsible for paying the entirety of the bill. As such, we recommend buying your kitten an insurance plan as soon as they reach the age minimum you can afford since this will save you from more out-of-pocket expenses and because covering a kitten is cheaper than covering an adult cat.

However, if you have an older cat or are preparing to bring home an older cat, we still suggest getting them covered by insurance when you can.

How do I know which vet will take my pet insurance in Michigan?

Your vet will normally never interact with your pet insurance company, which leaves you to pick whichever local vet you’d like!

5 Useful Strategies for Keeping Your Cat Safe & Healthy in Michigan

However, outside of the adrenaline rush of an emergency, cat and kitten owners still have to look out for their furry loved ones. We have put together 5 helpful strategies for keeping your kitty happy, healthy, and safe in Michigan:

1. Have an Emergency Bag Packed For your Cat

Michigan has quite a plethora of natural disasters, including floods and fires, so we advise staying up to date on which disasters are particularly common in your neck of the Michigan woods so that you can have a plan for your kitty in the case of emergency or evacuation.

2. Mind the Michigan Mercurial Weather

While Michigan isn’t known for the hottest summers in the US, even a mere 80 degree day can leave the inside of your car exceeding temperatures of 95 degrees–far too hot to leave your kitty unattended for any length of time.

3. Make Sure Your Outdoor Cat has Heat and Shelter

Winter nights in Michigan can easily drop to 10 degrees, so if your kitty is indoor-outdoor or just outdoor we suggest having cozier preparations made to get them out of the cold, especially at night.

4. Watch out for Pests and Predators

The Brown Recluse spider calls several different Michigan counties home. These creepy crawlies mostly come out at night and typically only bite when threatened, but if you have reason to suspect that your cat or kitten has been bitten, we suggest calling your vet immediately.

5. Microchip your Cat

A great strategy for protecting your precious feline is to have them microchipped and to keep up-to-date tags on their collar, just in case they get lost. Many local animal shelters will offer assistance at no cost if you need to spread the word about a missing pet, but our hope is that you never need to.

Conclusion

When families decide to adopt or buy a new cat, purchasing a pet insurance plan doesn’t always fall on the “Need To Do Before Bringing Kitty Home” list. In spite of this, though, we highly recommend investing in a kitty protection plan before an expensive veterinary emergency strikes. No matter how old your cat is, once they’ve reached your pet insurance company’s age minimum, we suggest going ahead and getting them covered to minimize how many expenses you’ll have to pay right out of pocket.

Ready to get started? After countless hours of research, we’ve found that Lemonade pet insurance consistently performs the best with the lowest monthly premiums.

SwiftScore Ranking Methodology for Michigan (MI) Cats

We ranked the best pet insurance policies for Michigan (MI) Cats based on a variety of important factors including the following:

• Average monthly price for a 2-year-old Michigan (MI) Cat with a $500 deductible located in the 48201 zip code (Please note: prices will vary greatly based on your location)
• Coverage and benefits
• Key policy details including accidents and illnesses, surgeries, annual check-ups, cancer treatment, lab tests, and more
• AM Best rating of the underwriter
• Reimbursement percentage
• Annual benefit amount
• Technology and user experience
• Ease of sign up
• Policy language clarity
• User reviews

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