Banfield Pet Wellness Plans Review ( 2025 Guide)
A common question we get is, “Does Banfield offer pet insurance?”
The answer to this is technically no, but Banfield pet insurance does offer a pet wellness plan. Instead of a typical pet insurance plan, the company provides an Optimum Wellness Plan that helps keep your pet healthy through accessible routine preventative care for your pet. Preventive care can quickly become costly, but it’s a vital part of being a responsible pet owner and helping our pets avoid long-term health problems. Regular, routine care can also catch health problems early on, providing our pets with a better prognosis when they develop illnesses. So, if you’re considering Banfield, we hope the following Banfield pet insurance reviews will help you decide if this is the right choice for you and your pet.
Our Review for Banfield Pet Insurance
Every pet insurance company has pros and cons. No matter how well-balanced a company is, it is bound to have a few shortcomings. It’s crucial as a pet parent that you’re aware of the strengths and weaknesses of a pet insurance provider before you enroll your pet in a pet insurance policy. To help you out, we’ve gathered the following major Banfield pet insurance pros and cons to give you a quick overview of what the company brings to the table.
Pros and Cons of Banfield Pet Insurance
Pros
- Weekend and evening hours available
- Unlimited office visits
- Available throughout the United States
- Customization options available
- Virtual visits and unlimited Vet Chat available
Cons
- No accident and illness pet insurance coverage
- Must visit a Banfield location, rather than any licensed veterinarian like most pet insurance plans
Banfield Pet Insurance Plans and Coverage
Before choosing a pet insurance provider, it’s crucial that you’re aware of the types of plans it offers, along with the cost of these plans and any customization options available. When considering Banfield, keep in mind what factors are most important to you, your budget, and what would be most beneficial to you and your pet.
Let’s jump into our breakdown of Banfield’s plans and coverage.
Plans and Costs
We don’t love that there is a one-time enrollment fee for signing up with Banfield pet insurance, as this is not common among most pet insurance providers. The fee can vary, but for our example of a 3-year-old Golden Retriever dog, the quote provided us with a $60.95 one-time enrollment fee.
In terms of its plans, Banfield offers three types of wellness plan options, along with two Early Care plans for kittens and puppies. Unlike many of its competitors, it does not offer any kind of accident or accident and illness pet insurance plan.
Early Care Plans
Banfield’s Early Care Plans help protect your puppy or kitten from harmful diseases and support their health as they grow into adult dogs and cats.
Banfield offers two plans for puppies and kittens: The Early Care Plan and the Early Care Plus Plan.
Early Care Plan:
- Unlimited office visits
- Two virtual office visits
- 24/7 veterinary advice from Vet Chat
- Pet wellness coaching session on nutrition
- Comprehensive exams for “nose to tail wellness”
- Routinely recommended vaccinations (such as rabies, Lyme disease, distemper, etc.)
- Diagnostic testing for parasites and disease
- Fecal exams
- Deworming meds
- Discounts on other Banfield services
- Wisdom panel canine or feline DNA test
Early Care Plus Plan:
- Unlimited office visits
- Two virtual office visits
- 24/7 veterinary advice from Vet Chat
- Pet wellness coaching session on nutrition
- Comprehensive exams for “nose to tail wellness”
- Routinely recommended vaccinations (such as rabies, Lyme disease, distemper, etc.)
- Diagnostic testing for parasites and disease
- Fecal exams
- Deworming meds
- Discounts on other Banfield services
- Wisdom panel canine or feline DNA test
- Routine spay or neuter procedure (including health assessment, anesthesia, blood pressure monitoring, in-hospital medications, etc.)
Active Care & Special Care Plan for Adult Dogs and Cats
Banfield offers three tiers of wellness plans for adult dogs and cats: Active Care plan, Active Care Plus plan, and Special Care plan.
Banfield’s Active Care plan is its most basic, inexpensive plan for adult pets. It includes the following:
- Office visits (unlimited)
- Vet chat (unlimited)
- Virtual visits (two per year)
- Pet Wellness one on one visit (one per year)
- Comprehensive physical exam (two per year)
- Vaccinations
- Diagnostic testing (once per year)
- Fecal exams (two per year)
- Deworming (two per year)
Banfield’s Active Care Plus plan includes everything in the Active Care plan and the following:
- Dental cleaning (once per year)
- Urinalysis
Banfield’s most extensive wellness plan, the Special Care plan, includes everything from the previous two plans, preventive X-rays, and additional diagnostics once per year.
Samples of Prices for Four Species/Breeds
The following numbers are for a 60-pound dog and 10-pound cat located in Minnesota, aged 3 years old. These numbers are based on the Active Care Plus plan. Please keep in mind that these numbers will vary based on your pet’s location, age, size, health, and more.
Samples of Prices for Four Species/Breeds
| Species/Breed | Sample Price for Medium Mixed Breed Dog | Sample Price for Golden Retriever (Dog) | Sample Price for Domestic Shorthair Cat | Sample Price for Domestic Mediumhair Cat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accident and Illness Plan | $106.01 | $140.90 | $55.75 | $55.75 |
| Accident and Illness Plan with Recovery and Complementary Care | $119.58 | $159.25 | $62.44 | $62.44 |
| Accident and Illness Plan With Recovery and Complementary Care and Pet Owner Assistance Add-ons | $124.53 | $164.20 | $67.39 | $67.39 |
Deductibles
Since Banfield only offers wellness plan options, you will never have to worry about paying a deductible first. There is no waiting period to enroll and no annual limits like most insurance companies have. You also won’t have a reimbursement of 70, 80, or 90% like many companies. If a service is covered under your Banfield pet insurance wellness plan, you won’t have to pay anything out of pocket. Banfield also has no upper age limit, so you can sign your pet up for a wellness plan at any age.
Preventative Care Limits
Banfield Pet Hospital offers several preventative care plans, including its Active Care, Active Care Plus, and Special Care plan. With its most comprehensive plan, the Special Care Plan, you receive coverage for extensive wellness care, including dental cleaning, urinalysis, preventive X-rays, additional diagnostics, and more. Another unique feature of its preventative care plans includes a discount on certain Banfield products and services, such as lab tests, specialty exams, surgical procedures, dental extractions, medications, shampoo, lotion, and more.
| Covered Item | Annual Limit | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellness Exam | $40 | ||
| Heartworm Test | $10 | ||
| Internal Parasite or Fecal Test | $20 | ||
| Bloodwork | $15 | ||
| Three Vaccines | $30 | ||
| Total | $115 |
Banfield also offers parasite control add-ons to its wellness plan options:
| Covered Item | Annual Limit | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellness Exam | Unlimited | ||
| Heartworm Test | Included | ||
| Internal Parasite or Fecal Test | 2 to 3 per year, depending on plan | ||
| Blood work | Included | ||
| Three Vaccines | Included | ||
| Total | No annual limit |
Banfield also offers a Wisdom Panel add-on for $7.08 per month, which screens for over 200 genetic disease mutations. It can detect over 350 breeds, types, and varieties with a cheek swab tissue sample. This sample can provide your veterinarian with crucial information to help them plan for your pet’s health, nutrition needs, behavior, and training.
Coverage Exclusions
Banfield pet insurance only offers wellness plan options. This means that all of its plans will exclude coverage for any type of accident and illness.
So, if you’re looking to have your pet covered for accidents, such as foreign object ingestion or broken bones, or illnesses, such as diabetes or cancer, Banfield will not be the pet insurance provider for you. Its plan will completely exclude anything related to accidents, illnesses, hereditary conditions, behavioral treatments, and much more. If you’re looking for thorough coverage, we recommend looking into other companies that offer an accident and illness plan so that you can have peace of mind that your pet is covered for worst-case scenarios too.
In terms of its wellness plans, Banfield offers a very comprehensive wellness plan. However, if you choose the most basic plan, the Active Care plan, dental care cleanings, urinalysis, preventive X-rays, and additional diagnostics will be excluded.
Unlike other pet insurance plans, pre-existing conditions will not be a problem. Wellness plans are not affected by pre-existing conditions, so this is a coverage exclusion you will not need to be concerned about if you choose a Banfield wellness plan.
Plan Customizations
Banfield doesn’t offer much in the way of customization because it doesn’t have deductibles, annual limits, or reimbursement percentages like most pet insurance providers. When it comes to Banfield, your only customization option is deciding which plan you enroll with. You also have the option for add-ons, including flea, heartworm, and tick prevention options, and a Wisdom Panel option. The Wisdom Panel add-on includes DNA testing on your pet to test for susceptibility to certain diseases and genetic mutations.
Discounts
Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan members can get $15 off each additional pet’s enrollment membership fee when they sign up. However, you do not get an ongoing multi-pet discount like many other pet insurance companies offer for pet parents with multiple enrolled pets. This is a significant con for pet parents with numerous pets, who can save five to 10% off their monthly premiums for having more than one pet insured with other providers.
Another interesting thing about Banfield is that it offers wellness plan clients a discount on its other Banfield services and products. When you’re enrolled in a pet insurance plan, you can receive anywhere from 10 to 20% off (depending on your plan) the following:
- Medications, shampoos/conditioners, and lotions
- Surgical and elective procedures, including dental extractions
- Lab tests and specialty exams
So, if you’re a regular client of Banfield and use some of these services, this discount may be a great benefit to you and your pet. Otherwise, we could not find if Banfield offered any kind of multi-pet, military, or employee discount for enrolling in its pet insurance plans.
How do I File a Claim with Banfield Pet Insurance?
Unlike most pet insurance providers, there is no claim form to fill out with Banfield pet insurance. Instead, you simply take your pet to a Banfield pet hospital location in PetSmart. When your pet is enrolled in a wellness plan, your pet is automatically covered. You don’t need to pay for any eligible services, so you never need to submit a claim to be reimbursed. This benefits pet parents because it saves them time waiting to be refunded and is a more straightforward process than most pet insurance providers have.
Banfield State Availability
Banfield pet insurance is available throughout all states. However, it can only be used at Banfield veterinary clinics. As a result, you’ll want to check that there is an easily accessible local Banfield veterinary clinic near you. To date, there are over 1,000 Banfield locations throughout the United States.
Banfield Pet Insurance Customer Reviews
All pet insurance companies have positive and negative customer reviews. We often see that many pet insurance companies will have negative reviews due to a customer not understanding what their policy actually covers, leading to misunderstanding and upset when a company doesn’t cover something they believe should be covered.
To give you an unbiased look at Banfield pet insurance, we’ve gathered several customer service reviews for you to read and consider before choosing it as your insurance provider. Currently, Banfield has a 2.5-star rating on Yelp, a 1.4-star rating on TrustPilot, and a 1.12-star rating on the Better Business Bureau.
“The pet wellness monthly plan is a great option for proactive pet owners. This plan is not for critical illnesses or emergencies. What I love about this plan is knowing what my proactive spend is per month for shots, proactive meds such as heartworm meds, flea/tick prevention. It helps you keep track of your pet’s health, growth, etc. The portal summarizes your pet’s health. I love it! Emergencies, blood and urine tests are in addition to the plan. Read the plan thoroughly and ask questions. I highly recommend this plan to any puppy/dog owner. It’s a great proactive monthly plan. No different than “wellchild visits”.” – Mary, Consumer Affairs
“If I could rate 0 starts believe me, I would. This company profits off of hidden fees and drains your wallet with mediocre care and below mediocre service. (Also services that your dog probably doesn’t really need), but that’s how they get you. I could write and entire book on how this company has screwed us over, but I’ll sum it up with saying that I truly believe these people servicing your pets are the graduates with the lowest GPA’s who barely passed veterinary medical school. DO NOT GO HERE.” – Emma, TrustPilot
“I have and do have my pets on the Wellness plan. Over the last 15 or so tears and have had nothing but great experiences with the Vet and all the staff. I feel like family when I bring in my 2 dogs and 1 cat. I am getting a puppy here in a couple weeks and she to will go on the plan. I don't know where these people have gone to get their sad happenings. But I drive all the way across town to go to the Banfield Clinic in North Spokane. Would not even think of changing.” – Susie, TrustPilot
Banfield vs. Competitors
Before choosing a pet insurance provider, you must compare the company you’re considering against its competition. Start by considering what factors matter to you the most in a pet insurance plan. Then, use the following table to narrow down your top few choices. From there, we recommend choosing a couple of pet insurance providers to gather free quotes from so that you can get a good idea of what different companies and plans will cost you monthly.
| Best For | Star Rating | Monthly Cost | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spot |  | Most Inclusive | $22-$80 | Compare Quotes | |
| Lemonade |  | Most Affordable | $16–$30 | Compare Quotes | |
| ASPCA Pet Insurance |  | Most Experienced | $18–$44 | Compare Quotes | |
| Fetch Pet Insurance |  | Most Comprehensive Coverage | $22-$38 | Compare Quotes | |
| Embrace |  | Best for Discounts Offered | $23-$85 | Compare Quotes | |
| Healthy Paws |  | Best for Chronic Conditions | $24–$54 | Compare Quotes | |
| Figo |  | Most Flexible Reimbursement Rates | $25-$54 | Compare Quotes |
| Spot | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Most Inclusive |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $22-$80 |
| Lemonade | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Most Affordable |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $16–$30 |
| ASPCA Pet Insurance | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Most Experienced |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $18–$44 |
| Fetch Pet Insurance | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
|
| Best For | Most Comprehensive Coverage |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $22-$38 |
| Embrace | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Best for Discounts Offered |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $23-$85 |
| Healthy Paws | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Best for Chronic Conditions |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $24–$54 |
| Figo | |
|---|---|
| Logo |
 |
| Best For | Most Flexible Reimbursement Rates |
| Star Rating | |
| Monthly Cost | $25-$54 |
About Banfield
Banfield Pet Hospital has over 1,000 locations throughout the United States and is the most extensive private veterinary practice in the United States and Puerto Rico. It was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1955. In 2007, Banfield joined forces with Mars, Incorporated to create a better world for pets. Today, it has over 3,600 veterinarians who work to make this a reality.
To advance its goal of creating a better world for pets, it created the Optimum Wellness Plan, which helps clients pay for their pets’ preventive veterinary care. Wellness plans are so critical to its mission because preventive care can prevent or minimize many illnesses your pet may develop throughout its lifetime. Banfield also developed its Vet Chat, a 24/7 live vet advice service, and virtual office visits so that pet parents can always access veterinary care for their beloved pets.
Banfield also believes in supporting its over 19,000 associates and building a work culture of openness and equality. It has a huge commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion to drive its decisions as a company to create a brighter future for society and pets. Banfield works to live by its five principles: quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency, and freedom. In addition to this, it started the Banfield Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps all pets get better access to high-quality veterinary care. Donations to this foundation provide disaster relief for pets, funding for advanced veterinary sciences, and money to elevate the power of the human-animal bond. Banfield also has a Mars Volunteer Program, an ongoing volunteer program that serves the community’s greatest needs, such as cleaning kennels at local shelters, serving food in homeless shelters, and offering free preventive veterinary care. As a whole, Banfield seems to be dedicated to improving the lives of pets and humans everywhere and advancing veterinary technology practices.
Final Thoughts on Banfield Pet Insurance
As we wrap up our Banfield pet insurance review, we want to give you a quick summary of the main pros and cons of Banfield pet insurance. In terms of cons, Banfield offers no type of accident or illness pet insurance coverage. You also have no real customization options or discounts, such as a multi-pet or military discount. Banfield also has overall poor reviews from multiple sources, including a 1.4-star out of 5-star rating from TrustPilot. However, Banfield does have comprehensive wellness plans to choose from, including two excellent options for kittens and puppies. We like that one of the kitten and puppy options also includes coverage for a spay or neuter procedure, including coverage for the prep work, anesthesia, and much more.
Overall, we don’t like that Banfield has such poor customer reviews, but we do like that it offers a huge variety of choices for comprehensive wellness care for your dog or cat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the advantages of Banfield’s pet insurance?
Banfield has a handful of significant benefits, especially its huge number of wellness plan options. We really like that it has two wellness plans specifically created for puppies and kittens, one plan which even includes coverage for spaying and neutering procedures. Its other three wellness plans for adult dogs or cats give you more variety than most pet insurance providers. Other advantages include its mobile app, 24/7 vet helpline, and option for virtual veterinary visits. We also appreciate that it offers a discount on its other services and products, like shampoos and medications, when you’re enrolled on a wellness plan.
Does Banfield offer exotic pet insurance?
No. At this time, Banfield only offers wellness pet insurance plans for dogs and cats. Like most pet insurance providers, it doesn’t offer exotic pet insurance. To find out who does, read our piece on exotic pet health insurance..
Can I Use Banfield pet insurance at any veterinarian?
No. This is one of the most significant cons to Banfield. You can only use Banfield wellness plans at Banfield Pet Hospital locations. Currently, there are over 1,000 locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. We strongly recommend that you consider your proximity to a Banfield Pet Hospital and if you’re okay only visiting a Banfield Pet Hospital for your pet’s wellness exams and preventive care.
Why is there a one-time enrollment fee?
Banfield charges a one-time enrollment fee, which varies based on the plan and your pet’s age, breed, etc. This enrollment fee covers the costs of setting up and establishing your pet’s wellness plan in Banfield Pet Hospital’s system. You can skip this fee for the following year if you sign up for automatic renewal with monthly payments. You can also choose to re-enroll with a full payment within 90 days of your pet’s last wellness plan to avoid paying the enrollment fee again.
Why does my pet need a wellness plan?
All pets, whether young or old, can use a wellness plan. Regardless of your pet’s current health, a wellness plan helps you pay for preventive care costs, such as wellness exams, routine blood work, vaccinations, and much more. These preventative care steps are crucial to keeping your pet healthy and help to prevent illnesses or minimize their severity. However, wellness costs can quickly become expensive, which is why a wellness plan can be an excellent investment for your pet so that you never have to hesitate to provide it with the best routine care.
Our Methodology
The Quartz research team looks at all pet insurance policies and comes up with our reviews based on coverage, plan options, cost, reputation, customer service, and species eligibility. We’ve also created a rating system to score pet insurance brands.
We’ve consulted with pet experts and dug into plans to develop what we think are the best overall plans, complete with ratings on coverage, how they handle claims, reimbursements, deductibles, limits, and more.
To make our list, pet insurance companies must have:
- A variety of plan options
- Affordable monthly rates
Our team revisits each company’s information at the end of every month to make updates and ensure the information is as accurate as possible.
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Petco Pet Insurance Review ( 2025 Guide)
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Pawp Pet Insurance Reviews ( 2025 Guide)
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Prudent Pet Insurance Reviews ( 2025 Guide)
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Fetch Pet Insurance Reviews ( 2025 Guide)
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ASPCA Pet Insurance Reviews (2025 Guide)
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Embrace Pet Insurance Reviews (2025 Guide)
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Lemonade Pet Insurance Reviews (2025 Guide)
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Spot Pet Insurance Reviews (2025 Guide)
