Comprehensive 2022 Review of PetSmart Pet Insurance: Coverage, Pricing, and FAQs

PetSmart Pet Insurance Review Summary

Editor's Rating: 3.8/5 Policy Coverage: 3.5/5 Customer Service & Reputation: 4/5 Claim Repayment: N/A Price Of Policy: 4/5 Plan Customization: 3/5

PetSmart itself isn’t a pet healthcare provider. Instead, PetSmart works in partnership with Banfield Pet Hospitals. Therefore, this company doesn’t offer its own insurance plan. Banfield has its own set of healthcare plans called Optimum Wellness Plans (OWP) that you can use at any Banfield location in a PetSmart store.

It’s important to note that OWPs aren’t true insurance plans. They act more like discount benefits for a membership program. These plans are only valid at Banfield Pet Hospitals, and they’re more for preventative care than reactive care. Therefore, these plans don’t cover most surgeries and care services for significant illnesses or injuries.

OWPs don’t have prices that vary by breed. Instead, they have specific plans for puppies, kittens, adult dogs, and adult cats. Within each plan, there are different tiers of services.

PetSmart Pet Insurance – A Quick Look 2022

Pros

• Preventative and proactive care
• Unlimited office visits
• No breed-specific pricing
• Works at over 900 Banfield locations
• Customizable plans
• 5%-20% discounts on Banfield products
• Discounts for multiple pet households

Cons

• Doesn’t reimburse pet care expenses
• Doesn’t cover most emergency room visits
• Coverage only applies to Banfield locations
• Medication costs aren’t fully covered
• Plans are only for cats and dogs

Important Features of PetSmart Pet Insurance

OWPs are not pet insurance plans. They provide basic coverage for routine care and early detection of diseases and illnesses. Here are some highlights of these plans.

Preventative Care

OWPs offer coverage for essential preventative care services. These plans aim to regularly monitor your pet’s condition for early detection of diseases or illnesses. They also provide a safeguard against developing severe conditions from highly preventable causes, such as bloat, dental disease, and heartworm disease.

PetSmart Insurance Plan Tiers

OWPs have general tiers with a fixed suite of services that are catered to your pet’s lifestage. The basic services for every plan include two virtual office visits, 24/7 veterinary advice, diagnostic testing, fecal exams, and a nutrition coaching session.

Young pets can enroll in Early Care and Early Care Plus. These plans cater to the first 6 months of your kitten’s or puppy’s life and can include spaying and neutering, diagnostic testing, and deworming.

The plan tiers for pets over 6 months old are Active Care, Active Care Plus, or Special Care. In addition to the basic services, these plans offer professional dental cleaning, preventative x-rays, eye pressure tests, and electrocardiograms.

Insurance Payment

OWPs don’t have premiums or deductibles. Since they aren’t insurance plans, you also don’t have to wait on reimbursements. To receive coverage of their approved services, you just have to enroll and pay monthly payments on time.

PetSmart Insurance Convenience

OWPs have several significant convenient features. The Banfield app allows easy scheduling, including virtual vet visits, and connecting to Vet Chat. You can also easily access your pet’s medical records and payment information. Banfield also has over 1,000 locations nationwide, so you can visit any site and use your OWP.

What Does PetSmart Pet Insurance Cover?

Covered	Not Covered
Office Visits	Surgeries
24/7 Vet Chat	Emergency Visits
Comprehensive Physical Exams	Accidents and Illnesses
Vaccinations	Medication
Diagnostic Testing	Advanced Care
Fecal Exams	Alternative Therapies
Canine DNA Testing
Deworming
Spaying/Neutering
Dental Cleaning
Urine Testing
Preventative X-Rays
Eye Pressure Test (Dogs Only)
Electrocardiogram (Dogs Only)

PetSmart Insurance Customer Service

Banfield has a specific customer service line for their OWPs. You can connect with a representative through the following methods:

• Phone/Text: 888-649-2716
• Email: [email protected]

If you’re a prospective customer and would like to receive more information, an online inquiry form is available.

OWPs also have Vet Chat, which provides 24/7 veterinary advice through the Banfield app. You can connect with a veterinarian at any time and receive advice via live chat text. Vet Chat also allows photos to be uploaded in chats, and chats automatically get saved into your pet’s records.

Pre-Existing Conditions

The prices for each plan don’t vary too much based on your pet’s breed. Other factors, such as your pet’s age and where you live will affect prices. Dogs’ plans also tend to be a little more expensive than cats’ plans.

If your pets have pre-existing conditions, you can still enroll them in an OWP because OWPs don’t provide coverage for specialized care.

Waiting Periods

Since OWPs aren’t insurance plans, there’s no waiting period for reimbursements. As long as you pay your monthly fees, discounts and coverage for services will automatically be applied to your vet bill for each visit.

Insurance Pricing Quotes

	Australian Shepherd	French Bulldog
Male or Female	Male	Male
Age	6 Years	6 Years
Neutered	No	Yes
Location	Oregon (97035)	New York (10001)
Active Care Monthly Price	$35.95	$38.95
Active Care + Monthly Price	$46.95	$51.59
Special Care Monthly Price	$59.95	$65.95

FAQ: PetSmart Pet Insurance

What’s the Difference Between OWPs and Traditional Pet Insurance Plans?

The main difference between a Banfield OWP and a traditional pet insurance plan is the type of service that’s covered. The purpose of OWPs is to cover preventative care services to support and maintain a healthy lifestyle for your pets.

Regular pet insurance plans are more reactionary in nature. They provide a way to make expensive treatments and emergency visits more affordable.

How Does Payment Work for OWPs?

To activate an OWP, you have to pay a one-time membership fee and then monthly payments. These payments aren’t necessarily premiums. Rather, they’re more like a membership fee that you pay to enjoy exclusive perks and services. Also, unlike regular pet insurance, OWPs don’t have deductibles.

Plans contracts last for 12 months, and they automatically renew. So, if you don’t want to renew your plan, you have to contact Banfield to cancel payments.

When Do I Have to Pay for Services with an OWP?

You can set up monthly or annual payments. Monthly payment due dates are the 5th, 12th, 19th, or 26th of the month.

Whenever you schedule an office visit, you’ll receive a bill that automatically applies discounts and deducts the prices of the services included in your OWP’s coverage. Then, you just pay the remaining balance on the bill.

Can I Customize OWPs?

In some sense, OWPs are customizable. All tiers of OWPs have fixed services that can’t be modified. However, depending on your pet’s needs, you can stack add-on options to the existing plan. Some add-on options include parasite control, canine DNA testing, and spaying or neutering.

What the Users Say About PetSmart Pet Insurance

Most positive customer reviews mention that the OWPs offer excellent preventative care services if you have a generally healthy pet without pre-existing conditions. However, you have to be proactive with scheduling visits for the plans to be worth it.

When it comes to the customer’s experience, it depends on the specific Banfield location clients visit. The veterinary staff and work culture can vary from site to site, so it’s difficult to receive consistent customer service across the board.

Banfield’s customer service in the billing and payments sector is the most common negative complaint. Customers have reported that it can be difficult trying to cancel an OWP or not renew it for another year.

Our Verdict: PetSmart Pet Insurance

Overall, Banfield’s OWP offers coverage for a solid set of services that most pets end up using. The plans can be more affordable compared to pet insurance plans. Since they offer generalized and preventative care, they can be a great option for healthy young pets that don’t have serious pre-existing conditions.

If you have older pets or breeds with significant genetic health risks, it would be best to pair an OWP with a pet insurance plan covering accidents and illnesses. Therefore, OWPs are only worth it if you have generally healthy pets and exclusively use Banfield products and services.