When you buy pet insurance, you pick a reimbursement percentage: usually 70, 80, or 90 percent. It looks like a small setting next to the premium. In reality it decides how much of every vet bill comes back to you, and the difference between 70 and 90 on a big claim is thousands of dollars.
Most shoppers default to 80 percent without thinking. Sometimes that is right. Sometimes it leaves money on the table, or wastes premium dollars you did not need to spend. This guide runs the real math on all three options, shows what each one costs you monthly, and explains when each choice is the smart one. For how this setting interacts with the rest of your policy, see our how pet insurance works primer.
What the Percentage Actually Applies To
The reimbursement percentage applies to covered expenses after your deductible is met, not to the raw vet bill. That order matters. With a $500 deductible and 80 percent reimbursement on a $2,000 covered bill, the insurer pays 80 percent of $1,500, which is $1,200. You pay the $500 deductible plus the remaining $300.
Three things shrink the base before the percentage even applies. First, the deductible comes off the top. Second, anything excluded or not covered is removed entirely. Third, a few policies reimburse based on a “usual and customary” fee schedule rather than your actual invoice, which can quietly reduce payouts in expensive areas. Always ask whether reimbursement is based on the actual bill.
The Math on a $5,000 Bill: 70 vs 80 vs 90
Nothing clarifies this choice like concrete numbers. Take a $5,000 covered emergency bill with a $500 annual deductible already accounted for in the premium math below. Here is what you pay out of pocket at each level.
- 70 percent: insurer pays $3,150 of the remaining $4,500. You pay $500 plus $1,350, total $1,850.
- 80 percent: insurer pays $3,600 of the remaining $4,500. You pay $500 plus $900, total $1,400.
- 90 percent: insurer pays $4,050 of the remaining $4,500. You pay $500 plus $450, total $950.
The jump from 70 to 90 saves you $900 on this one bill. On a $10,000 cancer treatment, the gap doubles to $1,800. These are the moments the percentage was designed for. Small bills barely distinguish the three options; catastrophic bills separate them completely.
Now flip it around. On a $600 bill with the deductible already met, the difference between 70 and 90 percent is $120. If your pet’s typical year is a few moderate bills, the higher percentage is nice but not transformative. The percentage matters most on the biggest bill you will ever file, not the average one.
What 90 Percent Costs You Every Month
Higher reimbursement is not free. Moving from 70 to 90 percent typically raises the monthly premium by a noticeable step, often in the range of 30 to 50 percent more for the reimbursement portion of the price, depending on the insurer and your pet’s profile. On a $45 base premium, that can mean $60 or more for the 90 percent version.
Whether that premium is worth it depends on how you use the policy. An owner who files one $6,000 claim in five years will be glad they paid the extra $15 a month. An owner who never files a major claim will have paid hundreds extra for protection they did not use. Both outcomes are normal; insurance is priced for the possibility, not the certainty.
The honest way to evaluate it: multiply the monthly difference by 12, then by the years you expect to hold the policy. An extra $15 a month is $180 a year, $900 over five years. If a single avoided $900 out-of-pocket hit would matter to you, the 90 percent tier is doing its job. Our 2026 cost breakdown shows how the percentage fits into total policy pricing.
When 70 Percent Is the Smart Pick
Seventy percent is not the “cheap and sorry” option. It is a deliberate strategy for owners who want catastrophe protection at the lowest premium. If your emergency fund is healthy and you mainly fear the $10,000 disaster rather than the $800 inconvenience, 70 percent covers the disaster for less.
It also pairs well with a high deductible. A $1,000 deductible with 70 percent reimbursement is the classic budget catastrophe plan: rock-bottom premium, real protection against the bills that actually threaten a household budget. Shoppers comparing rock-bottom prices should read our cheapest plans worth buying guide before deciding.
The risk of 70 percent is the middle-size bill. A $2,500 surgery leaves you paying $500 deductible plus $600 coinsurance, $1,100 total. That stings more than it would at 90 percent. If mid-size bills would stress you, the savings were not worth it.
When 90 Percent Earns Its Keep
Ninety percent is the right call when the downside scenario is genuinely scary. Owners of breeds prone to expensive conditions, large dogs facing potential cruciate surgery, or anyone who knows a $2,000 surprise bill would cause real hardship, get the most value from the top tier.
It also suits owners who want vet decisions to be purely medical. At 90 percent, the financial difference between the $3,000 treatment and the $5,000 treatment is small enough that most owners stop doing math in the exam room. That peace of mind is part of what the extra premium buys.
The tradeoff to watch is the annual limit. A 90 percent reimbursement rate burns through a low annual limit fast, because the insurer pays more per claim. If you choose 90 percent, make sure your annual limit can handle it, or the top tier’s advantage evaporates halfway through a bad year. Pairing 90 percent with a $5,000 limit is a common and costly mismatch.
Why 80 Percent Is the Default, and When to Leave It
Eighty percent sits in the middle for a reason. It keeps premiums moderate while leaving owners with a manageable share of big bills. For the average healthy pet with an average risk profile, it is genuinely the balanced choice, which is why so many insurers preselect it in their quote tools.
Leave the default when your situation is not average. Tight budget with strong savings: consider 70. High-risk breed, senior pet, or low tolerance for surprise bills: consider 90. The default is a starting point, not a recommendation. NAPHIA’s industry resources describe 70 to 90 percent as the standard market range, with the choice left entirely to the owner’s risk tolerance.
One more consideration: some insurers restrict which percentages pair with which deductibles or limits. You might want 90 percent with a $1,000 deductible and find the combination unavailable. Build the whole quote, deductible plus percentage plus limit, before falling in love with any single setting. Cornell’s owner resources at vet.cornell.edu can help you estimate the real treatment costs you are insuring against.
The Fine Print That Shrinks Your Percentage
A 90 percent reimbursement rate does not always mean you get 90 percent of your bill back. Watch for these quiet reducers. Exam fees are excluded from reimbursement by some insurers, so a $75 exam on every visit comes entirely out of your pocket. Benefit schedules cap specific treatments below your invoice, so the percentage applies to the capped amount.
Bilateral condition clauses can halve coverage on the second knee or hip. And pre-existing condition exclusions remove entire conditions from the calculation. None of these are hidden; they are all in the policy document. But they explain why two owners with “90 percent” can receive very different checks.
The reimbursement percentage matters most on the biggest bill you will ever file, not the average one. Choose it for the worst year, fund the premium comfortably, and read the exclusions so the percentage applies to as much of the bill as possible. Then set the rest of the policy to match: the right deductible structure underneath it and enough annual limit above it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What reimbursement percentage should I choose?
Choose 80 percent if your situation is average, 70 percent if you want the lowest premium and can handle mid-size bills, and 90 percent if a large surprise bill would cause real hardship or your breed is prone to expensive conditions. There is no universally correct answer.
Does 90 percent reimbursement mean I only pay 10 percent of the vet bill?
No. You also pay the deductible first, plus anything excluded, plus exam fees if your plan does not cover them. On a $2,000 bill with a $500 deductible at 90 percent, you pay $500 plus 10 percent of $1,500, which is $650 total, not $200.
Is 70 percent reimbursement too low?
Not necessarily. It is a legitimate catastrophe-protection strategy with meaningfully lower premiums. It works best paired with a solid emergency fund and a high deductible, where you are insuring against disasters rather than inconveniences.
Can I change my reimbursement percentage later?
Usually yes, at renewal. Most insurers let you adjust the percentage, deductible, and limit each policy year. Just remember that raising it later does not help with conditions already diagnosed, which may be excluded as pre-existing.
Why do some insurers not offer 90 percent?
Product design varies. Some insurers cap their top tier at 80 percent to keep premiums competitive, while others use 90 percent as their standard. If 90 percent matters to you, filter for it early in your comparison shopping.