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Chewy Review
Chewy Review
May 02, 2023 / Katy Ward
Chewy Review
May 02, 2023 / Katy Ward

At a Glance

Founded in 2011 as an ecommerce pet store, Chewy sells more than 10,000 products for pets and their owners. Through its partnership with insurer Trupanian, the company now also provides a range of CarePlus insurance plans for dogs and cats. With 24/7 customer service, these plans include free vet video consultations and offer 10% discounts if you cover more than 1 pet.

Chewy’s Key Figures

Pets covered : Dogs, cats

Annual coverage : Unlimited lifetime payouts for insurance; $290-$455 per year on wellness plans

Reimbursement : Up to 90%

Deductibles : $250

Waiting periods : 5, 14, and 30 days

Age limits : None

Customer support : 24/7 over phone, email, and live chat

Pros

  • 24/7 customer service
  • Unlimited lifetime insurance
  • Visit any licensed vet in the US
  • 10% multi-pet discount
  • Free vet video consultations on most plans

Cons

  • Dogs and cats only
  • Not available in all 50 states

Offering 24/7 customer service, free vet video consultations, and access to any licensed vet in the United States, Chewy could be an excellent choice if you need to protect your pet during an emergency. The company’s 10% multi-pet discounts and unlimited payouts can also help you significantly lower the cost of pet ownership.

With coverage for dogs and cats only, Chewy isn’t a suitable choice if you own other types of animals. Likewise, its insurance isn’t currently available in every state, which means you’ll need to check your eligibility before you buy a plan.

What’s Covered?

Depending on the policy you choose, your pet insurance may include:

  • Surgeries, hospitalizations, and lab tests
  • Broken bones
  • Ingestion of foreign bodies
  • Poisoning
  • Common illnesses
  • Dental conditions
  • Age-related conditions
  • Treatment for emergency conditions
  • Diagnostic tests
  • Behavior treatments
  • Physical and rehab therapies
  • Vet exam fees

As a particularly attractive feature, the company will allow you to take your pet to any licensed vet in the US. In addition, Chewy will also cover treatments in Puerto Rico, Canada, and Australia.

A wellness plan will cover preventative costs associated with keeping your pet in good health. This could include:

  • Annual check-ups
  • Routine blood work
  • Vaccinations
  • Flea, tick, and heartworm medications

What’s Not Covered?

When you buy insurance, the following exclusions will apply:

  • Preventative veterinary treatments (although these are covered by wellness plans)
  • Tail docking
  • Ear cropping
  • Grooming
  • Nail clipping
  • Costs associated with breeding
  • Experimental treatment
  • Preventable conditions
  • End-of-life care

Like most pet insurance providers, Chewy doesn’t cover the cost of any pre-existing conditions. When you buy your coverage, the company will review your pet’s medical history and send you a list of any conditions that it will not cover.

Insurance Plans and Pricing

When you take out insurance, you can choose between 4 levels of coverage: Accident Only, Essential Accident & Illness, Essential Plus Accident & Illness, and Complete Accident & Illness.

The main difference between these is the reimbursement rate the company will pay if you need to make a claim (details below).

As with all pet insurance companies, the amount you pay for your coverage will depend on factors such as your pet’s age, breed, and medical history, and the ZIP code area you live in. Bear in mind also that Chewy offers a 10% discount on your monthly premium if you cover 2 or more pets.

The online quote tool returned the following rates for a 2-year-old female Yorkshire terrier with a Texas ZIP code:

Accident Only : $10.29 per month

Essential Accident & Illness : $54.24 per month

Essential Plus Accident & Illness : $64.68 per month

Complete Accident & Illness : $79.68 per month

Owners of a 5-year-old male American shorthair cat with an Ohio ZIP code could expect to pay the following:

Accident Only : $5.50 per month

Essential Accident & Illness : $38.08 per month

Essential Plus Accident & Illness : $45.16 per month

Complete Accident & Illness : $55.33 per month

Note, these quotes were obtained in April 2023 and may be subject to change. Likewise, your ZIP code could affect the amount you pay for coverage.

If you would like to buy wellness cover, you can choose between 2 plan types. The basic wellness package is $20 per month and the Comprehensive plan is $33 per month.

Reimbursements and Deductibles

When you take out insurance, the reimbursement rate is the amount of the claim that the insurer will pay before you need to cover the rest. This will depend on your policy type.

For Chewy’s policies, the following rates apply:

Accident Only : 80%

Essential : 70%

Essential, Plus Accident & Illness : 90%

Complete Accident & Illness : 90%

Unsurprisingly, policies with a higher reimbursement rate will carry higher monthly premiums.

In addition, all insurance plans carry an annual deductible of $250. When you make a claim, you’ll need to pay this amount before Chewy will cover the rest.

Benefit Limits

Unlike many of its competitors, Chewy doesn’t impose an annual limit on the amount you can claim on your insurance.

In contrast, the coverage limit for wellness plans will depend on the policy you choose. With the standard package, the limit is $290 per year, which increases to $455 on Comprehensive plans.

Waiting Periods

When you buy a wellness plan, you can start using your coverage immediately. With insurance plans, the following wait periods will apply:

Accident Only

Accident Only

Essential Plus Accident & Illness

Complete Accident & Illness

Illness

N/A

14 days

14 days

14 days

Accident

5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

Cruciate knee injury

30 days

14 days

14 days

14 days

Claims and Service

Making a claim

When you take your pet to the vet, Chewy can pay your vet directly if the surgery is set up to receive payments through Trupanian (the company that underwrites Chewy’s policies).

Once you’ve paid your portion of the bill, Chewy can automatically cover the remainder.

Alternatively, you can pay the vet yourself and Chewy will reimburse your out-of-pocket expenses. To do so, you’ll need to submit an itemized invoice either through the post or your online account.

You’ll then receive your funds within as little as 72 hours if the company already has your direct debit details on file.

Customer service

You can contact Chewy with any customer service claims 24/7 over the phone, email, or live chat.

You can also receive free consultations with a qualified vet or vet technician over live chat. This service is available every day, 6am-12am (ET).

Alternatively, you can book a 20-minute face-to-face video appointment with a vet or technician. This service is free of charge if you have CarePlus insurance or a Comprehensive wellness plan. Otherwise, there is a fee of $19.99.

Overall, the website and online quote tool are extremely user-friendly. The company uses straightforward language in its communications and key information is clearly signposted.

What Pet Parents Might Like

Chewy insurance and wellness customers receive 100% cash back on eligible medications, diet food, and supplements purchased at the company’s online pharmacies.

The insurer could also be an attractive option if you have older pets, as it doesn’t place any age limits on the animals it will cover.

Something To Consider

The company doesn’t currently provide insurance in all 50 states, with the following states not covered:

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Maine
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Vermont
  • Washington

Contact and Address Information

Phone : 1-800-672-4399

Email : service@chewy.com

Address : 7700 W Sunrise Blvd, Plantation, FL, 33322

To Sum Up

Chewy’s CarePlus pet insurance coverage could be a great choice if you’d like to be able to take your pet to any licensed vet in the US and access free vet video consultations. Likewise, its 10% multi-pet discounts and unlimited payouts could help you make significant savings if you have several pets in your family.

Company Disclosure

This policy is sold and administered by Chewy Insurance Services, LLC, a licensed insurance producer (licenses available here), and Trupanion Managers USA, Inc. ("TMUI") (licenses available here, and underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company ("APIC"), with its main office at 6100 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108. TMUI, APIC, and their affiliates are separate, independent of, and distinct from Chewy Insurance Services, LLC, and its affiliates.

By Katy Ward
Oxford graduate Katy Ward is a seasoned journalist and editor covering personal finance and software topics for Eleven Writing. Over a 15-year career, Katy has worked with several finance titans, including Barclays, Tandem Bank, and Yahoo! Finance.
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