Dog Insurance Calculator
How much might dog insurance cost each month?
A planning estimate anchored to 2024 NAPHIA U.S. premium averages, then adjusted using 2026 Forbes Advisor market pricing data for age, breed, and state.
Medium: 20–50 lbs
If the breed is in our dataset, we will auto-suggest a size and apply a breed-specific risk adjustment.
The state baseline comes from 2026 Forbes Advisor pricing for $5,000 annual coverage, $250 deductible, and 80% reimbursement.
“Embedded wellness” is the NAPHIA term for plans that bundle accident + illness coverage with routine-care benefits.
How this dog insurance estimate works
The calculator uses the 2024 U.S. average monthly premium figures published by NAPHIA as the starting point: roughly $16.10/month for accident-only dog coverage, $62.44/month for accident-and-illness, and $110.11/month for plans with embedded wellness benefits. Those figures come from the NAPHIA State of the Industry report released on April 22, 2025, and represent the broad U.S. market.
From there, we adjust for the factors consumers most often see inside real quotes: age, state, size, breed risk, deductible, reimbursement rate, and annual limit. The age, breed, and state adjustments are anchored to Forbes Advisor's April 14, 2026 dog insurance pricing analysis, which benchmarked policies with $5,000 annual coverage, $250 deductible, and 80% reimbursement.
What most affects dog insurance cost?
1. Age
Age is usually the strongest pricing driver. Forbes Advisor's 2026 research showed average dog premiums rising from about $36/month at age 2 to $47 at age 5 and $65 at age 7 for a $5,000 annual coverage plan.
2. Breed and size
Breed-specific medical risk changes the quote. In the same Forbes analysis, a small mixed-breed dog averaged about $30/month, while a French bulldog averaged about $79/month and a Rottweiler about $83/month for comparable baseline coverage.
3. Location
Premiums move with veterinary pricing in your local market. Forbes Advisor's 2026 state table ranged from about $32/month in Arkansas to $60/month in Colorado and Connecticut for the same baseline plan design.
4. Plan design
Official insurer materials from Lemonade, Trupanion, and Embrace all describe the same basic tradeoff: lower deductibles, higher reimbursement, and richer annual limits usually raise the monthly premium, while leaner settings reduce it.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real quote?
No. It is a planning benchmark. Actual premiums vary by carrier, ZIP code, underwriting rules, waiting periods, and whether the insurer prices heavily around breed-specific hereditary risks.
Why include wellness coverage as a separate option?
Because NAPHIA breaks it out separately as “insurance with embedded wellness.” It behaves differently from standard accident-and-illness insurance because it bundles preventive-care benefits that many basic plans sell as add-ons or exclude.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
Usually no. That is why younger dogs often get better long-term value from enrolling early, before chronic issues are documented in the medical record.
What should I do after getting this estimate?
Use the result as your benchmark, then compare live quotes from a few carriers with the same deductible, reimbursement, and annual limit settings. That is the only clean apples-to-apples comparison.