If you’re an owner of a dog or cat, you may take your fluffy friend for a car ride from time to time (especially dogs). The worst thing that could happen during the car ride would be an accident. In addition to injuring your pet, medical care could result in expensive bills. However, you may not even realize this, but your car insurance may provide pet injury coverage for dogs and cats. 

Does car insurance provide pet injury coverage for dogs and cats?

Insurance companies offer collision coverage for car insurance policies, which generally is for repairing damage or replacing a vehicle. Usually, the pet injury insurance for car accidents falls under collision coverage, as detailed by Forbes. Not all car insurance includes pet injury insurance, and the details vary for each policy. The ones that do typically provide coverage for dogs and cats, but not for other pets.

For pet injury insurance, an auto insurance company will reimburse policyholders for veterinarian bills and burial expenses if your pet is injured or killed after a car accident. This reimbursement is up to the coverage limits, minus the deductible. However, many car insurance companies waive the deductible for pet injury claims. Also, coverage includes the cost of a new pet. 

Some auto insurance companies automatically include pet injury coverage for the standard coverage. However, in most cases, you’ll have to pay extra, for it’s usually an add-on option. For a car insurance company to reimburse you for a pet injury claim, your dog or cat must be riding in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Also, the pet must be owned by you or another member of your household.

How do I know if my car insurance provides pet injury coverage?

As noted earlier, not every auto insurance policy includes pet injury coverage, but many do. If you don’t have collision coverage, it’s unlikely that the policy will reimburse you for expenses from pet injury or death in a car accident. Be sure to check your policy, including the details for collision coverage. You can also contact your car insurance company to see if it includes pet injury coverage in your collision policy or offers it as an add-on option.

What auto insurance companies provide pet injury coverage?

If you want to shop around for auto insurance, here are some that offer pet injury coverage:

• Acuity
• Chubb
• Cincinnati Insurance Co.
• Elephant Insurance
• Erie Insurance
• The Hanover
• The Hartford
• Integon
• Metromile
• Nationwide
• Progressive
• PURE

One of the strongest policies on the list is The Hanover, which provides up to $2,500 for pet medical expenses and burial costs. Chubb and Cincinnati Insurance Co. provide up to $2,000 in coverage, while most of the other policies provide up to $1,000 in coverage. 

Seeing your dog or cat injured or killed in a car accident is a horrible experience on its own. Any expenses make the painful and stressful situation even worse. If you want to give yourself peace of mind for your fluffy friend, check to see if your car insurance includes or offers pet injury coverage. If not, check out the auto insurance companies listed in this article.