What is the average claim payout?

Across all categories the average claim payout is approximately $850 in the US. Orthopedic and oncology claims average much higher at $3,900 and $5,800 respectively, which is why annual coverage caps and reimbursement percentages matter for at-risk breeds.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premium ranges aggregate published rate sheets from the largest US insurers (Healthy Paws, Trupanion, Lemonade, Spot, ASPCA, Embrace, Nationwide). Claim category shares are derived from NAPHIA State of the Industry reporting and individual insurer claim disclosures.

Benchmark report — June 2026

US pet insurance cost benchmark 2026

Answer

The average US accident-and-illness pet insurance premium is $50 to $70 per month for dogs and $25 to $35 per month for cats. Vet cost inflation has run at roughly 10 percent annually since 2021, driving premium increases of 8 to 14 percent per year. Orthopedic and oncology claims account for one in four payouts and carry average claim values four to six times higher than the all-category mean.

Average monthly premium by policy type

Policy	Monthly	Annual
Dog — accident & illness	$50–$70	$600–$840
Cat — accident & illness	$25–$35	$300–$420
Dog — accident only	$15–$25	$180–$300
Cat — accident only	$10–$15	$120–$180

Aggregated from published 2026 rate sheets ^{NorthAmerican}

Claims by category

Category	Share of claims	Avg payout
Gastrointestinal (foreign body, pancreatitis)	18%	$2,400
Skin and ear disease	16%	$420
Orthopedic (CCL, hip, IVDD)	14%	$3,900
Cancer treatment	11%	$5,800
Dental disease	9%	$1,100
Urinary tract disease	8%	$780

Derived from NAPHIA State of the Industry and insurer claim disclosures ^North

Most expensive routine procedures

Procedure	Low	High
Cancer treatment and chemotherapy	$1,500	$15,000
Hip dysplasia surgery	$1,500	$12,000
IVDD surgery (intervertebral disc disease)	$3,000	$9,000
Foreign body removal surgery	$2,000	$7,000
ACL / CCL surgery (TPLO)	$3,500	$6,500
BOAS surgery (brachycephalic airway)	$2,000	$5,500

Methodology

Premium ranges aggregate publicly listed 2026 rate sheets from the seven largest US pet insurers, weighted by market share reported by NAPHIA. Claim category shares are derived from NAPHIA State of the Industry aggregate data and supplemented by individual insurer transparency reports. Procedure cost ranges are aggregated from CareCredit, ASPCA, and AVMA cost-of-care publications and cross-checked against specialty hospital price lists. All figures rounded; ranges, not point estimates, are presented to reflect real regional and clinic-level variation. Last updated June 2026.

Cite this report as: pawprotected.com, "US pet insurance cost benchmark 2026", retrieved [date].

Frequently asked

Premiums for accident-and-illness policies have risen roughly 8 to 14 percent annually over the past three reporting periods, driven by veterinary cost inflation that NAPHIA places at about 10 percent per year through 2024.