Banfield Pet Hospital does not offer your typical pet insurance plan. It provides Optimum Wellness Plans (OWPs), which are preventive care programs for your dog or cat. With pet insurance, you pay a monthly premium, submit claims to your provider, and receive reimbursements for your pet’s veterinary care afterward. With an OWP, you pay a monthly (or annual) fee for preventive care services at Banfield Animal Hospital and get a discount on future pet products and services.
Banfield offers five OWPs: two for puppies and kittens (under 6 months old) and three for older dogs and cats. Enrollment in a Banfield Wellness Plan requires you to receive your veterinary care at a Banfield Pet Hospital location. It covers routine visits such as routine exams, vaccinations, diagnostics, nutritional consultations and dental care.
OWPs also have access to Banfield’s Vet Chat through the Banfield app. Vet Chat gives pet owners 24/7 access to live vets when they need help with healthcare decisions for their cat or dog.
Early Care Plans for Puppies and Kittens
Early Care Plans are available in two levels: Early Care and Early Care Plus. These plans are designed to get your young pet the recommended vaccines, boosters, diagnostics and procedures to start them off right.
The Early Care Plan covers the following preventive care:
- Comprehensive physical exams (two per year)
- Deworming (four per year)
- Diagnostic test (one per year)
- Fecal tests (three per year)
- Pet health consultation (one per year)
- Unlimited access to Vet Chat
- Unlimited interstate health certificates (for travel)
- Unlimited office visits
- Immunizations (varies by state)
- Virtual visits (two per year)
- 5% discount on Banfield products and services
With the Early Care Plus plan, you receive everything in the Early Care plan, including spay/neuter surgery and a 10% discount on Banfield products and services.
Active Care and Special Care Plans for Adult Dogs and Cats
For adult dogs and cats, pet parents can choose from Active Care, Active Care Plus and Special Care plans. These plans provide ongoing health coverage, including regular diagnostics and exams to help find and treat any health issues in your pet before they become more serious and difficult to treat.
The following health services are provided with the Active Care plan:
- Comprehensive physical exams (two per year)
- Deworming (twice per year)
- Diagnostic test (one per year)
- Fecal exams (two per year)
- Pet health consultation (one per year)
- Unlimited access to Vet Chat
- Unlimited interstate health certificates (for travel)
- Unlimited office visits
- Immunizations (varies by state)
- Virtual visits (two per year)
- 10% discount on Banfield products and services
The Active Care Plus plan includes everything listed above, as well as one professional dental cleaning each year, a urine test and a 15% discount on Banfield products and services.
The Special Care plan is developed for pets with chronic illnesses or those requiring frequent diagnostic tests. This plan includes everything in the Active Care and Active Care plus plans, as well as electrocardiograms (two per year), eye pressure tests (two per year) and preventive X-rays (three per year).
Banfield Wellness Plan Exclusions
All OWPs except the Special Care plan exclude veterinary care related to an injury, illness or condition, including diagnostics, tests, surgery and prescription drugs.
Because Banfield Hospital’s OWPs only cover preventive care, care and treatment for any pre-existing conditions are also excluded.
Plan Customizations
Banfield offers several add-ons to its pet wellness plans at an additional cost, including the following:
- Prevention of fleas, ticks and heartworms
- Spay and neuter surgery (also covered in the Early Care Plus package)
Because it is not an insurance plan, there are no deductibles, annual coverage limits, reimbursement rates or waiting periods. Your pet’s wellness coverage begins immediately.
