Does Pet Insurance Cover Medication?

Whether your pet is on the mend from a broken leg or has been diagnosed with a longer-term illness, your fur baby might need prescription drugs to get healthy—and stay healthy. 

Thankfully, pet insurance, like coverage offered by Lemonade, can help cover the costs of medications related to a wide range of injuries and illnesses in the form of pills, creams, and injections. We’ll break down exactly when medications are and aren’t covered, so you can get back to focusing on what matters most—your pet’s health. 

Does pet insurance cover medicine? 

In many cases, yes! 

A base accident and illness policy offered by Lemonade can help cover veterinary costs of diagnostics, procedures, and medications related to covered accidents and illnesses including hereditary conditions, chronic conditions, and congenital health conditions. 

Coverage Pet insurance, like policies offered by Lemonade, can cover medications for eligible accidents and illness, minus your annual deductible and co-insurance.

However, medications related to a pre-existing condition (a health issue that your pet showed signs or symptoms of before your policy’s waiting periods were up) are not eligible for coverage. 

That’s one reason why it pays to sign your pet up for pet insurance as early as possible, so your pet can be eligible for more coverage, and more medications, down the line. 

Learn more about what pet insurance covers here.

How can I file a claim for my pet’s medication on the Lemonade app?

We built an easy and intuitive process for filing a claim for your pet’s medication on the Lemonade app—but we also walk through the process nice and slow in this complete guide, if you’re curious.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• Get a copy of the vet invoice and/or a paid receipt, and take a pic of it
• Get a copy of your medical records or notes from that specific vet visit

What about Rx refills?

If you’re filing a claim for a prescription refill related to a specific condition—like Apoquel for your pup’s allergies—make sure to select the “Illness” option in your claim, not as something related to your Preventative Package.

We get it, your pup’s allergy meds help prevent yucky symptoms of their allergies such as sneezing and runny eyes, but it’s unrelated to what’s covered as part of our Preventative Care Packages—which could include coverage for things like annual wellness exams, and flea and tick prevention, depending on the package you choose.

But let’s say you included Lemonade’s Preventative Package for Puppies and Kittens on your policy and have a monthly Frontline prescription from your vet to help protect your adventurous Blue Heeler pup “Bandit” from fleas and ticks. In this case you could file a claim for Bandit’s monthly Frontline Rx—and other vet prescribed flea, tick, and heartworm medications—under your Preventative Package for up to $65/year.

What medications does pet insurance not cover? 

In addition to medications related to pre-existing conditions, Lemonade doesn’t cover “alternative medicines.” This term refers to a range of non-traditional therapies, like CBD and aromatherapy.

However, if you opt for Lemonade Pet’s physical therapy add-on, you could qualify for reimbursement on things like acupuncture and hydrotherapy related to functionality issues resulting from an unexpected accident or illness. 

In addition, a Lemonade pet insurance policy will not cover prescription food. 

While your pet might benefit from holistic treatments, don’t expect them to be covered by your insurance in many cases.

Does pet insurance cover flea/tick or heartworm prevention? 

Sometimes! It depends on what type of policy you have.

A base Lemonade accident and illness policy will not cover flea or tick prevention. But if you opt for Lemonade’s Preventative+ Care package or Lemonade’s puppy/kitten preventative care package, you can have flea/tick or heartworm prevention covered, plus vaccinations, tests, and a whole lot of other wellness and routine care. 

Does pet insurance cover anxiety medication? 

Once again, it depends on how you customize your coverage. 

Lemonade pet insurance offers a behavioral add-on. On top of a base accident and illness policy, the behavioral add-on could help cover the costs of diagnostics and vet-recommended treatments and therapies related to eligible behavioral conditions.

This could include prescription medications to address conditions like phobias and separation anxiety.

Does pet insurance cover allergy medication? 

Yup. As long as the allergy isn’t considered a pre-existing condition, your pet’s allergy meds, like Apoquel allergy pills and Cytopoint allergy injections, are covered.

How much do pet medications typically cost? 

Over the course of a pet’s life, they will likely need to take a range of medications in the short and the long term.

For example, if your pet undergoes surgery, they will likely go home with a goodie bag filled with antibiotics and pain medicine. Also, over the course of your pet’s life, they might be diagnosed with an illness like Lyme disease, kennel cough, or a UTI—or a health condition like diabetes, arthritis, or cancer which might require long-term medication to manage. 

We wish your pet many years of good health, but one part of being a pet parent is preparing for the costs associated with unexpected health care. Keep in mind, if your pet isn’t covered with pet insurance, you’ll have to pay for medications out-of-pocket.

Here are the costs of some of the common medications your pet might be prescribed. 

Medication	Average cost
Allergy medication	$50–300 a month
Antibiotics	$75–400 per round
Antifungals	$60–300 per round
Antiparasitics	$30–100 per round
Anti-seizure medication	$100–400+ a month
Antivirals	$30–150 per round
Anxiety medication	$15–150 a month
Cardiac medication	$15–150+ a month
Chemotherapy	$300–12,000 per round
Eye medicine	$40–75+ a month
Flea/tick prevention	$15–30 a month
Gastrointestinal medication	$15–100+ a month
Heartworm prevention	$6–12 a month
Insulin	$60–300 a month
Pain relief	$30–80+ per round
Steroids	$15–30 a month

A few quick words, because we <3 our lawyers: This post is general in nature, and any statement in it doesn’t alter the terms, conditions, exclusions, or limitations of policies issued by Lemonade, which differ according to your state of residence. You’re encouraged to discuss your specific circumstances with your own professional advisors. The purpose of this post is merely to provide you with info and insights you can use to make such discussions more productive! Naturally, all comments by, or references to, third parties represent their own views, and Lemonade assumes no responsibility for them. Coverage may not be available in all states.