Pet Insurance
Vet Exam Fee Coverage

What is a vet exam fee?

One of the costs involved with veterinary treatment is the vet exam fee — this is essentially the amount a vet charges just for an appointment and consultation. Pet parents will often have to pay a similar fee to a doctor when it comes to their own healthcare.

There will often be additional costs on top of the vet exam fee depending on the course of action deemed necessary, whether that’s diagnostic testing, surgical procedures or prescription medication. 

The exact cost of a vet exam fee will differ from clinic to clinic, as well as from state to state — so pet parents might also have to pay more for a visit to a specialist vet.

Some pet insurance providers include vet exam fees within the base coverage or provide supplementary coverage policyholders can buy as an optional add-on that makes them eligible for reimbursement. 

Other insurers will not reimburse vet exam fees, however, leaving pet parents to cover the cost themselves. This can add up if a pet requires multiple visits to the vet in a short period of time, which isn’t an uncommon occurrence.

What does a vet exam include?

When a pet becomes sick, a visit to the vet should be the first course of action. 

What does a vet exam entail? Again, this will differ depending on the vet, but pet parents can expect to be asked questions about their pet’s health and for a short physical examination to be carried out on their pet. 

Based on this information, a vet will use their expertise to decide whether or not further action is required. If the pet’s illness requires no veterinary intervention, there will be no additional cost to the vet exam fee. 

However, subsequent measures will lead to extra veterinary costs. This might take the form of prescription medication or, if the problem isn’t obvious to the naked eye, diagnostic testing — such as X-rays, ultrasounds or blood tests. Your vet might also deem it necessary for parents to make an appointment with a specialist vet.

Does pet insurance cover vet exam fees?

Some pet insurance providers — including ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Pumpkin and Embrace — include the cost of vet exam fees within the base coverage. The only provision is that it must be a visit related to a covered condition, so no ineligible pre-existing conditions or routine treatments.

Note that this might differ if parents only take out an accident-only plan, as opposed to an accident-and-illness policy. ASPCA Pet Health Insurance and Embrace’s accident-only plan, for example, still includes vet exam fees within the coverage.

Other providers will provide reimbursements for vet exam fees, but only if a policy add-on is purchased — this is the case with Figo and Pets Best. This might prove to be a smart investment if regular visits are made to the vet during the year

How much do vet exam fees cost?

The average cost of a vet exam can vary significantly — the national average is between $25 and $186. ¹
Several factors can affect this, including:

• Location — Veterinary clinics based in cities or US states with higher overheads will likely be more expensive.
• Number of pets — If the appointment is for more than one pet at a time, the vet exam fee is often more than if a vet is examining just one.
• Time of day — Seeing an emergency vet outside of regular business hours could see the vet exam fee increase.
• Type of vet — A specialist vet (say a cardiologist or dermatologist) is also probably going to be more expensive to see than a neighborhood vet.

Vet exam fees usually don’t differ depending on whether a cat or a dog is being seen — after all, they both require the same amount of time and wealth of veterinary knowledge.

How to find pet insurance that covers vet exam fees

It’s important to read through a sample pet insurance policy before enrolling a pet to understand what is and isn’t covered. Vet exam fees will usually be mentioned if they’re included within the coverage — if they’re not, pet parents should assume they’ll be covering these costs themselves.

There’s also the option of speaking directly to a representative from a potential insurance provider and asking them if vet exam fees are covered (and if there are any occasions when they’re not).

Some pet insurance providers include vet exam fees within the base coverage, while others require you to purchase an add-on. Don’t immediately dismiss this second option, as it could still cost less overall.

When you’re looking at pet insurance quotes with an add-on for vet exam fees, it’s worth working out how many times you’ll have to pay a vet exam fee before this would prove more expensive than receiving reimbursements.

Don’t forget that vet exam fees are subject to the same discounts as other veterinary expense claims. That means you need to take into consideration the deductible and reimbursement percentage.

Do you have to pay vet exam fees for routine care?

Routine or wellness treatments are slightly different from visits to the vet for purely medical reasons. As an initial consultation is usually not necessary, there’s normally no vet exam fee charged in addition to the cost of the routine procedure, be that neutering, grooming or teeth-cleaning.

Routine or wellness treatments are rarely included in pet insurance coverage. However, many insurance providers offer a wellness plan that allows policyholders to be reimbursed for these costs.

Again, pet parents will have to consider whether these additional wellness plans are worth the cost. Those with new puppies or kittens in their lives are often in and out of the vet for vaccinations and spaying, so it could prove to be a sensible investment.

By contrast, adult pets — particularly those of a low-maintenance breed — often require less in the way of routine care and it might be better to pay for eligible procedures as and when needed.