The Good
Nationwide as a whole has an A rating from the BBB and plenty of years of business experience. Here are a few highlights of their pet insurance provisions:
- Vet Selection: With a plan from Nationwide, you can still see the veterinarian you did before; their plans cover any vet in the world, including specialists. It’s nice to know you can get a new plan without changing vets.
- Covered Animals: A lot of pet insurers cover dogs and cats. Nationwide does too, but they also cover what they term “exotic animals.” To name just a few, you can get insurance for a bird, hamster, lizard, guinea pig, rat, snake, turtle, chinchilla, gerbil, and so much more—many of the small pets that are common.
- Tiered Plans: Nationwide offers three main plans for pet insurance, each with increasing coverage. Their Pet Wellness plan covers mainly wellness treatments, such as preventative measures, microchips, vaccines, and deworming. The Major Medical plan covers accidents and illnesses. And the Whole Pet with Wellness plan covers both.
- 24/7 Vet Helpline: Even though Nationwide doesn’t offer 24/7 customer service, they do have a 24/7 pet helpline! This is an amazing feature for customers and provides a peace of mind that you can’t put a price on.
The Bad
Despite its many perks, Nationwide has a few downsides. While these aren’t major flaws, they may deter some customers from finding these plans very useful:
- Claims Reimbursement: It can take Nationwide up to 30 days to process a claim you file, which is on the longer end for a processing period. Furthermore, when you get reimbursed for an expense, you’ll receive it via a check in the mail rather than a faster direct deposit.
- Enrollment Age: If your pet is already enrolled with Nationwide, then coverage will never be removed from him or her unless you cancel it. If, however, you want to enroll your pet for the first time, you can only do so if your pet is under age 10. Pets older than 10 years old cannot qualify for Nationwide’s plans, and this is a comparatively low age for enrollment eligibility.
- No Pet-specific App: Nationwide as a whole has a mobile app available for customers to file claims, get insurance card information, and more, but this app isn’t really meant for pet insurance customers; it’s prime for auto coverage and other types. That said, there is no app provided by them that addresses pet-specific needs.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, the weaknesses for Nationwide pet insurance are fairly low-impact and don’t affect most customer needs. If your pet is over 10 years old, for example, then Nationwide obviously will not work for you. For most other customers, however, this company is a great option for pet insurance. They are backed by an overall insurance provider that has a great reputation and a positive customer mindset. What’s more is that their customer resources and flexible plans set the company apart from its competitors. The fact that they cover exotic animals and more than just cats and dogs is a major bonus that opens up their customers base a lot as well. Overall, Nationwide has done a great job of making their products flexible and designed to satisfy the customer.
