How Much Is Cat Insurance? Average Costs by Age and Plan

How much is cat insurance on average?

An accident-and-illness cat policy averages about $36 a month, or $435 a year, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) 2025 figures reported by NerdWallet. That is the industry-wide average premium actually paid, across all ages, breeds and plan choices.

NAPHIA breaks the average down by plan type:

Plan type	Average per year	Average per month
Accident-only	$112	$9
Accident and illness	$435	$36
Accident, illness and wellness	$859	$72

The year before, NAPHIA’s own 2024 release put the US cat accident-and-illness average at $386.47 a year, or $32.21 a month. That is a rise of roughly 13% in one year. For comparison, the 2024 dog average was $749.29 a year, about twice the cat figure. Cats made up 23.5% of insured US pets in 2024, against 75.6% for dogs. NAPHIA counts 7.6 million insured pets across North America at the end of 2025, up 8.5% in a year, so these averages rest on a large pool of real policies.

What do rate studies say a cat policy costs?

Rate studies, which pull fresh quotes for a fixed plan, land lower than NAPHIA, usually between $20 and $30 a month. The gap exists because NAPHIA averages what owners actually pay, including older cats and richer plans, while rate studies price a standard plan.

Source	Average cat price	Plan quoted
NAPHIA 2025 (via NerdWallet)	$36 a month	Average of all accident-and-illness policies
Forbes Advisor	$24 a month	$5,000 annual limit, $250 deductible, 80% reimbursement
Forbes Advisor	$37 a month	Unlimited annual limit, $250 deductible, 80%
Insurify	$23 a month	Mix of deductibles, rates and limits from 250,000+ quotes

Forbes Advisor analyzed 478,670 rates across 21 policies. Insurify’s figures come from more than 250,000 quotes and were updated May 31, 2026. Insurers’ own numbers sit in the same range: Lemonade says its cat customers pay around $27 a month, with policies starting at $10.

How much is cat insurance for a kitten, adult or senior cat?

Price stays flat through a cat’s young adult years and then climbs. Insurify’s quote data shows the jump clearly:

Age group	Insurify definition	Average per month
Kitten	Under 12 months	$21
Adult	12 months to 7 years	$22
Senior	Over 7 years	$62

NerdWallet priced the same cat at two ages with four insurers:

Insurer	2-year-old cat	8-year-old cat
AKC	$23	$51
Embrace	$19	$35
Lemonade	$14	$23
MetLife	$24	$47

In this sample, the 8-year-old cat costs between 1.6 and 2.2 times as much. These are single example quotes, not averages, and your ZIP code will change them. Our senior cats guide covers what older cats can still get covered.

What makes cat insurance cost more or less?

Five things set your price: your cat’s age, breed, where you live, the plan type and the three dials you choose. Insurers price on the same factors because vet care costs more in some states, and for some breeds, than others.

• Age. The biggest driver after about age 7, as the tables above show.
• Breed. Insurify found a Maine Coon averages $30 a month and a Ragdoll $26 with a $5,000 limit, against the $23 overall average.
• Location. Insurify’s state averages for cats run from $11 to $34 a month. Expect higher prices in costly metro areas, such as parts of California and New York.
• Plan type. Accident-only is about a quarter of the price of accident-and-illness in NAPHIA’s data, but it does not pay for illness. See our accident-only guide for what that trade means.
• Your three dials. The deductible, reimbursement rate and annual limit.

How deductible, reimbursement and limit change the price

Each of the three choices moves your premium. The deductible is what you pay each year before the insurer pays anything. The reimbursement rate is the share of each eligible bill the insurer returns, usually 70%, 80% or 90%. The annual limit is the most the policy pays in a year.

Choice	Lowers your premium	Raises your premium
Deductible	Higher, such as $500 or $1,000	Lower, such as $100
Reimbursement rate	70%	90%
Annual limit	$5,000 or less	Unlimited

Forbes Advisor’s data shows the limit effect for cats: $24 a month with a $5,000 limit versus $37 with no limit, a 54% difference with the deductible and rate held equal. Our deductible guide shows how the deductible choice plays out on real claims. A low limit keeps the premium down, but one large surgery plus follow-up care can use up a $5,000 limit in a single year.

What does a wellness add-on cost for a cat?

A wellness add-on is an optional package that pays set amounts for routine care like checkups, vaccines and dental cleanings. In NAPHIA’s averages, accident-and-illness plans with wellness cost $859 a year, almost double the $435 for accident and illness alone. Whether it pays off depends on whether the routine care it covers is worth more to you than the extra premium.

Also check how a plan treats exam fees, the charge for the vet’s time during a sick visit. NerdWallet’s reviews note that Healthy Paws and Trupanion do not pay exam fees for accidents or illnesses, while other insurers include them or sell them as an extra.

What does a common cat claim cost compared with the premium?

The receipt on this page prices an emergency visit for bladder stones, a common urinary problem in cats, at CareCredit’s national averages for cats. The exam, blood work, urine culture, X-rays, surgery and one night in the hospital total $3,448.

Item	You pay with no insurance	With $250 deductible, 80% reimbursement
ER visit and surgery	$3,448	About $890
Insurer pays	$0	About $2,558
One year of premium at $36 a month	$0	$432

On this one claim, a year of the average premium plus your share comes to about $1,322, against $3,448 without cover. If your cat stays healthy, you pay the premium and get nothing back. Exam fees may not be reimbursed on every plan, which would trim the payout slightly.

How to get an accurate cat insurance price

Averages tell you the range; only a quote tells you your price. Get quotes from at least three insurers using the same deductible, reimbursement rate and annual limit, so you compare like with like. Our pet insurance comparison guide shows how to line quotes up fairly.

Enroll while your cat is young and healthy if you can. Anything a vet notes before coverage starts, or during the waiting period before cover begins, becomes a pre-existing condition and is excluded. Our pre-existing conditions guide explains how insurers decide. Also expect the price to rise at renewal: Lemonade’s FAQ says premiums may increase each year as a pet ages.

Bottom line

Cat insurance costs about $36 a month on average for accident-and-illness cover, according to NAPHIA, with rate studies quoting $23 to $24 for a standard plan. Kittens and young adults pay around $20 a month, while cats over 7 often pay $50 or more. Age, breed, ZIP code and your deductible, reimbursement and limit choices set the final number. Compare quotes with identical settings, and enroll before any health problem lands in your cat’s records.