CostByBreedCheap pet insurance is a settings choice before it is a brand choice. The deductible and the reimbursement share move your premium and your claim in opposite directions, and both are printed here on the same bill so the trade is visible.
The national average premium
| Coverage | National average |
|---|---|
| Accident and illness, average for a dog | $836 a year |
| The same average as a monthly figure | $836 divided by 12 is $69.67 a month |
| Accident only, average for a dog | $190 a year |
These are averages across every breed and age in the country, from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, State of the Industry Report, 2026 edition, reporting 2025 data. They are printed for scale. No source publishes an average premium for one breed, and this site does not present this figure as a price for any single dog.
One bill, three ways to set the policy
| Setup | Terms | Policy pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| A low deductible plan | $250 deductible, 90 percent back | $1,575.00 | $425.00 |
| A middle plan | $500 deductible, 80 percent back | $1,200.00 | $800.00 |
| A high deductible plan | $1,000 deductible, 70 percent back | $700.00 | $1,300.00 |
The bill is $2,000 in each row. A higher deductible lowers the premium and raises what a claim costs you. A lower reimbursement share does the same. Neither setting changes what the policy covers, only how the bill is split.
What actually lowers the price
Accident only coverage is the deepest cut, at a national average of $190 a year for a dog, and it drops illness entirely. A higher deductible keeps full coverage and cuts the premium. Enrolling young avoids pre-existing exclusions, which no setting can undo later. Chasing the lowest headline premium without reading the waiting periods is how a cheap policy becomes an expensive surprise.
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