Looking at pet insurance in Minnesota? The most reliable price benchmark is the national one. In 2025, the average accident and illness plan cost $836 a year for a dog (about $70 a month) and $435 a year for a cat (about $36 a month), according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Those are U.S. averages. NAPHIA’s report doesn’t give prices by state.
Minnesota has its own story around those numbers, though. Its vets earn more than the national average, it has more vets for its size than the country as a whole, and the state Commerce Department publishes a detailed pet insurance checklist. Here’s all of it.
How much is pet insurance in Minnesota?
Here’s what the average U.S. pet owner paid in 2025 for each of the three main kinds of plan. Read these as national averages. Your Minnesota quote could come in above or below them.
| Plan type | Dogs, per year | Cats, per year |
|---|---|---|
| Accident only | $190 | $112 |
| Accident and illness | $836 (about $70 a month) | $435 (about $36 a month) |
| Accident and illness with wellness | $1,414 | $859 |
Prices are going up quickly. The average accident and illness premium rose 11.5% for dogs and 12.6% for cats in 2025.
NAPHIA’s state table adds one Minnesota clue. Minnesota made up 1.4% of the pets insured by NAPHIA’s members in 2025 and 1.2% of the premium they wrote. Since its share of premium is smaller than its share of pets, Minnesota owners paid less per insured pet, on average, than owners nationwide. That might reflect cheaper plans, lower prices or both, so treat it as a hint and still get quotes.
Your own price depends on your pet’s species, breed, age and sex, where you live, and the coverage and deductible you choose. Our guide to how much pet insurance costs breaks down each factor.
What vet care looks like in Minnesota
Pet insurance pays vet bills, so the local vet market matters. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted about 2,140 veterinarians working in Minnesota in May 2025, its latest estimate.
| May 2025 | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Veterinarians employed | 2,140 | 83,900 |
| Average (mean) yearly pay | $146,230 | $142,680 |
| Median yearly pay | $133,110 | $130,100 |
Minnesota vets earn a little more than vets nationally, about $3,500 more on average and about $3,000 more at the median. Pay is a rough signal of local vet costs, since wages are built into every bill. It doesn’t give you the price of an exam or a surgery, so don’t read it as one.
Minnesota also has plenty of vets for its size. BLS puts Minnesota’s location quotient for vets at 1.34, which means vets make up a 34% bigger share of Minnesota jobs than they do nationally.
How many Minnesota pets are insured?
Pet insurance is still uncommon everywhere. Only 4.27% of the 163.6 million dogs and cats in the U.S. were insured in 2025, according to NAPHIA. Dogs were much more likely to be covered (5.99%) than cats (2.29%).
Minnesota held 1.4% of the pets insured by NAPHIA’s members that year. The top state, California, held 18.1%.
What Minnesota’s Commerce Department says to check
The Minnesota Department of Commerce regulates insurance in the state, and its pet insurance page is a solid checklist. These are the points we’d pull out.
Pre-existing conditions come first. Hereditary conditions and certain medical conditions count as pre-existing. The department suggests checking whether a condition is treated as curable (stable or controlled) or incurable. Curable ones may come with a waiting period before coverage kicks in, while incurable conditions such as diabetes or cancer may be excluded entirely or covered on a limited basis. A vet may also have to examine your pet before it can be insured.
Renewals can shrink your coverage. If your pet is treated for a covered condition during the policy term, some companies treat it as pre-existing when the policy renews and exclude it from then on.
Payment and vets vary by company. Often you’ll pay the full bill at the visit and then get reimbursed for the covered amount, though some companies pay the vet. Some policies require you to use a specific network of vets, so check that your vet is in it if you don’t want to switch.
The department also lists questions to ask an agent or insurer. A few of the most useful: Can I choose any vet? Is there a waiting period before coverage becomes effective? Does my pet need a health exam to get the policy? If my pet has a pre-existing or chronic condition, how is that covered or excluded? How long do you take to pay claims?
Two more things from the same page. Pet life insurance is a separate product that covers end-of-life costs such as burial or cremation. And some auto policies include pet injury coverage for a pet hurt in a car accident, up to a set limit, so it’s worth asking your auto insurer.
Before you pay for anything, the department says to confirm that the agent and company are licensed in Minnesota. You can find its full guidance on the Minnesota Department of Commerce pet insurance page.
What pet insurance covers, and what it usually leaves out
Accident-only plans pay for injuries, like a torn ligament, a broken bone or a swallowed toy. They’re the cheapest kind because they skip illness. Accident and illness plans add sicknesses, from ear infections to cancer. Wellness add-ons help pay for routine care like checkups and vaccines, and as the table shows, they raise the premium a lot.
The conditions insurers pay for most often are everyday ones. Across North America in 2025, NAPHIA’s members paid dog claims most often for stomach and digestive problems, ear infections and skin conditions. For cats, the top three were stomach and digestive problems, dental disease and urinary tract infections.
On the exclusions side, the Commerce Department notes that some plans skip preventive care, dental care not tied to an accident or injury, behavior problems, breed-specific hereditary conditions and elective procedures. Congenital conditions, the ones a pet is born with, may only get a limited benefit.
How to find the best pet insurance in Minnesota
The best plan is the one that covers the vet bills you’d struggle to pay, at a premium you can keep paying for years. Compare the same coverage across a few insurers so the quotes line up.
Three settings you control move the price. The deductible is what you pay before the plan pays anything, and a higher deductible lowers your premium. The reimbursement rate is the share of a covered bill the plan pays back, and a lower rate means a lower premium. The annual limit caps what the plan pays in a year. A lower cap costs less, but one serious illness can burn through it.
Timing helps too. Sign up while your pet is young and healthy, and there’s less history for an insurer to exclude as pre-existing.
When you’re ready, compare pet insurance quotes for your pet and ZIP code. For more on plans and costs, visit our pet insurance hub. Near a state line? We also cover pet insurance in Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Frequently asked questions
How much is pet insurance in Minnesota?
NAPHIA doesn’t publish Minnesota prices, so the national average is the best benchmark. In 2025, accident and illness plans averaged $836 a year for dogs (about $70 a month) and $435 a year for cats (about $36 a month) across the U.S. Minnesota owners paid less premium per insured pet than the national average, based on NAPHIA’s state data, but your quote depends on your pet, your ZIP code and the coverage you choose.
Are vet bills higher in Minnesota?
Minnesota vets earn a little more than the national average, which is one rough signal of local vet costs. BLS put their average pay at $146,230 in May 2025, against $142,680 nationally. That’s pay, so use it as context and look at real quotes for prices.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions in Minnesota?
It depends on the condition and the policy. The Minnesota Department of Commerce says curable pre-existing conditions may come with a waiting period, and incurable ones like diabetes or cancer may be excluded entirely or covered on a limited basis. Read how a policy defines pre-existing before you buy.
Can I use any vet with pet insurance in Minnesota?
It depends on the policy. The Commerce Department says some pet insurance policies require you to use a specific network of vets, so ask before you buy.
Who regulates pet insurance in Minnesota?
The Minnesota Department of Commerce. Its pet insurance page explains what to compare, and the department says to confirm that an agent and company are licensed in Minnesota before you buy.
Sources
- North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), State of the Industry Report 2026, published June 2026 and covering the 2025 calendar year. U.S. average annual premiums (Section 4), the full table of insured pets and premium by state, including Minnesota (Section 5), most common conditions claimed in North America (Section 6), and the U.S. pet population and penetration rate, which NAPHIA takes from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s 2025 Pet Owner Survey.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Veterinarians (29-1131), May 2025 estimates. Minnesota and U.S. employment, mean and median annual wages, and Minnesota’s location quotient.
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, Pet Insurance, consumer guidance on coverage, pre-existing conditions, renewals, exclusions, reimbursement, vet networks and questions to ask.
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Pet insurance, consumer topic page last updated April 2025, for the factors that set a pet’s premium.
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