If you’re shopping for pet insurance in New York, you’ve got plenty of company. New York has more insured pets than any state except California, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). The most reliable price benchmark is still a 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). NAPHIA doesn’t publish prices by state.
What’s specific to New York is below: how New York owners compare on premium, what New York vets earn, and where the state’s long-running pet insurance bill stands.
How much is pet insurance in New York?
Here’s what the average U.S. pet owner paid in 2025 for each of the three main kinds of plan. Treat these as national averages. Your New York quote could come in higher or lower.
| 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 |
Those averages are climbing. The average accident and illness premium went up 11.5% for dogs and 12.6% for cats in 2025.
NAPHIA’s state table gives a New York clue, and it points toward higher spending. New York held 7.4% of the pets insured by NAPHIA’s members in 2025 but 8.1% of the premium they wrote. A bigger share of premium than of pets means New York owners paid more per insured pet, on average, than owners nationwide. That could come from pricier coverage, higher prices or both, so it’s a hint rather than a quote.
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 walks through each factor.
What vet care looks like in New York
Pet insurance pays vet bills, so the local vet market matters. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted about 3,390 veterinarians working in New York in May 2025, its latest estimate.
| May 2025 | New York | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Veterinarians employed | 3,390 | 83,900 |
| Average (mean) yearly pay | $151,530 | $142,680 |
| Median yearly pay | $131,830 | $130,100 |
New York vets earn more than vets nationally, about $8,850 more on average, though the median is only about $1,700 higher. Pay is a rough signal of local vet costs, since wages are built into every bill. It won’t tell you what an exam or a surgery costs, so don’t read it as a price.
For the size of its workforce, New York has fewer vets than the country overall. BLS puts New York’s location quotient for vets at 0.65, which means vets make up a 35% smaller share of New York jobs than they do nationally.
How many New York pets are insured?
Pet insurance is still uncommon nationwide. Only 4.27% of the 163.6 million dogs and cats in the U.S. were insured in 2025, according to NAPHIA. Dogs were far more likely to be covered (5.99%) than cats (2.29%).
Within that small market, New York is a big player. It held 7.4% of the pets insured by NAPHIA’s members in 2025, second only to California at 18.1%.
Where New York’s pet insurance bill stands
New York lawmakers have spent three years trying to write specific pet insurance rules into state law.
The first two tries passed both houses and were vetoed by the governor. Assembly Bill 8276 passed in June 2024 and was vetoed on November 22, 2024. Assembly Bill 1433-A passed in June 2025 and was vetoed on October 16, 2025.
The third version, Assembly Bill 11164 (its Senate twin is S10225), passed the Assembly on May 28, 2026 and the Senate, 61 to 0, on June 2, 2026. As of September 22, 2026, the Assembly’s official bill history ends with that Senate vote. It shows no delivery to the governor and no signature. If it’s signed, it takes effect 180 days later and applies to policies issued, renewed or changed from then on.
Here’s what the 2026 bill would do for you. Waiting periods for accidents would be banned, and waiting periods for illnesses and orthopedic conditions couldn’t run past 30 days. An insurer using a waiting period would have to let you waive it with a vet exam, which you’d pay for unless the policy says the insurer will. If an insurer denied a claim as pre-existing, it would carry the burden of proving the exclusion applies. A condition the policy already covered couldn’t be called pre-existing at renewal, and insurers couldn’t require a vet exam just to renew.
You’d also get 30 days to look over a new policy and return it for a full refund, as long as you haven’t filed a claim. Insurers would have to give you a separate summary called the Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions, in at least 12-point type, and say up front whether they raise premiums or cut coverage based on your claims, your pet’s age or a move. Wellness programs couldn’t be marketed as pet insurance, and you couldn’t be required to buy one to get coverage.
For now, check each of those points in a policy’s fine print yourself. If you run into trouble with an insurer, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) takes complaints about insurance companies through its online complaint page.
What pet insurance covers, and what it usually leaves out
Accident-only plans pay for injuries, like a bite wound, 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. In cats, the top three were stomach and digestive problems, dental disease and urinary tract infections.
On exclusions, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says most pet insurers exclude pre-existing conditions and hereditary or congenital conditions. Some won’t accept pets past a certain age, and many have waiting periods before benefits begin. Most policies pay on a reimbursement basis, so plan on paying the vet first and getting money back after.
How to find the best pet insurance in New York
The best plan is the one that covers the bills you’d struggle to pay, at a premium you can keep paying. 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 New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Frequently asked questions
How much is pet insurance in New York?
NAPHIA doesn’t publish New York prices, so start with the national average. 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. New York owners paid more premium per insured pet than the national average, based on NAPHIA’s state data, so a New York quote may come in higher. Your pet, your ZIP code and your coverage choices decide the actual price.
Is pet insurance more expensive in New York?
The signs point that way. New York owners paid more premium per insured pet than the national average in 2025, and New York vets earn more on average than vets nationally. Neither one is a price for your pet, so get quotes to know for sure.
Is there a pet insurance law in New York?
Lawmakers passed pet insurance bills in 2024 and 2025, and the governor vetoed both. A third bill, A11164, passed both houses in May and June 2026. As of September 22, 2026, the Assembly’s record shows no signature. If it becomes law, it would ban waiting periods for accidents, cap illness waiting periods at 30 days and add a 30-day free look.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions in New York?
Usually not. The NAIC says most pet insurers exclude pre-existing conditions. New York’s 2026 bill would require an insurer to prove a pre-existing exclusion applies before denying a claim on that basis, but it hasn’t been signed. Read how a policy defines pre-existing before you buy.
Where can I complain about a pet insurance company in New York?
The New York State Department of Financial Services takes complaints about insurance companies through its online complaint page.
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), insured pets and premium by state, including New York’s 7.4% of insured pets and 8.1% of premium (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. New York and U.S. employment, mean and median annual wages, and New York’s location quotient.
- New York State Assembly, bill records for A11164 (2026), including the bill text, A1433-A (2025) and A8276 (2024), checked September 22, 2026.
- New York State Senate, A11164 bill page, for the June 2, 2026 Senate vote.
- New York State Department of Financial Services, file a complaint.
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Pet insurance, consumer topic page last updated April 2025.
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