Best Pet Insurance in South Carolina (2025)
Pets Best, AKC, and Spot are a few of the best pet insurance companies in South Carolina, providing affordable premiums with excellent coverage.
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As a pet owner in South Carolina, you want to provide your furry friend with the best possible medical care while also prioritizing your financial health. Pet insurance can save you thousands of dollars on your pet’s injuries or illnesses.
South Carolina pet owners pay an average of $30 per month for cat pet insurance and $59 for dog pet insurance. But your costs may vary depending on your pet’s characteristics and the type of policy you choose.
Here’s what you need to know about pet insurance in South Carolina.
Best pet insurance companies in South Carolina
Many pet insurance companies operate in South Carolina, but we’ve narrowed the list down to a few of our favorites. The table below breaks down the best pet insurance companies in South Carolina, including average rates and key plan features.
Pets Best: Best overall value
Sample monthly quote for dogs: $20
Sample monthly quote for cats: $13
Plans available: Accident and illness, accident only, preventative care
Pets Best stands out as the best value for pet owners in South Carolina. It has among the lowest rates on the market without sacrificing coverage or quality.
It has flexible plan options — including both accident and illness and accident-only plans — with three different tiers of basic coverage and two tiers of preventative care. And while it has waiting periods for accidents, illnesses, and cruciate ligament conditions, it does cover curable pre-existing conditions.
AKC: Best for coverage add-ons
Sample monthly quote for dogs: $30
Sample monthly quote for cats: $20
Plans available: Accident and illness, preventative care
AKC Pet Insurance offers more coverage add-ons than any other company. In addition to its basic accident and illness plan, you can purchase add-ons for exam fees, hereditary conditions, breeding and pregnancy complications, end-of-life emotional support for owners, and two tiers of preventative care.
There’s coverage for pre-existing conditions, but only after a one-year waiting period. Waiting periods also apply for injuries, illnesses, cruciate ligament conditions, and intervertebral disc diseases.
Spot: Best customer reviews
Sample monthly quote for dogs: $32
Sample monthly quote for cats: $17
Plans available: Accident and illness, accident only, preventative care
Spot has the best customer reviews of any company Insurify looked at — it has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 with more than 6,700 total reviews on Trustpilot.
Spot has flexible plan options, including accident and illness or accident-only plans, and many annual limit options, including unlimited coverage. It offers two tiers of preventative care, while its accident and illness plan covers more expenses than other companies, including exam fees, dental illnesses, microchipping, and more.
To choose the best pet insurance companies in South Carolina, we first collected quotes from all of the top insurers. For each quote, we used a South Carolina address.
For the sample quotes for dogs, we used a profile of a 2-year-old mixed breed medium-sized male dog. For cats, we used a profile of a 2-year-old American shorthair female cat. Quotes for both species were for accident and illness coverage with 80% reimbursement, a $500 deductible, and $5,000 or more in annual coverage.
When narrowing down our list, we considered each company’s average premiums, coverage options, deductible options, discounts, pets covered, waiting periods, and customer reviews.
Cost of pet insurance in South Carolina
The average cost of pet insurance in South Carolina is $30 per month for cats and $59 for dogs. South Carolina’s average pet insurance premiums are considerably lower than the national average. Additionally, based on the quotes we received, getting a policy for far less can be possible, depending on your pet’s characteristics.
Why pet insurance is important if you live in South Carolina
Pet insurance can save you thousands of dollars on your pet’s healthcare, especially in accidents or illnesses.
The cost of veterinary care in an emergency can range from less than $100 for basic procedures to upward of $5,000 for emergency surgery.1 If your pet is diagnosed with a chronic illness, the cost of medication could be thousands or tens of thousands of dollars over its lifetime. Pet insurance can ensure you aren’t responsible for paying the full amount out of pocket.
Some common perils in South Carolina that pet insurance can help cover include:
Heat stroke: During the hot summer months, it’s very easy for pets to overheat. If your pet gets heat stroke and you need to bring it to the vet, pet insurance may help cover the costs.
Poisonous plants: Common plants in South Carolina are poisonous to pets, such as the sago palm, elephant ear, and hostas. If your pet ingests any of these plants, it’s important to bring it to the vet for proper treatment.
Ticks: Ticks are a common pet peril. They can cause serious illnesses, including Lyme disease, that require expensive care. Pet insurance can take some of the financial burden off your shoulders.
South Carolina pet regulations and laws
Several laws regulate pet ownership in South Carolina — some of which may affect your veterinary costs. First, South Carolina law requires that all dogs, cats, and ferrets have an up-to-date rabies vaccination. While no current laws on the books require microchipping or spay/neuter surgeries, groups are lobbying for such legislation in the state.
South Carolina also has strict pet liability laws. For example, if your dog attacks someone else, you’re legally responsible for their injuries. You’ll be responsible for paying their vet bills and, in some cases, could even face criminal repercussions.2
Other pet laws in South Carolina exist at the local level. For example, it’s common for local governments to implement leash laws, which require dogs to be on a leash any time you aren’t on your property.
Types of pet insurance coverage
Three types of coverage are common in pet health insurance. Some companies offer both accident and illness and accident-only plans, while others only offer accident and illness together. Additionally, not all companies offer wellness plans, and they’re generally an add-on to an accident and illness plan rather than stand-alone plans.
Accident and illness plans are more expensive than accident-only plans because they provide more coverage. Adding wellness coverage to your pet insurance plan will come at an additional cost.3
Accident and illness plan
An accident and illness plan is exactly what it sounds like — it covers your pet’s accidents and illnesses. It’s the most comprehensive coverage. These plans cover the diagnosis and treatment of nearly any condition, including orthopedic conditions and other injuries, as well as both chronic and acute illnesses.
Some plans explicitly exclude certain conditions or have longer waiting periods for certain types of health issues. For example, it’s common for insurers to have six-month waiting periods for ligament or orthopedic conditions.
Accident-only plan
Accident-only plans cover unexpected accidents and injuries for your pet but don’t cover illnesses. The plan will pay for everything from X-rays to diagnose the injury to surgeries and other treatments to help your pet recover.
These plans tend to be more affordable and can still save you a lot of money in the case of a major injury. But they also exclude many common medical conditions and don’t cover many expensive or lifelong conditions.
Wellness plan
A wellness plan covers your pet’s preventative care. These aren’t typically stand-alone plans. Instead, they’re available as add-ons to accident and illness or accident-only plans. Wellness plans generally pay for routine care, including wellness exams, vaccinations, flea and tick prevention, dental cleanings, and more.
Wellness plans generally have lower potential savings than accident and illness plans but can still save you some money, especially when your pet is a puppy and needs initial vaccinations.
How to find the best pet insurance in South Carolina
With many pet insurers on the market, it can be difficult to choose the best option. Here are a few steps to take to find the right policy for your furry friend:
South Carolina pet insurance FAQs
If you’re in the market for pet insurance in South Carolina, here are a few more things you might want to know.
How much is pet insurance in South Carolina?
The average pet insurance cost in South Carolina is $30 for cats and $59 for dogs. But your premiums may vary depending on your pet’s breed, age, previous health conditions, and other factors.
Is pet insurance more expensive in South Carolina?
No. Pet insurance isn’t more expensive in South Carolina. On the contrary, South Carolina has lower average pet insurance premiums than the national average.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions in South Carolina?
Pet insurance generally doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, but exceptions exist. For example, many policies cover curable pre-existing conditions once a certain amount of time has passed since your pet last needed treatment.
Which level of pet insurance is the best?
It depends. The best level of pet insurance for you varies on factors like your monthly budget for premiums and how much you can afford to pay out of pocket if your pet needs veterinary care.
Generally speaking, higher coverage limits come with higher premiums but can also save you more money in the long run. It may be helpful to consider your pet’s breed, common conditions for that breed, and the price tag of those conditions.
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