Nationwide is not comparable in coverage though. It was recently discussed in the pet insurance sticky here -- my recollection is that they were one that uses a "usual and customary fee" schedule for reimbursements -- that is absolutely no-go for me!
That kind of fine print in a policy means you'll probably never actually get back anywhere close to what real vets charge if you get a big bill. They can make up some amount that they'll reimburse that may have nothing to do with what vets in your area actually charge. It might be half or less -- I did a comparison of one of those reimbursement charts against discounted rescue rates for real bills, and it was horrifying. In some cases, the reimbursement rate was 25% of the real cost of a surgery -- and I'm in a low-cost area for vetting!
For me, I will only pay for a policy that reimburses ACTUAL costs, with no per-incident or per-illness limit on the amount that they'll pay -- HP and PP both do that. When my dog needed eye surgery, we went to the best regional specialty center we could find ($$$$) because we wanted the best chance at a good outcome, 24-hour care with a vet onsite at all hours during recovery, and well-regarded specialist with access to all the technology necessary to support a very delicate surgery inside the eye globe. That means the bill was very, very high because we chose a "Cadillac" facility over a "Chevy." But it's what I wanted for my dog!
HP reimbursed "Cadillac" rates -- and the follow up cancer immunotherapy that's brand-new in dogs. They paid 90% of about over $8 grand for ONE illness -- and we're still not done. That was after paying $2 grand for tooth surgery in the same policy year! We'd have been up a stink-creek without a paddle with insurance that had per-illness caps OR that had a "reasonable and customary" reimbursement schedule.
The bottom line is that wellness is relatively cheap, compared to illness and injury. Most of us can handle a couple hundred bucks a year for that. It's the big stuff -- ACL tears, ortho surgery, eye surgery, cancer, etc. that cost several thousand dollars that you're insuring against. My strong advice is not to pick coverage based on wellness coverage but instead look for coverage that pays actual charges, with a lack of exclusions for genetic/hereditary conditions (which are common in this breed), and lack of caps on the big stuff. Reviews of people's happiness with any insurance company honestly should be taken with a grain of salt until they've submitted several grand worth of major claims and had them paid out -- that's where the rubber meets the road with pet insurance coverage. When these companies quickly and easily pay out multi-thousand dollar claims, that's when you learn that you've really got good coverage.
