Pet insurance cost by state / Pacific
Published state averages · checked October 20, 2026
What does pet insurance cost in California?
Pawlicy Advisor's 2026 customer quotes put the median California premium at $54.55 a month across all pets, the 8th highest of 51 states and DC. Insurify's May 2026 medians are $49 for a dog and $25 for a cat, and Forbes Advisor's California average for a 3-year-old dog is $52 at a $5,000 annual limit.
- 1Pawlicy median, all pets $54.55/mo
- 2Insurify, dogs $49/mo
- 3Insurify, cats $25/mo
- 4Share of US insured pets 18.1%
Every published California figure
| Source | What it measures | Monthly | Dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawlicy Advisor | Median of customer quotes, all pets; middle half $37.65–$76.10 | $54.55 | October 15, 2026 |
| Insurify | Median of quotes, dogs | $49 | May 31, 2026 |
| Insurify | Median of quotes, cats | $25 | May 31, 2026 |
| Forbes Advisor | Average, dog aged 3, $250 deductible, 80%, $5,000 limit | $52 | October 1, 2026 |
| Forbes Advisor | Same dog, unlimited annual payout | $80 | October 1, 2026 |
The two large quote sets roughly agree on where California stands: Pawlicy ranks it 8th and Insurify's dog medians rank it 15th of 51. Pawlicy's all-pet median is 24% more than the median state ($43.97); Insurify's dog figure is 9% more than its median state ($45) and its cat figure 14% more than ($22). Forbes Advisor's $5,000-limit dog average is 21% more than the median of the 50 states it publishes ($43), and lifting the limit to unlimited adds 54% in California.
Dogs versus cats in California
A cat costs 51% of a dog's premium in Insurify's California figures ($25 against $49). Nationally, NAPHIA's 2025 averages are $69.67 a month for a dog and $36.25 for a cat on accident-and-illness cover, so California's Insurify dog median is 30% less than the national dog average. Accident-only plans are far cheaper: NAPHIA's 2025 averages work out to $15.83 a month for dogs and $9.33 for cats. Within the Pawlicy quotes for California, the middle half runs from $37.65 to $76.10, a band 70% as wide as the median, because age, breed and coverage choices spread prices within one state.
How many California pets are insured
NAPHIA's 2025 figures place 18.1% of all insured US pets in California (1st of 51) and 19.9% of the premium written. Its share of premium is larger than its share of pets, so the average California policy brings in more premium than the US average policy. Pet insurance is regulated by each state; the California insurance department is the free route for checking an insurer's licence or filing a complaint, reachable from the NAIC directory.
Premiums against a vet bill in California
Trupanion's published average claim for a torn cruciate ligament is $5,439. At California's Insurify dog median of $49 a month and a policy with a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement, the policy pays $4,151, the owner pays $1,288 of the bill plus $588 in premiums: $1,876 for the year against $5,439 uninsured. With no claim the premiums are simply spent. The break-even bill is $985 a year for a dog and $625 for a cat at the Insurify medians. Run other terms in the calculator or read deductible versus reimbursement.
Neighbouring states
Hawaii: $64.01 (Pawlicy), $50 dog and $27 cat (Insurify); Oregon: $48.78 (Pawlicy), $49 dog and $25 cat (Insurify); Washington: $37.40 (Pawlicy), $43 dog and $26 cat (Insurify); Alaska: $28.02 (Pawlicy), $66 dog and $30 cat (Insurify). Across all states Pawlicy's highest median is Hawaii ($64.01) and the lowest Alaska ($28.02).
No source publishes breed premiums for individual states, so breed pages show national figures: for example Pekingese, Bichon Frise, the mixed-breed dog and the mixed-breed cat.
Sources: Pawlicy Advisor (updated October 15, 2026), Insurify (Rates current as of May 31, 2026), Forbes Advisor (Audited and verified Oct 1, 2026), NAPHIA State of the Industry 2026, Trupanion claims examples. Last checked October 20, 2026. Method on the methodology page.