How we estimate

The price model

Each breed has a baseline: an estimated monthly premium for a 2-year-old dog with 80% reimbursement and a $250 deductible, at the US national average. The baseline is BreedSure's own estimate, set from comparable breeds by size and by how expensive the conditions the breed is known for are to treat. It is not a quote from any insurer.

Breeds added since October 2026 use the same model written as a formula, fitted to the existing purebred baselines: a starting amount for the breed's size (toy $33.09, small $38.72, medium $43.08, large $45.99, giant $64.37 a month), plus $1.088 for every $1,000 of typical treatment cost of its linked conditions, counting a "very common" condition in full, a "common" one at 60% and an "occasional" one at 25%. Size comes from the middle of the breed's weight range in its cited source: under 12 lb toy, under 30 lb small, under 55 lb medium, under 90 lb large, and giant above that. These breeds are only published with at least three cited conditions and a cited weight and lifespan.

From the baseline we show a range, from about 22% below to 30% above the result, because real quotes for similar dogs vary widely.

Our study The most and least expensive dog breeds to insure in 2026 ranks every breed by this model.

Adjustments

The baseline is multiplied by these factors, taken directly from our price model:

• Age: under 1 year −10%; 1 to 3 years baseline; 4 to 6 +20%; 7 to 9 +60%; 10 to 12 +120%; 13 and older +180%.
• Reimbursement: 70% −12%; 80% baseline; 90% +15%.
• Deductible: $100 +20%; $250 baseline; $500 −15%; $1,000 −30%.

State prices

A state's estimates scale the national baseline by that state's average monthly dog insurance premium divided by the national average ($61 a month), from MoneyGeek's per-state "Average Dog Insurance Cost" pages. Texas is the one exception: MoneyGeek's own Texas page says its average is 4% below the national dog average, so we use that stated figure rather than a ratio that would contradict it.

We only price a state when MoneyGeek publishes a current per-state dog figure for it. Other states show the national average and are marked as such.

State facts (a state's pet insurance law, its insurance regulator, a vet-visit cost) each link to their own source on the page where they appear.

Insurer figures

Plan details (reimbursement options, deductibles, annual limits, waiting periods, exam fees, underwriters) are summarized from each insurer's public information and were last checked in Sep 2026. Insurer-specific estimates apply a relative price factor to the breed's estimate so insurers can be compared; they are not the insurer's own price. Lists are always ordered by estimated price, never by commission. How we make money.

Our comparison guides (exam fees, deductibles, waiting periods and others) go further: every cell comes from the insurer's own sample policy, terms or official FAQ, with the page linked as a numbered source. Where an insurer doesn't publish the answer, the cell says "Not stated publicly". Trupanion's website refuses automated requests, so we can't check its documents yet and show "Not verified yet" instead.

Conditions and vet costs

Each breed page lists up to five conditions the breed is known to be at risk for, compiled by BreedSure from breed health information such as breed club health statements, recommended screening tests and veterinary studies. The labels "very common", "common" and "occasional" are our own judgment of how often the condition affects the breed, not a measured rate.

Treatment costs are a typical US cost range for one episode of care, before insurance. Where a cost is cited, the range is the one its source states (an insurer's published cost data, a university veterinary hospital or a peer-reviewed study); the few still uncited are BreedSure's estimate. Real bills vary with the severity of the case, the clinic and the region.

Most breed and condition links now cite a source: a breed club health statement or its health-testing requirements, a peer-reviewed study, a veterinary school, the Merck Veterinary Manual or VCA Animal Hospitals. Where a breed club only requires a screening test (for example a hip or eye evaluation), the citation says so rather than claiming a measured risk. When a credible source contradicts a link, we remove it. We keep adding sources to the rest; where one is shown, a number like [1] links to it. New breeds and new guides are only published once their health and cost figures have a source.

Sources we use

Health and cost figures are cited where they appear: a number like [1] next to a figure points to the Sources list at the foot of the page. We accept these sources, in this order of preference:

• Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) breed statistics
• UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
• AKC parent breed clubs' health surveys and health statements
• Peer-reviewed studies, such as VetCompass and the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• For treatment costs: university veterinary hospitals and insurers publishing their own claims data
• For insurer plan terms: the insurer's own sample policy, policy terms or official FAQ
• For premiums and the law: the NAPHIA State of the Industry report, the NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act and state statutes

Every cited page is opened and checked before it is published, and re-checked automatically every week: if a page stops loading or no longer says what we cite, the check fails and we replace or remove the citation.

How often we update

• Every estimate is rebuilt on the first day of each month.
• Insurer plan details are re-checked periodically; the date of the last check is shown under every plan table.
• Pages show the month their estimates were last updated.

Limits of the model

• Estimates are not quotes. Your price depends on your dog, your ZIP code, the plan you choose and each insurer's underwriting.
• The model does not know your dog's health history. Pre-existing conditions are generally excluded, whatever the estimate says.
• No veterinarian has reviewed this content. It is general information, not veterinary or insurance advice.

Found an error? Tell us at hello@breedsure.com and we will review it.