Not sure about the best pet insurance for you? Here’s an overview of popular providers, with a special focus on coverage, flexibility, and plan options.
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TL;DR: Incredibly comprehensive coverage and top-notch plan flexibility, no routine and preventive care.
We offer the most comprehensive coverage there is, with things like comprehensive dental, breed-specific conditions, and holistic care all standard in our plan. No confusing choices to make — everything is included by default. (How comprehensive is “comprehensive”? Even supplements are covered as long as your vet recommends them for a covered condition.)
Exam fees are included, and you can visit any licensed vet in the U.S. or Canada, including specialists and emergency clinics. Plus, we provide good flexibility with your reimbursement rate, annual limit, and deductible.
Because we only have the one comprehensive plan, your monthly premium might be higher than it would be elsewhere. We don’t have a cheaper coverage option for accidents and illnesses only, and we don’t cover routine and preventive care.
Our one plan includes what other providers charge extra for or don’t cover at all, from chronic and hereditary conditions to acupuncture and hydrotherapy. Here’s what we cover:
Injuries & illnesses
Diagnostic tests
Veterinary exam fees
Virtual vet visits
Comprehensive dental
Breed-specific conditions
Cancer treatment
Surgery & rehabilitation
Holistic care
Emergency & specialist vets
Behavioral therapy
Chiropractic care
Want more info on Petplan? Read up on our dog insurance and cat insurance.
TL;DR: Affordable premiums, but not the best coverage and not available everywhere.
Lemonade’s monthly premiums are very affordable, and you have plenty of options for customizing your coverage. Their site and app are easy to use, and their policy documents are easy to read — no jargon-filled fine print, just terms laid out in plain English. Plus, they let you save on pet insurance by bundling it with other types of coverage.
Lemonade doesn’t specialize in pet insurance, and their plans are missing coverage for some very common services. Plus, only certain plans cover sick visit exam fees and alternative therapies like chiropractic care. They don’t advertise a specific maximum enrollment age, but certain breeds (particularly large dogs) may be denied if they’re too old at signup.
One more thing on Lemonade pet insurance: It’s only available in 32 states. So if you move to a place where they don’t do business, your policy could be cancelled — and when you enroll with a new provider, anything your pet has been treated for previously will be considered a pre-existing condition.
No upper age limits
Enrollment fee
$0
$25
Curable exclusionary period
12 months
Undefined
Sick visit exam fees
Costs extra
Comprehensive dental
Alternative & homeopathic therapies
Live chat available
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Lemonade pet insurance
TL;DR: Free medical history review and accident-only coverage available, but dental is capped at $1,000 per year and wellness benefits are limited.
Embrace covers most types of care, and their plans include a free medical history review: After you sign up, they’ll review your pets records and notify you of any pre-existing conditions that won’t be covered. You then have the option to cancel within 30 days for a full refund. They offer multiple discounts, and if you’re looking for a cheaper policy with basic coverage for emergencies, they have accident-only coverage available.
Embrace charges monthly installment fees if you don’t pay for your policy up front. They don’t have any zero-deductible options available, which means you’ll have no choice but to pay out of pocket for veterinary care before your coverage kicks in. They don’t offer an unlimited annual plan. Plus, their wellness benefits are limited: Coverage is only available through an expensive option that caps out at $650 in reimbursement per year.
Age limits
6 weeks and up
8 weeks - 15 years
Enrollment fee
$0
$25
Curable exclusionary period
12 months
Undefined
Online vet visits
Limited
Comprehensive dental
Alternative & homeopathic therapies
Up to 12 weeks
Live chat available
Dedicated app
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Embrace pet insurance
TL;DR: Pays your vet directly, but limited plan flexibility and a per-condition deductible.
Unlike most pet insurance providers, Trupanion pays your vet bill directly rather than paying you back later on. None of their plans have annual coverage limits, and they automatically include a 90% reimbursement rate for covered treatments. Plus, while most pet insurers raise your monthly premium every year, Trupanion doesn’t raise your policy price as your pet gets older.
No annual limits and a fixed 90% reimbursement rate may sound great, but it’s a bit of a double-edged sword — the lack of flexibility means you don’t have many options for making your monthly premium lower. (Choosing a low deductible, in fact, will make your premium way higher than it would be with competitors.) Trupanion doesn’t offer discounts for things like enrolling multiple pets, and they don’t have add-ons for wellness or preventive care, either.
No upper age limits
Illness waiting period
15 Days
30 Days
Enrollment fee
$0
$35
Curable exclusionary period
12 months
Undefined
Sick visit exam fees
Online vet visits
Comprehensive dental
Alternative & homeopathic therapies
Costs extra
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Trupanion pet insurance
TL;DR: Wide-ranging coverage, but limited plan flexibility and complicated reimbursement structure.
Nationwide offers comprehensive benefit options, with coverage for nearly every type of veterinary treatment you can imagine. Plus, they cover most family pets, not just dogs and cats: birds, reptiles, small mammals, and some exotic pets are included, too.
Nationwide doesn’t offer many ways to customize your plan and lower your monthly premium. (There’s not much flexibility in terms of deductible and benefit options.) Their coverage is heavily dependent on riders. Plus, their reimbursement structure is pretty complicated: Most policies include different amounts of coverage for each treatment, instead of simply reimbursing a certain percentage of all covered services.
Sick visit exam fees
Costs extra
Comprehensive dental
Costs extra
Alternative & homeopathic therapies
Costs extra
Live chat available
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Nationwide pet insurance
TL;DR: Unlimited annual benefits, but very limited plan flexibility with no coverage for exam fees or dental.
Healthy Paws offers unlimited annual benefits with a quick and easy claims process. They have an online quote tool that automatically compares their rates with competitors and tells you if they think you’d be better off with another provider.
Options to customize your plan are limited, which makes it hard to lower your monthly premium as your pet ages or if you’re having financial difficulties. Exam fees aren’t covered, which is almost like having an extra deductible every time you make a sick visit, and they have limited coverage level options: The annual limit can’t be customized at all.
Plus, dental disease isn’t covered — but it’s the single most common disease in dogs and cats, and it can be very painful (and cost a lot to treat).
No upper age limits
Enrollment fee
$0
$25
Curable exclusionary period
12 months
Undefined
Sick visit exam fees
Online vet visits
Comprehensive dental
Live chat available
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Healthy Paws pet insurance
TL;DR: Good coverage with routine and preventive care add-ons, but no comprehensive dental.
Pumpkin covers dogs and cats with no breed restrictions or upper age limits. They offer a discount for multiple pets, and they have two different routine and preventive care add-ons to choose from.
Pumpkin has fixed annual policy limits with no choice of reimbursement rate, which limits your flexibility in terms of monthly cost. Plus, they don’t offer comprehensive dental coverage — but tooth and gum disease is the single most common disease in dogs and cats, and it can be both incredibly painful and very expensive to treat.
Age limits
6 weeks and up
8 weeks and up
Enrollment fee
$0
$15
Illness waiting period
12 months
180 days
Comprehensive dental
Live chat available
Dedicated app
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Pumpkin pet insurance
TL;DR: Very low premiums and pays your vet directly, but complicated plan structure and can get expensive as your pet gets older.
Pets Best offers very low premiums (policies can be purchased for less than $10 per month for most younger pets), and they pay your vet directly, rather than reimbursing you later on. They have several discounts available. Plus, they offer flat-rate accident-only and wellness plans.
Pets Best has a pretty complicated accident and illness plan structure, with three different plans covering different types of treatment. And they only have two annual limit options for accident and illness policies ($5,000 or unlimited), which makes it harder to keep your plan affordable while maintaining great coverage over the years.
Age limits
6 weeks and up
8 weeks and up
Enrollment fee
$0
$25
Curable exclusionary period
12 months
Undefined
Sick visit exam fees
Costs extra
Online vet visits
Limited
Comprehensive dental
Alternative & homeopathic therapies
Costs extra
Live chat available
Information last updated May 2021.
Want to learn more? Compare Petplan vs. Pets Best pet insurance
One in three pets will need unexpected care each year — and the bills add up fast. Protect your pet with the most comprehensive pet insurance there is.*
Get your priceVisit any licensed vet in the U.S. or Canada
Covers up to 90% of unexpected vet bills
No signup fees, no add-ons
Not all pet insurance plans are created equal. If a condition or treatment isn’t covered, you won’t be able to file a claim and get paid back for it — which means you could run into some serious costs. Take a close look at what’s included in each plan for a given provider, plus factors like upper age limits and exclusions for hereditary conditions.
Flexibility is key, because you want a plan that works for you. For example, a low monthly premium could be a good thing (because your pet is young and you don’t expect to use much coverage) or a not-so-good thing (because it comes with a high deductible, which means you’ll have to pay more out of pocket before your coverage kicks in).
Every plan is different, and every pet parent is, too. Some people only want protection in case of accidents and illnesses — the stuff you can’t see coming, those middle-of-the-night emergencies — while others also want coverage for things like chronic conditions. Make sure that what you’re paying for actually makes sense for you.
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