Did you know that one in three pets will need to visit the emergency vet in their lifetime? We hope your dog won’t be one of them, but if they should, having dog insurance could save you thousands of dollars.
With so many different providers and plans available, it’s hard to know which one’s best for you. To help you out, we’ve reviewed and compared some of the top names in the business. Keep reading for a full breakdown of Embrace vs Lemonade vs Pumpkin dog insurance, and if you’re looking for more ways to keep your dog safe, check out our list of the best pet trackers of 2024!
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Top Pick
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#2 Pick
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#3 Pick
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Pay for the health plan your pet really needs, and not what you don’t want. Plus, their hassle-free, digital claims resolution let you spend less time on paperwork and more time on belly scratches. |
Unexpected vet bills can be stressful, but with Embrace cat insurance and dog insurance you don’t have to choose between your pet and your savings. Over 90% of Embrace customers surveyed agreed that pet insurance extended their pet's life. |
Pumpkin Pet Insurance plans help you say ‘yes’ to the best veterinary care when your pet is sick or hurt and get up to 90% cash back on covered vet bills. |
Pay for the health plan your pet really needs, and not what you don’t want. Plus, their hassle-free, digital claims resolution let you spend less time on paperwork and more time on belly scratches.
Unexpected vet bills can be stressful, but with Embrace cat insurance and dog insurance you don’t have to choose between your pet and your savings. Over 90% of Embrace customers surveyed agreed that pet insurance extended their pet's life.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance plans help you say ‘yes’ to the best veterinary care when your pet is sick or hurt and get up to 90% cash back on covered vet bills.
What is Pet Insurance?
Pet insurance allows policyholders to pay providers a monthly fee in return for covering the cost of vet bills in the event of sickness or injury.
Different companies provide different levels of coverage, such as emergency and/or non-emergency care, and typically cover tests and treatments, but can include things like alternative therapies, initial care for new puppies, and even end-of-life care.
What’s Covered: Lemonade vs Pumpkin vs Embrace Dog Insurance
Let’s start with a quick breakdown of what’s covered and excluded by each provider. Then we’ll get into plans and pricing details. We’ll start with Embrace since they’re our top pick.
Lemonade (Top Pick)
Lemonade is one of America’s top-rated insurance service that can be used with any vet in the US & Canada. Founded by Daniel Schreiber (Powermat Technologies) and Shai Wininger (Fiverr) in 2015 and based in New York City, they provide all kinds of insurance, from car to home insurance.
It’s an award-winning service, which policyholders can navigate through their AI-powered app.
It’s worth noting that Lemonade is not currently available in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming.
Lemonade dog insurance covers:
- Cats & dogs
- Pre-existing & recurring conditions
- Hereditary & congenital conditions
- Bilateral conditions
- Behavioral conditions
- Emergencies & non-emergencies
- Sickness & injuries
- Initial puppy/kitten care (spaying, neutering, & microchipping)
- Routine annual examinations
- Diagnostics (bloodwork, MRIs, urinalysis & more)
- Treatments & prescription medications
- Surgeries & hospitalization
- Routine dental work
What’s excluded:
- Breeding, whelping, & pregnancy
Pay for the health plan your pet really needs, and not what you don’t want. Plus, their hassle-free, digital claims resolution let you spend less time on paperwork and more time on belly scratches.
Embrace
Embrace offers customized dog & cat insurance that can be used with any vet in the USA and accessed through their app or online. Founded in 2003 and based in Cleveland, Ohio, they offer accident-only or accident and illness coverage with a variety of supplementary wellness rewards for puppies/kittens, adults, and seniors.
Embrace dog insurance covers:
- Dogs & cats
- Accident-only or accident & illnesses
- Genetic, chronic & breed-specific conditions
- Emergency & specialty care
- Examinations & consultations
- Diagnostic tests
- Procedures & treatments
- Surgery & hospitalization
- Prescription medication
- Follow-up care including rehabilitation
- Dental issues
- Behavioral therapy
- Prosthetic limbs, devices, & mobility aids
What’s excluded:
- Pre-existing conditions
- Routine vet care
- Breeding, whelping, & pregnancy
- Injuries from fighting
- End-of-life care
Check out our detailed Embrace pet insurance review to learn more.
Unexpected vet bills can be stressful, but with Embrace cat insurance and dog insurance you don’t have to choose between your pet and your savings. Over 90% of Embrace customers surveyed agreed that pet insurance extended their pet's life.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin offers insurance policies & preventative care for dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies that are compatible with all US vets and can be accessed online. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in NY.
It’s owned by Zoetis, one of the biggest animal companies in the world, with an esteemed reputation among veterinarians.
Pumpkin dog insurance covers:
- Dogs & cats, puppies & kittens
- Hereditary & congenital conditions
- Bilateral conditions
- Behavioral conditions
- Accidents & emergencies including broken bones & swallowed objects
- Illnesses including skin infections, parasites & cancer
- Specialized & advanced care e.g. stem cell therapy
- Examinations & diagnostics
- Surgeries & hospitalizations
- Treatments including prescription food
- Prescription medications & supplements
- Dental treatments
- Microchipping
- Behavioral treatments & alternative therapies e.g. acupuncture
- Virtual vet visits
- End-of-life care (euthanasia, cremation, burial, etc)
What’s excluded:
- Pre-existing conditions
- Breeding, whelping, & pregnancy
- 24/7 helpline
Pumpkin Pet Insurance plans help you say ‘yes’ to the best veterinary care when your pet is sick or hurt and get up to 90% cash back on covered vet bills.
Plans & Pricing
Before we take a look at their plan details & pricing options, let’s decode some of the jargon.
- The reimbursement rate is the percentage you’ll be reimbursed for a bill.
- Limits are the maximum amounts you can claim per year.
- Wait periods are how long you have to wait after opening a policy to make a claim.
- Process time is how long it takes them to process & pay out a claim.
- Deductibles are the amount you must have paid into the policy before you can claim on it.
To give you a better idea of price comparisons, I ran a quote simulation on each site using a 3-year-old male Golden Retriever (since Goldens are the most popular dogs).
Keep in mind that pricing depends on location, too, though, so you may not get the exact same results even if you have the same exact dog. 🙂
Embrace
Embrace pet insurance starts at $18 per month for dogs, with the usual variables and monthly or annual payment options.
- Free quotes: Yes
- Discounts offered: 10% multiple pet discount & healthy pet deductible program
- Wait period: 14 days for illnesses, same-day for accidents
- Reimbursement rate: 70-90%
- Process time: 10-15 days
- Claim limit: $5000 (accident-only) or $5000, $8000, $10,000, $15,000 or unlimited options for accident & illness
- Deductibles: $100 – $1,000 options
Out of the three, Embrace’s signup process is by far the easiest, both as far as the process goes and when it comes to tweaking your coverage options.
Lemonade
Lemonade pet insurance coverage starts at $10 per month for dogs with monthly or annual payment options. Factors that can influence exact costs include the age & breed of your dog and your location.
- Free quotes: Yes
- Discounts offered: 5% for multiple pets or annual payments, 10% if you use another of their insurance services, e.g. home or car insurance.
- Wait period: 2 days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses
- Reimbursement rate: 80%
- Process time: Same day
- Claim limit: $5000 or $100,000 options
- Deductibles: $100, $250, $500, or $750 options
While Lemonade is great, its plan signup process is a bit more limited. Rather than letting you choose between deductibles and limits, it picks them for you based on the info you provide. You can add on extra services but can’t really tweak the policy much beyond that.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin coverage starts at $30 per month for dogs with monthly or annual payment options, with variables including your dog’s breed, age, and location, but unlike other pet insurance policies, theirs does not reduce or decline as your dog gets older.
- Free quotes: Yes
- Discounts offered: 10% discount for every pet added to the policy
- Wait period: 14 days
- Reimbursement rate: 90%
- Process time: Within 30 days, an average of 9 days
- Claim limit: $10,000
- Deductibles: $100, $250, $500, or $1000 options
Add-Ons & Other Features
Each of the policies also has supplemental add-ons & extras which may be beneficial to you.
Embrace
Embrace has a ton of supplemental wellness rewards with different levels of access at $250, $450, or $650 per year, as well as a 24/7 helpline.
Embrace’s wellness rewards:
- Wellness exam fees
- Vaccinations & titers
- Flea, tick, & heartworm preventatives
- Spay/neutering
- Fecal & routine blood tests
- Microchipping
- Nutritional supplements
- Grooming
- Medicated shampoos
- Toenail trimming
- Routine anal gland expression
- Wearable pet activity monitors
- Cremation or burial
- Gastropexy
- Preventative teeth cleaning
- Prescription diet food
- Training
- Routine chiropractic care
- Reiki, massage therapy, & acupuncture
Lemonade
In addition to their comprehensive insurance coverage, having a pet insurance policy with Lemonade means you can get medical advice from an expert on their app.
They also contribute to pet charities, have a 24/7 customer helpline, and a bunch of great add-ons & packages.
Lemonade’s optional add-ons:
- Preventatives package covers vaccinations, parasite screenings, etc
- The puppy/kitten preventatives package covers spaying/neutering etc
- Vet visit fees
- Physical therapies such as acupuncture, hydrotherapy
- Non-routine dental work
- Behavioral conditions (training & treatments)
- End-of-life & remembrance (euthanasia, cremation/burial, commemorative items)
Pumpkin
Pumpkin has an optional preventative essentials wellness package in addition to their pet insurance, as well as a healthy pet deductible program, in which you can earn a 5% monthly premium discount in the first year if you don’t make a claim, then 10% in the following year.
They also have an 8 am-8 pm helpline from Mon-Fri and a 9-5 helpline on Saturdays.
Pumpkin’s preventative essentials package includes:
- Vaccines
- Annual wellness exams
- Parasite screenings
- 100% reimbursements
Disclaimer: For full terms, visit pumpkin.care/insurancepolicy. Underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company (NAIC #26581), or United States Fire Insurance Company (NAIC #21113). Produced by Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc. (NPN #19084749; CA License #6001617).
Final Verdict
In terms of coverage and pricing, Lemonade dog insurance is the clear winner for most, with almost everything covered for a great price.
With their quick sign-up, fast turnaround on reimbursements and modern app, they’re unmatched in terms of convenience.
Pumpkin, on the other hand, offers plans that are more inclusive and beneficial to senior dogs, and Lemonade offers great prices for those on a tighter budget.
So, be sure to take your time when reviewing your options and pick a plan that makes the most sense for you!
Pay for the health plan your pet really needs, and not what you don’t want. Plus, their hassle-free, digital claims resolution let you spend less time on paperwork and more time on belly scratches.
Disclaimers:
Embrace: Pet Health Insurance is administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC (Lic. No 0G89328) and underwritten by one of the licensed insurers of American Modern Insurance Group, Inc., including American Modern Home Insurance Company d/b/a in CA as American Modern Insurance Company (Lic. No 2222-8) and American Southern Home Insurance Company. Coverage is subject to policy terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, underwriting review, and approval, and may not be available for all risks or in all states. CareCredit is a credit product offered by Synchrony Bank. Embrace does not own, administer, or make decisions regarding CareCredit. An affiliate of Synchrony Bank holds a minority equity interest in an affiliate of Embrace. For full terms and conditions, visit www.embracepetinsurance.com/coverage/embraceterms Premiums are based on the current age of your pet. Premium may increase due to the age of your pet at renewal. Initial premiums may be impacted by the species or breed of your pet. Premium may change based on your home address. *Wellness Rewards is offered as an optional membership plan, non-insurance benefit administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC in the United States. Wellness Rewards not available in RI. (c) 2024 American Modern Insurance Group, Inc.
Pumpkin: For full terms, visit pumpkin.care/insurancepolicy. Underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company (NAIC #26581), or United States Fire Insurance Company (NAIC #21113). Produced by Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc. (NPN #19084749; CA License #6001617).
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