Were the top two (with the same IVR system) Pumpkin and ASPCA? I know their plans can be 100% identical in terms of benefits, T's & C's, etc. Only Pumpkin's customer service has had slightly higher reviews.

Pet insurance is a mess right now. If you - by any chance - have pet insurance through your work, those plans tend to offer better benefits and historically, they have been worth it. Today, not sure.

We used one big company through work which included genetic/breed issues, etc. when others wouldn't cover those things. We had 90% coverage with $250 deductibles and they were excellent about approving our claims, paid out quickly, and made everything easy.

But we received letters this year that they are getting rid of our plans because it was too expensive for them to cover. They also told us things about animals over the age of 7 never being permitted to switch plans or even get insurance. They dropped us down from 90% coverage to 50% for nearly the same price we were paying. Supposedly, there is a 70% plan but they would not offer it because of our dogs' ages, apparently. Other insured animals were dropped completely. Then, they were offered one new plan from the same company so basically they dropped the animals and now are trying to sell them a new plan, now that those animals have pre-existing conditions that were diagnosed while under their coverage.

Long story short, there are a lot of super ticked off people who used to have this company. It may be worthwhile to consider the tactics of this insurance company while you decide whether it is worth it for you or not. I'd like to hope it's just that one company, but I'm not sure.

Good luck.

The top two were Spot and ASPCA

I see a lot of people using trupanion, embrace, and met life as well as pumpkin.

(GW style guide here favors oxford punctuation).

I sent a message to my vet to see if they have an opinion.

3katz - another item to consider is that you now have 2 locations so make sure that your vets at both locales will accept the insurance.

DS insured his puppy and was very happy with the coverage even though it significantly increased each year. But when he moved from PA to NJ his insurance company quadrupled the price. Their screwy explanation was that they were now insuring his 7 year old dog as a 'new' client and since he was 7 years old it would be more expensive to insure an elderly dog.

DS is an attorney (who oddly enough works to defend insurance companies) so he questioned them - it was the same dog they'd insured for 7 years, they knew his health record and it was the same insurance policy - but to no avail. He ended up just dropping the policy.

I've had Embrace since 2021. My daughter's cat had some hellacious ER and surgery bills before she decided to euthanize. No insurance. It cost thousands, with me helping pay the bills. That was when I decided to get insurance for my then two cats. Neither had any pre-existing conditions but were 10 years old at the time. It's a game of monthly premiums, deductible, reimbursement %, annual maximum. In 2024 Bessie had a lot of tests and expenses before I decided it was time to let her go. I easily met my deductible and was reimbursed 90% for the remainder. My vet (a VCA hospital) knew the drill and sent in all the medical details necessary.

I have found Embrace easy to work with. They covered Bessie's euthanasia (but not the nice wooden box for her ashes, IIRC). They sent me a nice card, too.

One more addition - despite all I wrote about how pet insurance companies are starting to drop certain plans, devalue coverage offered, etc., we personally still find some value in it. Some people are lucky with animals that never have problems, but that's not us for some reason. We've always had some pet insurance for all of our dogs, and we've had 2 dogs have chemo covered by insurance, 1 dog have two major knee surgeries covered plus much more. For us, it pays off, and now that we have pre-existing conditions with our current dog, we don't think we can drop it or change because he developed them while under the insurance policy, so they will still pay out on issues related to those whereas another company would not.

I have heard a general idea that age 3 is about the age where one would want to start getting insurance because most healthy animals aren't going to have major health issues (that would be considered pre-existing) before that age.

If you do decide to get insurance, I personally would recommend at least $10K annual maximum. One company only offered $7500 which seemed okay at first, but veterinary costs have increased dramatically and just one surgery can sometimes be $10K or more.

I have $15k annual max, $750 annual deductible, 90% reimbursement, $83/mo premium for a 14 year old neutered male cat. Every year it will go up as he gets older. It’s a hedge against something bad. Beyond this, or maybe even before, it’s time to consider difficult options.

After $20,000 iin emergency vet bills in 2023 across two cats, our younger cat has pet insurance through Trupanion. I would have insured our other older cat, but she had $15k in critical care. Her most likely future medical issues would be pre-existing at this point :(

I will probably get it for this cat - just need to decide what company is best. It's about $25/mo for good coverage. I doubt I will keep it long-term but it would more than pay for itself with coverage for various tests to try to figure out why she vomits weekly if not more often.

The way pet insurance pays is different than human health insurance. You will pay the full amount to the vet clinic and you submit invoices to the insurance company. They may request SOAP notes from the provider. Insurance co will then reimburse you.

@lisaam - yes I noticed that - no direct payment to the vet. So there's no issue of the vet accepting the insurance or not. And I can go to any licensed vet in the US so it doesn't matter that I go between two states.

My vet office recommended Trupanion. They’ve had a lot of favorable experience with it Website says they pay at point of sale but the vet office described the opposite. That doesn’t matter either way. It is a little more expensive presumable because it’s unlimited coverage. It looks like the only thing you can modify to affect the premium is the deductible - aside from the fact it’s half as expensive in SC as it is in MN. I called and they told me to sign up for the state that is my primary residence but I’m covered anywhere. Premiums supposedly increase based on cost of care rather than age of pet. I may go with this one.

I have Embrace. I did not have any insurance in the past for any of my pups. I am glad I have it now, just in case we need it.

i have nationwide for my 2 great danes. i only have a policy that covers illness/accidents, it does not cover wellness exams/vaccinations, etc. my girl dane recently had a nasty UTI. i had to submit several claims over a period of about a month. once i met my deductible of $250, insurance covered everything else and i was reimbursed 100%.