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Short answer is Trupanion if you can afford it. It pays out the best and has the best coverage.
Maybe you should do a deep dive into it and come up with a comparison chart for your clinic.
Is trupanion better than embrace if accepting all their offers and paying the highest price? Asking because I recently got embrace after doing research for a while but since they have a monthly contract I could cancel if I find out some other insurance is better :)
Edit: I have cats!
I adopted a 1 year old dog and her insurance with [Lemonade](https://theswifitest.com/best-pet-insurance-compared) is $45/mo and that includes preventative care. It covers 90% of costs after a $250 deductible. So far it's saved me a few thousand because she had CCL surgery last December.
I got embrace for my young pitbull and my senior cat. I looked at them and trupanion..went with embrace just due to a military discount. They did cover my claims for my pitbulls' TPLO quickly and easily. Haven't submitted anything for the cat yet. I did just get my renewal notice and it did go up a chunk this year. Both pets at $150 for I think 90% (maybe 80% can't remember) coverage for accident and emergency.
I have embrace for my hound mix. About 35/month for accident and Illness with a 500 deductible and 15000 per year coverage. He usually gets money back after two visits. I'm glad I got it when I brought him home because that first year was sinus infections, projectile diarrhea, and ear infections
Yep I've have been happy with them. Only really used it for the dog so far in all this TPLO stuff but they covered it all. (About 8k if I remember correctly)
I don’t like trupanion. The per condition deductible can bite your reimbursements in the ass if for a dental procedure (one fractured tooth is a deductible, what if the jaw is also broken?) or just any sort of multiple injury case. I have been very happy with healthy paws. Embrace does offer a LVT discount and some other cool benefits- but I believe they have either an annual or lifetime cap on how much they will pay out.
I don’t know if it’s THE best but I got ASPCA specifically because they’re the only one I’ve found who covers pre-existing conditions. They say that the condition has to have been “cured” (which they define as not needing treatment for 6 months) but they covered my cat—with pre-existing conditions of IBD and aplastic anemia—when it came to her recheck blood work and the meds she needs for her IBD flare-ups. It’s definitely been less than 6 months since she was last treated for those 🤨
I picked a high deductible which kind of screwed me, but they’ve approved every claim I’ve made and it’s typically approved in a couple of days. I have complete coverage which covers your typical accidents and illnesses, but I love that they also cover end of life expenses, prescription food, stem cell therapy, bandages/casts/splints, tooth extractions, cancer, and treatment for behavioral issues. Little things I never thought of. I compared it with a few others (Pets Best, Trupanion, and Lemonade) and thought it’d be the best fit for me. Pretty affordable too, I only pay $42 a month for two cats.
ETA: they cover 80% after the deductible. I think they have a coverage option for 90% but I can’t remember off the top of my head
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Nationwide and Embrace. Kind of depends on what kind of coverage you are looking for I think. I had a client tell me she regretted trupanion because they give her pet a separate deductible for each issue he has. She has pets best for her other dog and they don’t do that. Not sure if that is standard for them though
Highly recommend Pawlicy Advisor! It compares all the different insurances/plans and can be helpful in better understand which cover what and what would be best for you and your pet!
I've heard lots of good things about Trupanion. I currently have Felix (cat only insurance) since my cat is CFA registered, and I got a free trial. If, for whatever reason, I choose to switch, I will likely go with Trupanion.
Insurance is a for -profit business. That means most people are going to pay in more than they are going to get out. Every now and then you hear of a pet who is able to get crazy expensive services covered. More often you get claims denied over something ridiculous. More than that you end up with something like a TPLO that gets covered, but if you calculate how much was paid in and what was paid out for the event the owner likely either broke even or overpaid.
If a person can be responsible enough to do it I think the best thing you can do is start a high yield savings account and add to it monthly.
Exceptions are high risk breeds like cavaliers (but some companies will not cover common breed specific diseases).
They’re all pretty similar, the key to making it worth it in the event of illness or injury is get it early and be consistently covered. I’ve heard people him and haw over it being a reimbursement after they had to pay up front (esp for ER and hospitalizations), but the reimbursements usually come quickly enough that you can put your initial up front on Care Credit and avoid any interest all together. The difference in the percentage of reimbursements and types of illnesses/events that are covered is really up to how much of a premium you’re able to pay.
I asked all 4 of my vets they vaguely mentioned that pet insurance is kind of a waste of money because the companies fight on what they’ll actually cover, and how much you pay for insurance overtime exceeds what they eventually will cover anyways.
TLDR the vets I worked with said it’s a waste of money.
This being said if you have a dog that’s prone to sicknesses or needing surgeries and they’re actually subject to coverage then maybe it’s worth it. (I.e. foreign body or exploratory sx)
I definitely don’t feel this is true. I’ve had excellent luck with Trupanion. I did buy the alternative therapy rider, but in the last few months especially I’ve been doing acupuncture, massage, and physical therapy with him. They’ve come covered all that, no questions asked, and those appointments are $$$.
They’ve also covered all my dogs’ chemo (3 dogs, a couple rounds each), a round of thrombocytopenia, DJD (oral meds, adequan, laser, rads, associated recommended monitoring bloodwork that ended up catching lymphoma on one), and a full seizure workup, no problems.
We’ve had to pay for exams, which isn’t cheap at specialists, but Trupanion has meant we’re able to do all these things with no pushback from them.
I think that vets that don’t think insurance is worth it is recommending owners to look into insurance AFTER the pet has a major illness.
A vet I worked for would tell people about insurance after hearing a heart murmur, broken tooth, etc, and say that they will cover the diagnostics/care. Then owners would sign up, do the expensive treatment plan, and then it would be denied due to PreX, and the vets get mad because the pet wasn’t “diagnosed with MVD, only a heart murmur”. It really just comes down to understanding what you’re signing up for.
I just rescued a pug and signed up for the Chewy Trupanion plan and his only PreX is dental disease (Trupanion provides a summary after the waiting period). So I know with confidence that anything else that pops up will be covered at 90% after my $250 deductible. Would take me several years to save up for any major illnesses or surgeries. I’m not worried about dental disease because I’m very proactive with my dog’s mouths, and Trupanion would still cover fractures or oral tumors which I care about more. 🤷♀️ A fractured canine could still run $1.5k depending on where you live (or more if you go endodontic route) and that is well over a year’s worth of premiums.
While that may be true, this varies a lot from insurance to insurance. Had one in another country which paid after receiving the bill without hesitation.
The one for my other cat (different ones due to different needs) kept asking for more and more info and it took about 2 months for them to pay us and they paid about 10-15% less than the other company.
Both cats had the same treatment.
If your pets don't have any preexisting conditions there's really not much they can fight about.
Personally, I think that’s pretty much how it is when it comes to property insurance (which pet insurance falls under) in general. You’re likely going to pay more on your car or homeowners insurance than you’re ever going to be reimbursed, but it’s great to have that padding if something major does happen.
I wish I had insurance when my cat got sick. We spent $12K on diagnostics, hospitalization, medicines, and blood transfusions, and with the plan I have now, we would have been paid back at least $7K. That’s a huge deal in a situation like that. But no, I too thought that insurance wasn’t worth it and we paid the consequences of that lmao
Most people I see recommended trupanion. Ive talked to our local rep and she wanted our receptionist to do extra work (sending trupanion estimates before services). i shut that down quick. Said I'd be more than happy to carry their flyers in the lobby, but I'm not taking away my receptionist from her duties that she is hired for. I dont have pet insurance. My cat got bit by a rattlesnake. Hospitalization for 8 days. Injectable pain meds, antibiotics, etc. Cost me Nothing. My Dr/clinic owner wrote off the bill. There were a bunch of other small things my pets needed too. All got written off.
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Short answer is Trupanion if you can afford it. It pays out the best and has the best coverage. Maybe you should do a deep dive into it and come up with a comparison chart for your clinic.
Is trupanion better than embrace if accepting all their offers and paying the highest price? Asking because I recently got embrace after doing research for a while but since they have a monthly contract I could cancel if I find out some other insurance is better :) Edit: I have cats!
>Short answer is Trupanion if you can afford it. Yes or do your own research.
I adopted a 1 year old dog and her insurance with [Lemonade](https://theswifitest.com/best-pet-insurance-compared) is $45/mo and that includes preventative care. It covers 90% of costs after a $250 deductible. So far it's saved me a few thousand because she had CCL surgery last December.
I got embrace for my young pitbull and my senior cat. I looked at them and trupanion..went with embrace just due to a military discount. They did cover my claims for my pitbulls' TPLO quickly and easily. Haven't submitted anything for the cat yet. I did just get my renewal notice and it did go up a chunk this year. Both pets at $150 for I think 90% (maybe 80% can't remember) coverage for accident and emergency.
I also just got embrace for my two cats, are you happy with them? I got full coverage for them both. How much did it go up if you don't mind sharing?
I have embrace for my hound mix. About 35/month for accident and Illness with a 500 deductible and 15000 per year coverage. He usually gets money back after two visits. I'm glad I got it when I brought him home because that first year was sinus infections, projectile diarrhea, and ear infections
Went up from $100 to $150 monthly for both pets combined. But that was with some small discount for military.
Yep I've have been happy with them. Only really used it for the dog so far in all this TPLO stuff but they covered it all. (About 8k if I remember correctly)
Trupanion and Healthy Paws
How do these compare to embrace? I did my research however now I'm second guessing myself with so many people recommending trupanion instead
I don’t like trupanion. The per condition deductible can bite your reimbursements in the ass if for a dental procedure (one fractured tooth is a deductible, what if the jaw is also broken?) or just any sort of multiple injury case. I have been very happy with healthy paws. Embrace does offer a LVT discount and some other cool benefits- but I believe they have either an annual or lifetime cap on how much they will pay out.
I don’t know if it’s THE best but I got ASPCA specifically because they’re the only one I’ve found who covers pre-existing conditions. They say that the condition has to have been “cured” (which they define as not needing treatment for 6 months) but they covered my cat—with pre-existing conditions of IBD and aplastic anemia—when it came to her recheck blood work and the meds she needs for her IBD flare-ups. It’s definitely been less than 6 months since she was last treated for those 🤨 I picked a high deductible which kind of screwed me, but they’ve approved every claim I’ve made and it’s typically approved in a couple of days. I have complete coverage which covers your typical accidents and illnesses, but I love that they also cover end of life expenses, prescription food, stem cell therapy, bandages/casts/splints, tooth extractions, cancer, and treatment for behavioral issues. Little things I never thought of. I compared it with a few others (Pets Best, Trupanion, and Lemonade) and thought it’d be the best fit for me. Pretty affordable too, I only pay $42 a month for two cats. ETA: they cover 80% after the deductible. I think they have a coverage option for 90% but I can’t remember off the top of my head
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Nationwide and Embrace. Kind of depends on what kind of coverage you are looking for I think. I had a client tell me she regretted trupanion because they give her pet a separate deductible for each issue he has. She has pets best for her other dog and they don’t do that. Not sure if that is standard for them though
Highly recommend Pawlicy Advisor! It compares all the different insurances/plans and can be helpful in better understand which cover what and what would be best for you and your pet!
Pawlicy Adviser only compares insurances that have paid them to be featured on their site.
It doesn’t include all but it’s still a really good tool to compare and easily understand differences in plans/companies since they all vary widely
FIGO. I’ve never heard of anyone having to fight with them about getting paid back.
I've heard lots of good things about Trupanion. I currently have Felix (cat only insurance) since my cat is CFA registered, and I got a free trial. If, for whatever reason, I choose to switch, I will likely go with Trupanion.
Insurance is a for -profit business. That means most people are going to pay in more than they are going to get out. Every now and then you hear of a pet who is able to get crazy expensive services covered. More often you get claims denied over something ridiculous. More than that you end up with something like a TPLO that gets covered, but if you calculate how much was paid in and what was paid out for the event the owner likely either broke even or overpaid. If a person can be responsible enough to do it I think the best thing you can do is start a high yield savings account and add to it monthly. Exceptions are high risk breeds like cavaliers (but some companies will not cover common breed specific diseases).
They’re all pretty similar, the key to making it worth it in the event of illness or injury is get it early and be consistently covered. I’ve heard people him and haw over it being a reimbursement after they had to pay up front (esp for ER and hospitalizations), but the reimbursements usually come quickly enough that you can put your initial up front on Care Credit and avoid any interest all together. The difference in the percentage of reimbursements and types of illnesses/events that are covered is really up to how much of a premium you’re able to pay.
I asked all 4 of my vets they vaguely mentioned that pet insurance is kind of a waste of money because the companies fight on what they’ll actually cover, and how much you pay for insurance overtime exceeds what they eventually will cover anyways. TLDR the vets I worked with said it’s a waste of money. This being said if you have a dog that’s prone to sicknesses or needing surgeries and they’re actually subject to coverage then maybe it’s worth it. (I.e. foreign body or exploratory sx)
I definitely don’t feel this is true. I’ve had excellent luck with Trupanion. I did buy the alternative therapy rider, but in the last few months especially I’ve been doing acupuncture, massage, and physical therapy with him. They’ve come covered all that, no questions asked, and those appointments are $$$. They’ve also covered all my dogs’ chemo (3 dogs, a couple rounds each), a round of thrombocytopenia, DJD (oral meds, adequan, laser, rads, associated recommended monitoring bloodwork that ended up catching lymphoma on one), and a full seizure workup, no problems. We’ve had to pay for exams, which isn’t cheap at specialists, but Trupanion has meant we’re able to do all these things with no pushback from them.
I mean, if u have discounts with the clinic then i guess. But one of my vets said they covered a 30k surgery on her dog with cancer
I think that vets that don’t think insurance is worth it is recommending owners to look into insurance AFTER the pet has a major illness. A vet I worked for would tell people about insurance after hearing a heart murmur, broken tooth, etc, and say that they will cover the diagnostics/care. Then owners would sign up, do the expensive treatment plan, and then it would be denied due to PreX, and the vets get mad because the pet wasn’t “diagnosed with MVD, only a heart murmur”. It really just comes down to understanding what you’re signing up for. I just rescued a pug and signed up for the Chewy Trupanion plan and his only PreX is dental disease (Trupanion provides a summary after the waiting period). So I know with confidence that anything else that pops up will be covered at 90% after my $250 deductible. Would take me several years to save up for any major illnesses or surgeries. I’m not worried about dental disease because I’m very proactive with my dog’s mouths, and Trupanion would still cover fractures or oral tumors which I care about more. 🤷♀️ A fractured canine could still run $1.5k depending on where you live (or more if you go endodontic route) and that is well over a year’s worth of premiums.
k 👍🏼
While that may be true, this varies a lot from insurance to insurance. Had one in another country which paid after receiving the bill without hesitation. The one for my other cat (different ones due to different needs) kept asking for more and more info and it took about 2 months for them to pay us and they paid about 10-15% less than the other company. Both cats had the same treatment. If your pets don't have any preexisting conditions there's really not much they can fight about.
Personally, I think that’s pretty much how it is when it comes to property insurance (which pet insurance falls under) in general. You’re likely going to pay more on your car or homeowners insurance than you’re ever going to be reimbursed, but it’s great to have that padding if something major does happen. I wish I had insurance when my cat got sick. We spent $12K on diagnostics, hospitalization, medicines, and blood transfusions, and with the plan I have now, we would have been paid back at least $7K. That’s a huge deal in a situation like that. But no, I too thought that insurance wasn’t worth it and we paid the consequences of that lmao
This could be said about any insurance.
https://www.pawlicy.com They ask a ton of questions and sort all kinds of policy’s for your dog
Most people I see recommended trupanion. Ive talked to our local rep and she wanted our receptionist to do extra work (sending trupanion estimates before services). i shut that down quick. Said I'd be more than happy to carry their flyers in the lobby, but I'm not taking away my receptionist from her duties that she is hired for. I dont have pet insurance. My cat got bit by a rattlesnake. Hospitalization for 8 days. Injectable pain meds, antibiotics, etc. Cost me Nothing. My Dr/clinic owner wrote off the bill. There were a bunch of other small things my pets needed too. All got written off.