Lemonade vs Trupanion Pet Insurance

Lemonade vs Trupanion at a glance

Both companies cover dogs and cats for accidents and illnesses, including hereditary conditions. Only Lemonade offers a routine wellness add-on. With Lemonade, you set the reimbursement rate, which is the share of a covered vet bill that the plan pays back. Lemonade also lets you set an annual limit, the most the policy pays in dollars each year. Trupanion's accident and illness policy centers on one fixed reimbursement rate, and yearly payouts have no cap.

Cost and deductible terms

For a dog or cat policy, Lemonade lists a $10 monthly starting price. In its investor Q&A, Trupanion lists a published example: $20 monthly for a domestic short-haired cat located in Boise, Idaho. That source also shows $200 monthly for an English Bulldog located in Manhattan, New York.

Before your insurance begins paying, you cover the deductible amount out of pocket. For Lemonade, the annual deductible resets every year, and you can select $100, $250, $500, or $750. Trupanion applies a $0 to $1,000 per-condition deductible for each health issue during your pet's lifetime.

Lemonade offers 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement, while Trupanion pays 90% on every policy. Annual limits for Lemonade range from $5,000 to $100,000, but Trupanion has no payout limits.

Age limits and waiting periods

After you buy a policy, a waiting period runs for a set number of days before coverage begins. Lemonade's waiting periods are 30 days for orthopedic conditions, 14 days for illnesses, and 0 days for accidents. For accidents, Trupanion waits 5 days, and for illnesses it waits 30 days. You can't claim for health problems whose signs appear before coverage starts or while waiting periods run. With Lemonade, curable past conditions are covered in most states once 12 months pass with no symptoms or treatment (knee, ligament, and chronic problems remain excluded).

The companies also set different age rules. Puppies and kittens can join Lemonade starting at 8 weeks of age, and Lemonade has no upper age limit for older pets. With Trupanion, you can sign up a pet from birth, starting when your pet is 0 to 7 weeks old. Sign up a pet with Trupanion at any point before the 14th birthday, and that coverage lasts for life.

Which plan fits your pet

Three things shape your choice: your location, your pet's age, and the policy extras you want.

• Newborn or senior pets: Young litters can enroll with Trupanion from birth, while senior pets of any age can enroll with Lemonade.
• For multi-pet households and bundlers, Lemonade provides a 5% discount for multiple pets, bundle savings of 10%, and annual savings of 5%. Trupanion has no multi-pet discount.
• Vet visit fees: you can cover exam fees with Lemonade through an optional coverage add-on, but Trupanion excludes those fees.
• Dental care, behavior, and physical therapy: Trupanion includes dental illness in the base plan and offers an add-on that covers behavioral and alternative therapy. For Lemonade, all of those need add-ons.
• How claims get paid: On the Lemonade app, about 80% of claims are handled within 5 days. Participating clinics are paid directly by Trupanion, and payment can also come as a check or direct deposit.
• Location matters: American Pet Insurance Company underwrites Trupanion in all 50 states along with DC, Puerto Rico and Canada. Coverage from Lemonade Insurance Company reaches 43 states plus DC.
• Refunds on a new policy: both companies let you cancel within 30 days for a refund. Trupanion requires that no claims have been paid, and New York is excluded.