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Independent · 8 insurers · Every policy wording read in full

Find the plan that pays out for your dog or cat.

Every insurer looks identical until the day your dog blows a knee or your cat needs a $4,000 kidney workup. Our Advisor asks six quick questions and shows you which plans genuinely cover what your breed tends to get — and which quietly call it hereditary and decline.

$16
cheapest decent cat plan, age 1
$6,400
median cruciate repair, big dog
1 in 3
pets need urgent care each year
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How we rank:26 scored criteria · payout behaviour checked against real claim reports · no insurer pays for placement.Read the methodology
The 2026 rankings

Eight plans worth your money

Premiums for a healthy one-year-old mixed-breed dog, 80% reimbursement, $500 deductible. Every row names the thing that plan is worst at.

Our top pick
H
Healthy Paws
Score 9.3 · No annual limit
$44
Unlimited
Most dogs. Unlimited payout and fast reimbursement — but no wellness add-on and premiums climb steeply after age eight.
Review
L
Lemonade
Score 9 · $100k
$28
$100k
Puppies and tight budgets. Best price in the category and claims settle in-app — but not sold in every state and dental is thin.
Review
E
Embrace
Score 8.8 · $30k
$41
$30k
Owners who rarely claim. Your deductible drops $50 every claim-free year — but the annual cap is the lowest of our top picks.
Review
T
Trupanion
Score 8.6 · No annual limit
$62
Unlimited
Anyone who can't float a big bill. The only insurer that routinely settles at the desk — and by far the priciest month to month.
Review
S
Spot
Score 8.3 · $2.5k–unlimited
$38
$2.5k–unlimited
Custom budgets. More limit and deductible combinations than anyone — which also makes it the easiest plan to accidentally under-buy.
Review
P
Pets Best
Score 8.1 · $5k–unlimited
$33
$5k–unlimited
Fast start. Shortest accident waiting period going — but a six-month wait on cruciate injuries unless you pay for the waiver.
Review
F
Figo
Score 7.9 · $5k–unlimited
$40
$5k–unlimited
Maximum payback. One of the few offering full reimbursement — priced accordingly, and the app is where all service happens.
Review
F
Fetch
Score 7.6 · $15k
$47
$15k
Older dogs. Covers dental disease and behavioural care others exclude — but sits mid-table on price with a middling cap.
Review
Some links here are partner links. If you buy through one, the insurer may pay us a fee — it never changes your premium and it never changes a ranking. Quotes are illustrative; your price depends on breed, age and zip.

Start with your breed

Breed decides what your dog or cat will probably claim for — and which insurers quietly file it under “hereditary” and say no.

All 16 breeds →
French Bulldog
High risk
BOAS airway surgery, IVDD, and skin-fold dermatitis (roughly 11x the risk of a dog without skin folds). One of the priciest common breeds to insure.
From ~$74/mo* →
Labrador
Moderate
Cruciate tears, hip and elbow dysplasia, and a real appetite for eating socks.
From ~$46/mo* →
German Shepherd
High risk
Hip dysplasia and degenerative myelopathy — check the hereditary wording carefully.
From ~$52/mo* →
Golden Retriever
Moderate
Cancer rates well above average, plus the usual joint claims.
From ~$49/mo* →
Dachshund
High risk
IVDD — roughly one in four will have a disc episode. Waiting periods matter here.
From ~$44/mo* →
Poodle
Moderate
Addison's, bloat in standards, and luxating patella in the smaller sizes.
From ~$41/mo* →
Bulldog
High risk
Airway, skin and joints all at once — several insurers load or exclude outright.
From ~$81/mo* →
Beagle
Low risk
Epilepsy and ear infections. Cheap to insure and generally hardy.
From ~$36/mo* →

* Illustrative starting estimate for a healthy one-year-old of this breed. Your actual quote depends on age, ZIP code, deductible and reimbursement rate.

How a claim actually goes

1
You pay the vet in full

Nearly every US insurer reimburses you afterwards, dogs and cats alike. Budget for the entire bill up front — only Trupanion routinely settles at the desk.

2
Your deductible comes off first

Annual on most plans, per-condition on a few. Per-condition looks cheaper and quietly costs more across a long illness.

3
They reimburse your percentage

Usually 70, 80 or 90% of what remains, up to the annual limit. Payout lands in 2 days with the best insurers, six weeks with the worst.

Where claims get denied
·Pre-existing is broader than you think. A limp noted at a puppy check can rule out cruciate cover for life. Insure before the first vet visit, not after.
·Waiting periods bite hardest on knees. Accidents clear in days, illness in 14, but cruciate and hip cover often waits 6 to 12 months.
·"Hereditary" is the escape hatch. Breed-linked conditions are excluded outright by some insurers. This is the single biggest difference between plans.
·Dental is barely covered anywhere. Extractions and gum disease are excluded far more often than owners expect.

Questions owners actually ask

It depends on whether you could absorb a $7,000 bill tomorrow without it changing your decision about treatment. On averages, most owners pay in slightly more than they claim — that is how insurance works. What you are buying is protection from the tail: the cruciate repair, the cancer course, the swallowed corn cob at 2am. If you have savings deep enough to cover that and the discipline not to spend them, self-insuring is a legitimate choice, and our calculator will tell you when the numbers point that way.

The exclusions cheat sheet

One page, all 11 insurers: every waiting period, annual cap and excluded condition, in plain English. The document we wish existed when we started.

One email. No insurer gets your address.

Six questions. One straight answer.

No email, no phone call, no salesperson. Just the plans that fit your pet, ranked by what they would really pay.

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WhichPetPlan — Compare Pet Insurance for Dogs & Cats (2026)