Best Pet Insuranceof 2026
Several pet insurance brands that look like separate competitors are actually the same handful of companies wearing different retail skins — one holding company alone now owns or underwrites seven of the names in this guide. We sorted 21 real options into the accident-and-illness carriers that are genuinely different companies, the storefronts that share an owner, wellness add-ons, budget plans, and comparison brokers, so you can see who you’re actually buying from.
These seven are genuinely separate companies with their own underwriters — no shared parent, no shared claims department. Start here if you want the most financially distinct options on the market.
Healthy Paws
Good to Know: No per-incident, per-condition, or annual payout caps on any reimbursement tier — 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement with $100–$500 deductibles. Underwritten by Chubb, one of the strongest financial backers in this category.
Heads Up: No wellness or preventive-care add-on is offered at all, and exam fees aren’t reimbursed even on covered claims — budget for those separately.
Trupanion
Good to Know: Trupanion Express lets participating vet practices bill Trupanion directly at checkout instead of you paying and waiting on reimbursement, and the per-condition deductible is met once for the life of that condition rather than resetting every year. Trupanion owns its own underwriter, American Pet Insurance Company.
Heads Up: Reimbursement is a fixed 90% with no lower-premium option, and Trupanion disclosed internal-control weaknesses in a February 2024 SEC filing that drew investor-rights law firm inquiries — worth reading the disclosure yourself rather than assuming it affects claims-paying ability.
Lemonade Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Roughly 40% of claims are approved instantly through Lemonade’s AI claims system, and premiums drop up to 10% when bundled with Lemonade renters, home, or auto insurance. Lemonade underwrites its own pet policies instead of outsourcing to a third-party carrier.
Heads Up: Available in 42 states plus Washington, D.C. — not all 50 — so confirm your state is covered before assuming it’s an option.
Fetch Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Formerly branded Petplan, Fetch’s base policy includes dental illness (including periodontal disease), exam fees, lost-pet advertising, and behavioral treatment standard — coverage several competitors only offer as a paid add-on. Underwritten by AXIS Insurance Company, one of the few major brands not part of the ownership group described below.
Heads Up: Annual limits cap at $15,000 with no unlimited tier, and the annual deductible starts at $300 — higher than several competitors’ minimums.
Prudent Pet Insurance
Good to Know: One of the few mid-size national brands not owned by the Independence Pet Holdings/JAB group described in the next section — underwritten instead by Markel Insurance Company and Markel American Insurance Company. Offers an unlimited annual/lifetime tier and an exam-fee-inclusive plan option.
Heads Up: Smaller brand recognition than the household names on this page — worth checking Markel’s own financial-strength ratings directly if that matters to your decision.
Nationwide Pet Insurance
Good to Know: The only major carrier here offering a dedicated plan for birds and exotic pets (reptiles, small mammals) alongside standard dog and cat coverage. petinsurance.com is Nationwide’s own direct site, not an independent comparison marketplace.
Heads Up: California’s Department of Insurance found Nationwide’s predecessor entity, Veterinary Pet Insurance Company, wasn’t showing every eligible customer all available plan options side by side; Nationwide settled and built a comparison tool, approved by regulators in June 2024 — worth confirming you’re seeing every plan when you get a quote.
MetLife Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Frequently offered as a voluntary workplace benefit alongside health and life coverage, with "For Life" branding built around no lifetime payout caps. MetLife acquired the former PetFirst Healthcare brand in 2019 and folded it into this product line.
Heads Up: The underwriting entity is Metropolitan General Insurance Company, a MetLife affiliate, in most states, though the applicable underwriter can vary by state and product — check your own declarations page.
Independence Pet Holdings, backed by JAB Holding Company, now owns or underwrites all seven of the brands below through a small set of shared underwriters (Independence American Insurance Company and United States Fire Insurance Company chief among them). Each still markets and prices itself separately, so it’s still worth comparing them — just know you may be comparing siblings, not competitors.
Embrace Pet Insurance
Good to Know: The Healthy Pet Deductible drops your annual deductible by $50 for every claim-free year, directly rewarding pets that stay healthy. Underwritten by American Modern Insurance Group, a Munich Re company, in most states.
Heads Up: JAB Holding Company, through Independence Pet Holdings, bought Embrace for a reported $1.5 billion in November 2023 — it’s now part of the same corporate family as ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Spot, Figo, Pumpkin, AKC Pet Insurance, and Pets Best below, even though each brand still markets itself separately.
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
Good to Know: Coverage is administered by PTZ Insurance Agency under underwriters United States Fire Insurance Company and Independence American Insurance Company — the ASPCA itself doesn’t run the insurance program, it licenses its name to it.
Heads Up: Part of the same Independence Pet Holdings family as Embrace, Spot, Figo, Pumpkin, AKC Pet Insurance, and Pets Best, following a 2022 sale of the whole book of business from Fairfax Financial.
Spot Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Offers an unlimited annual benefit option even on its lower-priced plans, and heavy consumer marketing has made it one of the more recognizable newer brands. Underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and Independence American Insurance Company.
Heads Up: Same underwriting family and ultimate parent, Independence Pet Holdings/JAB, as ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Pumpkin, Figo, AKC Pet Insurance, Embrace, and Pets Best — worth knowing before assuming you’re comparing fully independent companies.
Figo Pet Insurance
Good to Know: The only brand on this page offering a 100% reimbursement tier with no copay above the deductible, plus a Pet Cloud app with 24/7 live vet access. Sold through retail partnerships including Costco’s members’ plan. Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company.
Heads Up: 100% reimbursement carries meaningfully higher premiums, and Figo is part of the same Independence Pet Holdings/JAB family as ASPCA, Spot, Pumpkin, AKC Pet Insurance, Embrace, and Pets Best.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Every Pumpkin plan reimburses a standard 90% with no lower-payout option to shop down premiums, and microchipping, stem cell therapy, and a poison-control consultation line are included standard. A separate Preventive Essentials add-on (see below) covers routine care.
Heads Up: Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company and United States Fire Insurance Company — the same Independence Pet Holdings/JAB corporate family as ASPCA, Spot, Figo, AKC Pet Insurance, Embrace, and Pets Best.
AKC Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Markets specifically to purebred and AKC-registered dog owners, though coverage terms aren’t breed-restricted. Administered by PetPartners, Inc., which states on its own underwriting page that "AKC Pet Insurance is a marketing name…and is not an AKC business nor an insurer."
Heads Up: PetPartners is part of the Independence Pet Holdings/JAB family alongside ASPCA, Spot, Figo, Pumpkin, Embrace, and Pets Best — the AKC name is licensed, not an AKC-operated program.
Pets Best
Good to Know: Offers the lowest minimum annual deductible on this page at $50, plus direct vet payment at participating clinics and an unlimited annual-limit option. A true accident-only tier is also available for budget-focused buyers.
Heads Up: Independence Pet Holdings acquired Pets Best from Synchrony Financial in March 2024. "Progressive Pet Insurance by Pets Best" is a marketing and distribution partnership, not Progressive ownership — Pets Best is not Progressive-owned.
Routine care — annual exams, vaccines, flea and heartworm prevention — usually isn’t covered by a standard accident-and-illness policy. These two are the clearest options for adding that coverage on, and neither is regulated the same way as the insurance policy it pairs with.
Pumpkin Preventive Essentials
Good to Know: A separate reimbursement package — not an insurance product — sold alongside a Pumpkin insurance policy, covering routine wellness exams, vaccines, heartworm tests, and flea prevention. For puppies and kittens, it also refunds pre-enrollment vaccine and fecal-test costs.
Heads Up: This is a discount/reimbursement package, not regulated insurance — don’t assume the same consumer protections apply as with the accident-and-illness policy it’s sold alongside.
Wagmo
Good to Know: Sells "Wagmo Wellness" as a standalone reimbursement plan for routine care, separate from its own "Wagmo Insurance" product, letting you add wellness coverage without switching your existing insurer.
Heads Up: Multiple independent reviews have specifically questioned whether the wellness plan meets the regulatory definition of insurance — confirm the plan structure and underwriter directly with Wagmo before enrolling.
A true stand-alone accident-only company is rare — most “accident-only” shopping actually means picking the cheapest tier within a full carrier’s lineup. These two are the clearest genuine budget entry points.
Odie Pet Insurance
Good to Know: Sells a standalone Accident Only plan through its employee-benefits channel alongside its consumer Injury & Illness and Wellness plans — a genuine budget entry point rather than a full accident-and-illness policy.
Heads Up: The accident-only plan is marketed mainly through employer and workplace benefits rather than prominently on Odie’s direct consumer site — ask specifically for it if shopping direct. The underwriter varies by state (Trisura, Accredited Surety and Casualty, or Clear Blue Insurance Company, depending on where you live).
24Petprotect
Good to Know: Positioned as a simpler, lower-cost tier within the same corporate family as ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Spot, and Pumpkin — a genuine budget option for buyers who want basic accident-and-illness coverage without extra features.
Heads Up: Part of the Independence Pet Holdings/JAB family described above — confirm your state’s specific underwriter and plan details before enrolling, since it shares that group’s underwriting pool.
If you’d rather see multiple carriers’ quotes in one place before picking a brand yourself, these three are the real options — with one important caveat about how much they actually differ from each other.
Pawlicy Advisor
Good to Know: A licensed insurance brokerage that compares real-time quotes across most major carriers side by side, paid by the carrier when you enroll rather than charging you directly, and frequently recommended by veterinary organizations as an unbiased starting point.
Heads Up: Because it’s a brokerage, Pawlicy is paid by whichever carrier you ultimately choose — a standard, disclosed brokerage model, not a hidden conflict, but worth knowing going in.
The Zebra (Pet Insurance)
Good to Know: Useful if you’re already comparing auto or home insurance quotes on The Zebra and want pet insurance quotes in the same place.
Heads Up: The Zebra’s pet insurance comparison tool runs on Pawlicy Advisor’s underlying quote engine rather than an independently built comparison system — you’re seeing largely the same data through a different interface, not a second independent opinion.
Policygenius (Pet Insurance)
Good to Know: A useful stop if you’re already using Policygenius to shop life, home, or auto insurance and want a pet insurance option in the same session.
Heads Up: Its pet insurance coverage is thinner than a dedicated marketplace like Pawlicy Advisor — its own partner-offers page surfaces a limited number of named partners rather than a full side-by-side comparison across the whole market.
💡 Pro Tips Before You Buy Pet Insurance
💼 Check who actually underwrites the brand before assuming it’s independent
Seven of the brands compared above are all owned by the same parent company and underwritten through a small shared pool of insurers, even though they’re marketed and priced as if they’re competing companies. Ask directly which insurance company is financially on the hook for your claim — it may not be the name on the app.
💼 Compare deductible TYPE, not just the dollar amount
An annual deductible resets every policy year regardless of what it was for. A per-condition deductible, like Trupanion’s, is met once for a specific diagnosis and then never charged again for that same condition — which can save meaningfully more over a pet’s lifetime with a chronic illness, even at a similar-looking dollar figure.
🐶 Enroll while your pet is young and before anything is diagnosed
Every plan on this page excludes pre-existing conditions, and premiums generally rise with age at enrollment. The cheapest and most complete coverage almost always comes from buying before your pet has any diagnosed condition, not after a scare makes you start shopping.
📋 Decide if you want wellness coverage bundled in or kept separate
Some carriers fold preventive care into the base policy, some sell it only as a paid add-on, and some (like Wagmo) sell it as an entirely separate non-insurance product. None of these approaches is objectively better — it depends on whether you’d rather pay a flat wellness premium or budget for routine visits out of pocket.
⏳ Ask about waiting periods for specific conditions
Most policies have a standard waiting period (often 14 days) before illness coverage kicks in, plus longer waiting periods — sometimes six months or more — specifically for orthopedic conditions like cruciate ligament tears. Ask for the exact waiting-period schedule in writing before you assume coverage starts on day one.
💸 Get quotes at multiple reimbursement and deductible levels before deciding
The same policy can usually be quoted at 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement and at several deductible levels — small changes in either can shift your monthly premium substantially. Request quotes at two or three combinations before assuming the first quote you see is representative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does pet insurance actually cover, and what does it exclude?
Most accident-and-illness policies cover diagnostic tests, surgeries, hospitalizations, prescription medications, and treatment for accidents and illnesses, including many hereditary and congenital conditions. Pre-existing conditions are excluded by virtually every policy, and routine or preventive care (annual exams, vaccines, flea prevention) usually requires a separate wellness add-on rather than being included in the base accident-and-illness policy.
How does the pet insurance claims and reimbursement process work?
Most pet insurance is reimbursement-based: you pay your veterinarian in full at the time of service, then submit a claim (often through a mobile app) for the covered portion to be reimbursed based on your plan’s reimbursement percentage and deductible. A small number of carriers, like Trupanion at participating practices, can pay the vet directly instead, which skips the reimbursement wait entirely.
Why do so many different-sounding pet insurance brands turn out to share the same underwriter?
The pet insurance industry has consolidated heavily around a small number of underwriting groups. Independence Pet Holdings, backed by JAB Holding Company, now owns or underwrites Embrace, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Spot, Figo, Pumpkin, AKC Pet Insurance, and Pets Best — seven brands that market and price themselves separately but share the same ultimate parent and, in several cases, the same underwriting entities.
What’s the difference between an annual deductible and a per-condition deductible?
An annual deductible resets every policy year no matter what it was applied to. A per-condition deductible, used by Trupanion, is met once for a specific diagnosis and isn’t charged again for that same ongoing condition — a structure that can meaningfully reduce lifetime out-of-pocket costs for a pet with a single chronic illness, even when the deductible amount looks similar to a competitor’s annual figure.
Are pre-existing conditions ever covered by pet insurance?
No policy on this page covers a condition your pet was already showing signs of, being treated for, or diagnosed with before your coverage started or during the policy’s waiting period. Some insurers distinguish between curable and incurable pre-existing conditions and will cover a curable one again if your pet has been symptom-free for a defined period, but this varies by carrier and state — always confirm your specific policy’s pre-existing-condition definition in writing.
Is a pet insurance wellness plan the same thing as pet insurance?
Not necessarily. Some wellness coverage is sold as a true add-on rider to an insurance policy, but others — including Pumpkin’s Preventive Essentials and Wagmo’s Wellness plan — are structured as separate discount or reimbursement packages rather than regulated insurance products. That distinction can affect your consumer protections, so don’t assume a wellness plan carries the same guarantees as the accident-and-illness policy it’s sold alongside.
How does NME choose which pet insurance companies to feature?
NME evaluates pet insurance providers using our own five-criterion framework: coverage depth (which conditions and treatments the base policy actually includes versus what requires an add-on), policy flexibility (reimbursement and deductible options, and whether an unlimited annual limit is available), claims speed and payment method (how quickly claims are resolved and whether direct vet pay is available), key exclusions (how pre-existing conditions and waiting periods are handled), and use-case fit (which pet, budget, and coverage goals each plan actually serves). We do not accept payment from providers to be featured, and none of the companies on this page currently have a confirmed, integrated affiliate relationship with NME.
Confirm Who Actually Underwrites Your Quote
Several of the brands compared above share the same parent company and underwriting pool. Before comparing prices, ask which insurance company is actually financially responsible for your policy, and check that carrier’s complaint history.
