Pet insurance comparison: what 17 carriers actually cover
17 pet insurance brands are compared here against 64 veterinary procedures, on the terms in their own filed policy documents. The orthopedic waiting period — the clause that decides most large surgical claims — runs from 0 to 365 days across them, and 2 brands publish no orthopedic period at all.
Key facts
- Brands compared
- 17, against 64 procedures
- Orthopedic waiting period
- 0 to 365 days; 7 brands exceed the 30-day cap in the NAIC model act, and 2 publish none
- Brands that are not the insurer
- State Farm, USAA, Chewy, ASPCA and AKC all sell another company's policy
- Brands sharing one policy form
- Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin all issue Independence American form PET-P-20000-1024
- Fields we could not verify
- 85 across 17 records, each marked on the row rather than left blank
- Affiliate links on this page
- None. No programs are approved, and you will be told if that changes
Two things make this table different from the comparisons that rank above it. The first is the underwriter column: several of these brands are the same insurance company sold under different marketing, and two of them carry no risk at all. The second is that every field we could not establish from a carrier’s own document says unverified rather than being quietly filled in from a competitor’s blog post. There are 85 of those, and they are the most useful thing on the page.
The carriers and who underwrites them
The brand you buy from is frequently not the company that pays the claim. Below, the “legal underwriter” column is each brand’s own disclosure — usually printed in the footer of its website or on the first page of the policy — and it is the entity whose contract language decides your claim.
| Brand | Legal underwriter | Accident wait | Illness wait | Orthopedic wait | Max enrolment age | Unverified fields |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurancenot the insurer | Independence American Insurance Company or Independence Pet Insurance Company; policies produced by PetPartners, Inc. | 2 days | 14 days | 180 daysover NAIC cap | 9 years | 0 of 27 |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurancenot the insurershared policy form | Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by PTZ Insurance Agency, Ltd. | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | No published ceiling | 4 of 27 |
| Chewy CarePlusnot the insurer | American Pet Insurance Company or ZPIC Insurance Company (Trupanion program), or Lemonade Insurance Company or Metromile Insurance Company (Lemonade program), depending on the state; sold by Chewy Insurance Services, LLC | 5 days | 14 days | 30 days | No published ceiling | 9 of 27 |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | American Modern Home Insurance Company (d/b/a American Modern Insurance Company in California) or American Southern Home Insurance Company, both American Modern Insurance Group; administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC | None | 14 days | 180 daysover NAIC cap | 15 years | 2 of 27 |
| Fetch by The Dodo | AXIS Insurance Company (an Illinois corporation); administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC | None | 15 days | 180 daysover NAIC cap | No published ceiling | 2 of 27 |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Independence American Insurance Company | 1 day | 14 days | 180 daysover NAIC cap | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | ACE American Insurance Company and affiliated Chubb underwriting companies (Westchester Fire Insurance Company, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Atlantic Employers Insurance Company) | 15 days | 15 days | 365 daysover NAIC cap | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Lemonade Insurance Company; Metromile Insurance Company also writes the pet line | Unverified | 14 days | 30 days | No published ceiling | 6 of 27 |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Metropolitan General Insurance Company, a Rhode Island insurance company; policy administrator MetLife Pet Insurance Solutions LLC | None | 14 days | None | No published ceiling | 6 of 27 |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | National Casualty Company (all states except California) or Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (California), both subsidiaries of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company; agency of record DVM Insurance Agency | 14 days | 14 days | 365 daysover NAIC cap | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Independence American Insurance Company in most states, or American Pet Insurance Company in New York and Washington; Pets Best's own disclosure also names Independence Pet Insurance Company and MS Transverse Insurance Company. | 3 days | 14 days | 180 daysover NAIC cap | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (administered by Companion Protect Agency, LLC). | None | 15 days | 30 days | No published ceiling | 6 of 27 |
| Pumpkin Pet Insuranceshared policy form | Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc., which is an agency, not an insurer | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| Spot Pet Insuranceshared policy form | Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by Spot Pet Insurance Services, LLC | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | No published ceiling | 3 of 27 |
| State Farm Pet Insurancenot the insurer | American Pet Insurance Company and ZPIC Insurance Company, administered by Trupanion Managers USA, Inc. | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified | No published ceiling | 13 of 27 |
| Trupanion | American Pet Insurance Company (APIC), a Trupanion subsidiary; ZPIC Insurance Company is licensed but not yet writing | Unverified | Unverified | 30 days | No published ceiling | 7 of 27 |
| USAA Pet Insurancenot the insurer | American Modern Home Insurance Company or American Southern Home Insurance Company, both American Modern Insurance Group; administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC. | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified | No published ceiling | 12 of 27 |
The waiting period nobody advertises
Almost every carrier advertises a 14-day waiting period. That is the illness period. A separate, longer clause covers cruciate ligament, patella, hip dysplasia and intervertebral disc disease — the four conditions behind the most expensive orthopedic claims a dog owner ever files.
Across these seventeen brands that orthopedic clause runs from 0 to 365 days. 7 of them — AKC Pet Insurance, Embrace Pet Insurance, Fetch by The Dodo, Figo Pet Insurance, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, Nationwide Pet Insurance, Pets Best Pet Insurance — sit above the 30-day ceiling the NAIC’s Pet Insurance Model Act would impose. No state has enacted that model, so those terms are entirely lawful; they are also the difference between a claim paid and a claim denied on a dog that tears a cruciate four months after enrolment.
Coverage by procedure
One section per procedure, each showing all seventeen brands, the verdict, the waiting period that would gate that specific claim, and what a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays on the typical invoice. Arriving from a cost page opens this page at the matching section; every other section is still here, and still readable.
Bordetella (Kennel Cough) Vaccine: which carriers pay
You arrived from the bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $39, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine actually costs.
Cat Bowel Obstruction Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat bowel obstruction surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat bowel obstruction surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,367, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,494 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat bowel obstruction surgery actually costs.
Cat Cataract Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat cataract surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat cataract surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,250, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,400 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat cataract surgery actually costs.
Cat Chemotherapy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat chemotherapy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat chemotherapy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $4,269, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $3,015 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat chemotherapy actually costs.
Cat Dental Cleaning: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat dental cleaning cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat dental cleaning is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $375, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat dental cleaning actually costs.
Cat Diabetes Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat diabetes treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat diabetes treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,800, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,040 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat diabetes treatment actually costs.
Cat Endoscopy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat endoscopy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat endoscopy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,500, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,600 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat endoscopy actually costs.
Cat Enucleation (Eye Removal): which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat enucleation (eye removal) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat enucleation (eye removal) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $600, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $80 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat enucleation (eye removal) actually costs.
Cat Hyperthyroidism Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat hyperthyroidism treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat hyperthyroidism treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,100, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,280 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat hyperthyroidism treatment actually costs.
Cat PU Surgery (Perineal Urethrostomy): which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat PU surgery (perineal urethrostomy) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat PU surgery (perineal urethrostomy) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,750, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,000 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat PU surgery (perineal urethrostomy) actually costs.
Cat Rabies Vaccination: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat rabies vaccination cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat rabies vaccination is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $31, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat rabies vaccination actually costs.
Cat Spay or Neuter: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat spay or neuter cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 0 put cat spay or neuter inside covered scope, 17 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $322, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $322 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $322 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | DefenderPlus wellness rider only, sharing a $150 cap with dental cleaning. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base plan; a Preventive Care add-on benefit only. |
| Chewy CarePlus | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance plan. Chewy's wellness plan names spay/neuter as a covered preventive benefit. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as preventive care. Available through Wellness Rewards, which is not insurance. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Elective procedure, not in the base policy. The Wellness Powerup covers routine care. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base policy. Covered only if a preventative package with spay/neuter benefits is bought, which then also pays related IV fluids and anaesthesia. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive Care add-on only, sharing one sub-limit with teeth cleaning. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Wellness-rider only, and not covered at all within the first 90 days of the original policy term. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded from insurance. BestWellness pays $150; EssentialWellness pays nothing. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Pumpkin states plainly that its plans do not cover elective procedures like spaying and neutering. The Wellness Club, which is not insurance, offers cash back. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. Covered only on the Platinum preventive add-on, at $150. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named among the excluded elective procedures. The wellness endorsement pays up to $250. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named in Progressive's own list of what is not covered. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named explicitly in State Farm's non-eligible list of wellness and preventive care. |
| Trupanion | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Routine and preventive care is on USAA's own not-covered list, and spay/neuter is not named among the wellness benefits either. |
Cat Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,050, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $440 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat surgery actually costs.
Cat Ultrasound: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat ultrasound cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put cat ultrasound inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $483, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $483 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $483 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Chewy names X-rays among covered services but does not mention ultrasound. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | MetLife's policy form names ultrasounds directly among covered diagnostics, alongside lab work, blood tests, urinalysis, MRIs and CT scans. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostics including MRI and ultrasound are in Fetch's base policy with no add-on required. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $0 | State Farm lists diagnostic tests as covered but does not name ultrasound. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $0 | USAA lists diagnostic testing and imaging as covered but does not name ultrasound. |
Cat and Kitten Vaccination Series: which carriers pay
You arrived from the cat and kitten vaccination series cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether cat and kitten vaccination series is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $303, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what cat and kitten vaccination series actually costs.
DHPP Vaccine (Canine Distemper Combination): which carriers pay
You arrived from the DHPP vaccine (canine distemper combination) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether DHPP vaccine (canine distemper combination) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $42, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what DHPP vaccine (canine distemper combination) actually costs.
Dog ACL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament) Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog ACL (cranial cruciate ligament) surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 11 put dog ACL (cranial cruciate ligament) surgery inside covered scope, 5 exclude it outright, and 1 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $3,525, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $2,420 of it and leaves $1,105 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Orthopedic waiting period | Pays on $3,525 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Yes | None | $2,420 | MetLife classes cruciate ligament injury - ACL, MCL, CCL and PCL - as an accident, which carries no waiting period at all. That makes it the fastest cruciate coverage in this dataset by a wide margin. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Yes | 30 days | $2,420 | Named directly in the policy's Orthopedic Condition definition, which lists elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Covered after 30 days if not accident-caused, immediately if it is, and the wait can be waived by a post-purchase vet exam. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered on the ordinary 14-day period, which the shared policy form applies to ligament and knee conditions too. Knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral and are excluded from the cured-condition carve-back. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day period. Pumpkin singles out knee and hind-leg ligament conditions elsewhere though: they are the one carve-out from its curable-pre-existing rule, so a ligament problem arising before or during the waiting period permanently excludes future ones. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered on the ordinary 14-day period - Spot's filed form names ligament and knee conditions inside it. The catch is permanence: knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral, so an occurrence on one side affects both, and they are excluded from the 180-day cured-condition rule. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Chewy publishes a dedicated Cruciate Knee Injury waiting period - 30 days on the Accident Only and Value tiers, 14 days on Essential, Essential Plus and Complete. It is one of very few carrier-published cruciate-specific numbers anywhere. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Covered only after the 30-day orthopedic waiting period, and permanently lost if signs appear before it ends - Lemonade states knee and ligament conditions can never qualify as a curable pre-existing condition. |
| Trupanion | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Covered, but Trupanion's policy applies an evidence window rather than a waiting period: it is excluded if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after. For cruciate that window is bilateral, so a sign on one knee excludes the other. Hip dysplasia and IVDD carry parallel clauses. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $2,420 | Subject to Figo's orthopedic period, which is six months on the generation its coverage page describes and 30 days under a newer set of state disclosures. The six-month version is waivable via an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app if filed within the first 30 days. Figo lists surgeries and specialist treatment as covered. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $2,420 | Covered if not pre-existing, on the ordinary 15-day period. The trap is bilateral: if one cruciate was injured before enrolment or during the waiting period, the other leg is excluded. Healthy Paws states this is the only bilateral exclusion in its policy. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $2,420 | USAA publishes a cruciate claims statistic - an average of $1,605 per claim - but no coverage statement, and a cost figure is not a coverage grant. The underlying Embrace policy makes cruciate disease pre-existing for life if signs appear in the first 180 days. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | One hundred and eighty days in most states, written into AKC's filed form as a carve-out from the two-day injury period and applying regardless of cause. Roughly fifteen jurisdictions file a shorter 30-day period instead. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded in dogs for the first 180 days, and the V6 form makes it pre-existing for the life of the policy rather than merely delayed. Cruciate is bilateral: a diagnosis in one leg inside the window makes the other leg pre-existing too. Embrace's orthopedic exam and waiver process can cut the period to 14 days in some states, and cats get 14 days throughout. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded for the first 180 days, and not merely delayed - orthopedic conditions arising in that window become pre-existing for the life of the policy. Cruciate is the one condition with an escape hatch: a vet exam inside the 180 days noting no pre-existing knee problems restores coverage. Fetch also blocks the accident route, stating cruciate ligament disease will not be covered as an accident. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Six-month waiting period, and the accident route is closed: Pets Best defines a Cruciate Ligament Event as any strain, sprain, rupture, tear or degeneration of a knee cruciate ligament and states these are always medical conditions rather than accidents. On the accident-only plan cruciate events are excluded outright, not delayed. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 365 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | The hardest cruciate rule in this dataset. Nationwide's Whole Pet form excludes cruciate and meniscal damage diagnosed in the first twelve months, and lapsing coverage restarts the clock. On the Modular plan cruciate is a separate module that cannot be bought until twelve months after inception, and cruciate is never payable under accident coverage regardless of cause. Covered only from year two, and only if the module is added. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not named on State Farm's pet pages. The operative document is the Trupanion policy, which State Farm links to but does not reproduce. |
Dog Anal Gland Abscess Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog anal gland abscess treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog anal gland abscess treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $550, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $40 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog anal gland abscess treatment actually costs.
Dog Anal Gland Removal (Anal Sacculectomy): which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog anal gland removal (anal sacculectomy) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog anal gland removal (anal sacculectomy) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,500, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $800 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog anal gland removal (anal sacculectomy) actually costs.
Dog Biopsy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog biopsy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog biopsy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $465, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog biopsy actually costs.
Dog Bladder Stone Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog bladder stone surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog bladder stone surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,700, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $960 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog bladder stone surgery actually costs.
Dog BOAS Surgery (Brachycephalic Airway): which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog BOAS surgery (brachycephalic airway) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog BOAS surgery (brachycephalic airway) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,000, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,200 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog BOAS surgery (brachycephalic airway) actually costs.
Dog Bowel Obstruction Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog bowel obstruction surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog bowel obstruction surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $4,383, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $3,106 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog bowel obstruction surgery actually costs.
Dog Broken Leg Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog broken leg surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog broken leg surgery inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $2,615, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $1,692 of it and leaves $923 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Accident waiting period | Pays on $2,615 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | None | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 1 day | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 2 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 3 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 5 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,692 | Fracture repair after an accident is the core of what an accident policy pays for, though the carrier's own documents do not name it. |
Dog Chemotherapy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog chemotherapy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog chemotherapy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $5,254, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $3,803 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog chemotherapy actually costs.
Dog Cherry Eye Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog cherry eye surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog cherry eye surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $544, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $35 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog cherry eye surgery actually costs.
Dog Cremation: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog cremation cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 5 put dog cremation inside covered scope, 6 exclude it outright, and 6 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $250, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $250 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $250 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Named among covered end-of-life expenses on the shared Independence American policy form, alongside burial - more generous than most carriers here. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | MetLife's policy form pays up to $500 for cremation or burial expenses as a mortality benefit. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | The only carrier in this dataset that clearly covers cremation. Nationwide's end-of-life benefit names cremation fees including urns, burial fees including plots and caskets, aqua cremation, paw prints and necropsy, up to $250 a term with no deductible or coinsurance. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Named among covered end-of-life expenses on the shared Independence American policy form. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Unusual: Spot's policy documentation names burial and cremation alongside euthanasia as covered end-of-life expenses. Most carriers here exclude cremation outright. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not on the base policy. Cremation sits in the SupportPlus rider, capped at $300, and that rider can only be bought while the pet is under four. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy at all. Wellness Rewards, which is explicitly not insurance, lists cremation and burial among its benefits. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not covered by the policy itself. Figo sells a separate Final Respects benefit capped at $250. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Explicitly excluded: cremation, burial and any after-life care. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Explicitly excluded. Fetch states plainly that its plan does not cover cremation. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Explicitly excluded: Healthy Paws says aftercare expenses such as cremation or burial are not eligible for coverage. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on Chewy's own pages. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Lemonade's pet FAQ does not address cremation. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Unverified | 15 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on Progressive's program site or in its Insurer Disclosure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on State Farm's pet pages. |
| Trupanion | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed in Trupanion's sample policy. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on USAA's pet page. |
Dog Cushing's Disease Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog cushing's disease treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog cushing's disease treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,650, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,720 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog cushing's disease treatment actually costs.
Dog Dental Cleaning: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog dental cleaning cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 0 put dog dental cleaning inside covered scope, 17 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $388, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $388 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $388 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | DefenderPlus wellness rider only, and it shares a $150 cap with spay/neuter, so a pet cannot claim both in full. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base plan. ASPCA's Preventive Care add-on reimburses routine dental cleaning against a fixed schedule rather than the invoice. |
| Chewy CarePlus | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance plan. Chewy's wellness plan names dental cleaning as a covered preventive benefit. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Never covered by the insurance policy, even therapeutically - Embrace excludes dental prophylaxis explicitly, including when performed as treatment for a covered dental illness. Wellness Rewards, which is not insurance, can reimburse it. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Figo excludes dental prophylaxis at any time or for any reason - stricter wording than its Independence American siblings. Its Wellness Powerup can reimburse routine care. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base policy. Routine teeth cleaning sits in the Preventative+ Care package and is capped at $150 - one of the few hard dental sub-limits any carrier publishes. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive Care add-on only, and it shares a single sub-limit with spay/neuter - $100 on the cheaper tier, $150 on the dearer one - so a pet cannot claim both in full. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy, and blocked twice over: dental cleaning is not covered within the first 90 days of the original term, and routine cleaning is a wellness benefit that explicitly excludes any work addressing periodontal disease or subgingival infection. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded from the insurance policy outright - scaling, cleaning and polishing at any time or for any reason. Available only on the dearer BestWellness tier at $150; EssentialWellness pays nothing toward it. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Pumpkin states plainly that its plans do not cover annual dental cleanings. The Wellness Club, which is not insurance, offers cash back on dental care. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. Spot's preventive add-ons cover routine dental cleaning and begin just 24 hours after purchase. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive dental prophylaxis is excluded from the policy; routine cleaning sits in the wellness endorsement. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Listed under preventive healthcare, which the policy does not cover. Healthy Paws sells no wellness add-on. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. The Wellness add-on pays routine dental cleaning up to $125 a year at 100% with no deductible. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Falls under wellness and preventive care, which State Farm's own non-eligible list excludes. There is no wellness add-on. |
| Trupanion | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Never covered. Trupanion's policy excludes dental prophylaxis at any time or for any reason, and Trupanion sells no wellness product. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Routine and preventive care is on USAA's own not-covered list. The Embrace Wellness Rewards add-on covers routine care but USAA does not name dental cleaning among the benefits. |
Dog Ear Hematoma Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog ear hematoma surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog ear hematoma surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $690, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $152 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog ear hematoma surgery actually costs.
Dog Entropion Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog entropion surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog entropion surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $500, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog entropion surgery actually costs.
Dog Enucleation (Eye Removal): which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog enucleation (eye removal) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog enucleation (eye removal) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $700, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $160 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog enucleation (eye removal) actually costs.
Dog Euthanasia: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog euthanasia cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 9 put dog euthanasia inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 8 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $225, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $225 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $225 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Euthanasia is covered on AKC's base policy. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Named among covered end-of-life expenses on the shared Independence American policy form. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Covered where necessary for humane reasons due to a covered condition. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Euthanasia is covered under Figo's policy. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Covered, and unusually generously: Nationwide's end-of-life benefit pays euthanasia up to $250 a term with no deductible or coinsurance, and pays even when the condition was pre-existing or otherwise ineligible. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Named among covered end-of-life expenses on the shared Independence American policy form. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $0 | Spot's own policy documentation names euthanasia among covered end-of-life expenses. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Yes | 15 days | $0 | Healthy Paws states plainly that the plan covers euthanasia when it is medically necessary for a covered condition. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Covered only when the treating veterinarian recommends it; Fetch excludes euthanasia that is not vet-recommended, and excludes post-mortem examinations. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on Chewy's own pages. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Lemonade's pet FAQ does not address euthanasia. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | The word euthanasia appears nowhere in MetLife's 15-page policy form, and only in hedged blog language elsewhere - a real gap given the form does cover cremation. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Pets Best's marketing pages say euthanasia is covered when a vet recommends it for humane reasons, but the word appears in neither the coverage nor the exclusion sections of its filed policy booklets. Left unverified because the site and the contract do not agree. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Unverified | 15 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on Progressive's program site or in its Insurer Disclosure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on State Farm's pet pages. |
| Trupanion | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Trupanion's sample policy does not address euthanasia. Its Pet Owner Assistance Package rider may, but the rider's terms are not in the public sample. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on USAA's pet page. |
Dog Eye Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog eye surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog eye surgery inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $1,500, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $800 of it and leaves $700 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $1,500 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Chewy states its insurance plans cover surgeries, X-rays, medications and hospitalisation fees, without naming individual procedures. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that on Major Medical plans Nationwide pays against a per-condition benefit schedule rather than reimbursing a percentage of the invoice, which changes what a large surgical bill actually returns. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that Pets Best applies the deductible after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a large surgical claim returns. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $800 | State Farm lists surgeries, hospital stays and treatment of serious illnesses including cancer as eligible, without naming individual procedures. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $800 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $800 | USAA lists surgery, hospitalisation and nursing care, and cancer treatment, as covered, without naming individual procedures. |
Dog Eyelid Tumor Removal: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog eyelid tumor removal cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog eyelid tumor removal is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $760, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $208 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog eyelid tumor removal actually costs.
Dog Gastropexy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog gastropexy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog gastropexy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,800, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,040 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog gastropexy actually costs.
Dog Heartworm Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog heartworm treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog heartworm treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,200, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $560 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog heartworm treatment actually costs.
Dog Hernia Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog hernia surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog hernia surgery inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $800, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $240 of it and leaves $560 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $800 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Chewy states its insurance plans cover surgeries, X-rays, medications and hospitalisation fees, without naming individual procedures. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that on Major Medical plans Nationwide pays against a per-condition benefit schedule rather than reimbursing a percentage of the invoice, which changes what a large surgical bill actually returns. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that Pets Best applies the deductible after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a large surgical claim returns. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $240 | State Farm lists surgeries, hospital stays and treatment of serious illnesses including cancer as eligible, without naming individual procedures. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $240 | USAA lists surgery, hospitalisation and nursing care, and cancer treatment, as covered, without naming individual procedures. |
Dog Hip Dysplasia Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog hip dysplasia surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 12 put dog hip dysplasia surgery inside covered scope, 4 exclude it outright, and 1 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $2,791, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $1,833 of it and leaves $958 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Orthopedic waiting period | Pays on $2,791 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $1,833 | ASPCA names hip dysplasia and luxating patella directly among the conditions its base plan covers - a real difference from its sibling brand AKC, where both sit behind a hereditary rider. Ordinary 14-day waiting period. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Yes | 30 days | $1,833 | Named directly in the policy's Orthopedic Condition definition, which lists elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Covered after 30 days if not accident-caused, immediately if it is, and the wait can be waived by a post-purchase vet exam. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Yes | Unverified | $1,833 | State Farm names hip and elbow dysplasia directly as conditions the plan helps with, hereditary or congenital. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $1,833 | MetLife says it has no separate orthopedic waiting period, so this falls under the ordinary accident or illness period. Its policy form does not name the condition. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,833 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day waiting period; the shared Independence American form applies one period to accidents, illnesses and orthopedic conditions alike. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,833 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day waiting period; Spot's filed form applies one period to accidents, illnesses and orthopedic conditions alike. Spot lists hip dysplasia and orthopedic conditions among what it covers. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 30 days | $1,833 | Covered after the 30-day orthopedic waiting period. Lemonade names the period but not this condition individually. |
| Trupanion | Typically | 30 days | $1,833 | Covered, but Trupanion's policy applies an evidence window rather than a waiting period: it is excluded if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after. For cruciate that window is bilateral, so a sign on one knee excludes the other. Hip dysplasia and IVDD carry parallel clauses. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $1,833 | Subject to Figo's orthopedic period, which is six months on the generation its coverage page describes and 30 days under a newer set of state disclosures. The six-month version is waivable via an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app if filed within the first 30 days. Figo lists surgeries and specialist treatment as covered. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $1,833 | Not singled out by Pets Best - only cruciate gets a longer period - so this sits on the ordinary 14-day illness waiting period. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $1,833 | Covered, after the longest orthopedic wait in this dataset: twelve months for pets enrolled at age five or under. Healthy Paws names the surgeries it pays for - FHO, DPO/TPO and total hip replacement - and covers everything but the exam fee. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,833 | USAA lists congenital, genetic and breed-specific conditions as covered, which is where hip dysplasia falls, but does not name it. The underlying Embrace policy applies a 180-day orthopedic exclusion in dogs. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not on the base plan at all. Hip dysplasia and luxating patella are excluded from AKC's accident-and-illness policy and sold only through the HereditaryPlus rider, which adds its own 30-day wait and can only be bought while the pet is under two. The accident-only plan excludes them outright. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded in dogs for the first 180 days, and the V6 form makes it pre-existing for the life of the policy rather than merely delayed. Cruciate is bilateral: a diagnosis in one leg inside the window makes the other leg pre-existing too. Embrace's orthopedic exam and waiver process can cut the period to 14 days in some states, and cats get 14 days throughout. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded for the first 180 days and pre-existing for life thereafter if it arises in that window. Fetch's orthopedic definition names hip dysplasia and patellar luxation, and the knees-only exam waiver does not reach them. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 365 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded outright on Nationwide's Major Medical form, which bars hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation and osteochondritis dissecans rather than merely delaying them. Whether a given customer has cover depends entirely on which Nationwide plan they hold. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 30 days | Not established from a primary source | Chewy's waiting-period table has a cruciate row but no row for this condition, and its pages do not address it. A CarePlus policy inherits whichever underwriter issued it, so the real terms are Trupanion's or Lemonade's. |
Dog Total Hip Replacement: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog total hip replacement cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog total hip replacement is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $8,000, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $6,000 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog total hip replacement actually costs.
Dog Leg Amputation: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog leg amputation cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog leg amputation is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $1,675, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $940 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog leg amputation actually costs.
Dog Lipoma Removal: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog lipoma removal cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog lipoma removal is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $700, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $160 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog lipoma removal actually costs.
Dog Luxating Patella Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog luxating patella surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 10 put dog luxating patella surgery inside covered scope, 4 exclude it outright, and 3 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $1,700, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $960 of it and leaves $740 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Orthopedic waiting period | Pays on $1,700 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $960 | ASPCA names hip dysplasia and luxating patella directly among the conditions its base plan covers - a real difference from its sibling brand AKC, where both sit behind a hereditary rider. Ordinary 14-day waiting period. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Yes | 30 days | $960 | Named directly in the policy's Orthopedic Condition definition, which lists elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Covered after 30 days if not accident-caused, immediately if it is, and the wait can be waived by a post-purchase vet exam. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $960 | MetLife says it has no separate orthopedic waiting period, so this falls under the ordinary accident or illness period. Its policy form does not name the condition. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $960 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day period. Pumpkin singles out knee and hind-leg ligament conditions elsewhere though: they are the one carve-out from its curable-pre-existing rule, so a ligament problem arising before or during the waiting period permanently excludes future ones. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $960 | Covered on the ordinary 14-day period - Spot's filed form names ligament and knee conditions inside it. The catch is permanence: knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral, so an occurrence on one side affects both, and they are excluded from the 180-day cured-condition rule. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 30 days | $960 | Covered after the 30-day orthopedic waiting period. Lemonade names the period but not this condition individually. |
| Trupanion | Typically | 30 days | $960 | Covered, but Trupanion's policy applies an evidence window rather than a waiting period: it is excluded if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after. For cruciate that window is bilateral, so a sign on one knee excludes the other. Hip dysplasia and IVDD carry parallel clauses. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $960 | Subject to Figo's orthopedic period, which is six months on the generation its coverage page describes and 30 days under a newer set of state disclosures. The six-month version is waivable via an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app if filed within the first 30 days. Figo lists surgeries and specialist treatment as covered. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $960 | Not singled out by Pets Best - only cruciate gets a longer period - so this sits on the ordinary 14-day illness waiting period. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $960 | Covered as an orthopedic or hereditary condition after the standard 15-day waiting period. Healthy Paws does not name this procedure specifically. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not on the base plan at all. Hip dysplasia and luxating patella are excluded from AKC's accident-and-illness policy and sold only through the HereditaryPlus rider, which adds its own 30-day wait and can only be bought while the pet is under two. The accident-only plan excludes them outright. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded in dogs for the first 180 days, and the V6 form makes it pre-existing for the life of the policy rather than merely delayed. Cruciate is bilateral: a diagnosis in one leg inside the window makes the other leg pre-existing too. Embrace's orthopedic exam and waiver process can cut the period to 14 days in some states, and cats get 14 days throughout. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded for the first 180 days and pre-existing for life thereafter if it arises in that window. Fetch's orthopedic definition names hip dysplasia and patellar luxation, and the knees-only exam waiver does not reach them. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 365 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded outright on Nationwide's Major Medical form, which bars hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation and osteochondritis dissecans rather than merely delaying them. Whether a given customer has cover depends entirely on which Nationwide plan they hold. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 30 days | Not established from a primary source | Chewy's waiting-period table has a cruciate row but no row for this condition, and its pages do not address it. A CarePlus policy inherits whichever underwriter issued it, so the real terms are Trupanion's or Lemonade's. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not named on State Farm's pet pages. The operative document is the Trupanion policy, which State Farm links to but does not reproduce. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed anywhere on USAA's own pet page. The underlying Embrace policy applies a 180-day orthopedic exclusion in dogs, but USAA does not reproduce that term. |
Dog Lymphoma Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog lymphoma treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog lymphoma treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $5,254, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $3,803 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog lymphoma treatment actually costs.
Dog Paraphimosis Treatment: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog paraphimosis treatment cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog paraphimosis treatment is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $950, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $360 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog paraphimosis treatment actually costs.
Dog Pyometra Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog pyometra surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog pyometra surgery inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $1,218, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $574 of it and leaves $644 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $1,218 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Chewy states its insurance plans cover surgeries, X-rays, medications and hospitalisation fees, without naming individual procedures. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that on Major Medical plans Nationwide pays against a per-condition benefit schedule rather than reimbursing a percentage of the invoice, which changes what a large surgical bill actually returns. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that Pets Best applies the deductible after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a large surgical claim returns. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $574 | State Farm lists surgeries, hospital stays and treatment of serious illnesses including cancer as eligible, without naming individual procedures. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $574 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $574 | USAA lists surgery, hospitalisation and nursing care, and cancer treatment, as covered, without naming individual procedures. |
Dog Rabies Vaccination: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog rabies vaccination cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 0 put dog rabies vaccination inside covered scope, 16 exclude it outright, and 1 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $25, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $25 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $25 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive care, available through a wellness rider rather than the policy. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base plan; a Preventive Care add-on benefit only, paid against a schedule. |
| Chewy CarePlus | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance plan. Chewy's wellness plan covers vaccines, though rabies is not named specifically. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as preventive care. Note the sting in the tail: Embrace also excludes illnesses that a declined vaccine would have prevented. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive care, available through the Wellness Powerup rather than the policy. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base policy. Routine vaccines are covered only under a preventative package. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive care, available only through a wellness rider. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Wellness only, at $15 on either tier. Vaccination compliance is also a condition precedent - Pets Best warns that failing to vaccinate could result in denied claims. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive care. The Wellness Club, which is not insurance, offers cash back on vaccines. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. Vaccinations sit in the preventive add-ons. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Vaccinations are excluded as routine care and sit in the wellness endorsement. Vaccination is also a condition precedent - Fetch denies claims for vaccine-preventable illness if the pet was not vaccinated. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. The Wellness add-on pays vaccinations including rabies up to $80 a year. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Vaccinations are named in State Farm's non-eligible list of wellness and preventive care. |
| Trupanion | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Routine and preventive care is on USAA's own not-covered list. Wellness Rewards covers vaccinations generically; rabies is not named. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | MetLife's own documents disagree: its blog says rabies is covered under Preventive Care, while the benefit-schedule PDF's vaccine list omits it. Left unverified rather than resolved in either direction. |
Low-Cost Dog Rabies Vaccination: which carriers pay
You arrived from the low-cost dog rabies vaccination cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether low-cost dog rabies vaccination is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $20, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what low-cost dog rabies vaccination actually costs.
Dog Root Canal: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog root canal cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog root canal is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $3,200, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $2,160 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog root canal actually costs.
Dog Salivary Mucocele Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog salivary mucocele surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog salivary mucocele surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,000, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,200 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog salivary mucocele surgery actually costs.
Dog Spay or Neuter: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog spay or neuter cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 0 put dog spay or neuter inside covered scope, 17 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $455, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $455 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $455 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | DefenderPlus wellness rider only, sharing a $150 cap with dental cleaning. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base plan; a Preventive Care add-on benefit only. |
| Chewy CarePlus | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance plan. Chewy's wellness plan names spay/neuter as a covered preventive benefit. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as preventive care. Available through Wellness Rewards, which is not insurance. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Elective procedure, not in the base policy. The Wellness Powerup covers routine care. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the base policy. Covered only if a preventative package with spay/neuter benefits is bought, which then also pays related IV fluids and anaesthesia. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Preventive Care add-on only, sharing one sub-limit with teeth cleaning. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Wellness-rider only, and not covered at all within the first 90 days of the original policy term. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded from insurance. BestWellness pays $150; EssentialWellness pays nothing. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Pumpkin states plainly that its plans do not cover elective procedures like spaying and neutering. The Wellness Club, which is not insurance, offers cash back. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Not in the insurance policy. Covered only on the Platinum preventive add-on, at $150. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named among the excluded elective procedures. The wellness endorsement pays up to $250. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | No | 15 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named in Progressive's own list of what is not covered. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Named explicitly in State Farm's non-eligible list of wellness and preventive care. |
| Trupanion | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded as routine or preventive care, and this carrier sells no wellness add-on to buy it back. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | No | Unverified | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Routine and preventive care is on USAA's own not-covered list, and spay/neuter is not named among the wellness benefits either. |
Dog Spinal Surgery (IVDD): which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog spinal surgery (IVDD) cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 11 put dog spinal surgery (IVDD) inside covered scope, 3 exclude it outright, and 3 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $7,000, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $5,200 of it and leaves $1,800 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Orthopedic waiting period | Pays on $7,000 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Yes | 30 days | $5,200 | Named directly in the policy's Orthopedic Condition definition, which lists elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Covered after 30 days if not accident-caused, immediately if it is, and the wait can be waived by a post-purchase vet exam. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | None | $5,200 | MetLife says it has no separate orthopedic waiting period, so this falls under the ordinary accident or illness period. Its policy form does not name the condition. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $5,200 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day waiting period; the shared policy form applies one period to accidents, illnesses and orthopedic conditions alike. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $5,200 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day waiting period; the shared Independence American form applies one period to accidents, illnesses and orthopedic conditions alike. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $5,200 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day waiting period; Spot's filed form applies one period to accidents, illnesses and orthopedic conditions alike. Spot lists hip dysplasia and orthopedic conditions among what it covers. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 30 days | $5,200 | Covered after the 30-day orthopedic waiting period. Lemonade names the period but not this condition individually. |
| Trupanion | Typically | 30 days | $5,200 | Covered, but Trupanion's policy applies an evidence window rather than a waiting period: it is excluded if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after. For cruciate that window is bilateral, so a sign on one knee excludes the other. Hip dysplasia and IVDD carry parallel clauses. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $5,200 | Subject to Figo's orthopedic period, which is six months on the generation its coverage page describes and 30 days under a newer set of state disclosures. The six-month version is waivable via an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app if filed within the first 30 days. Figo lists surgeries and specialist treatment as covered. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $5,200 | Not singled out by Pets Best - only cruciate gets a longer period - so this sits on the ordinary 14-day illness waiting period. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $5,200 | Covered as an orthopedic or hereditary condition after the standard 15-day waiting period. Healthy Paws does not name this procedure specifically. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $5,200 | IVDD is not named in Nationwide's cruciate or Major Medical orthopedic exclusions, so it sits on the ordinary 14-day period on plans that include illness cover. Nationwide's Major Medical benefit schedule prices intervertebral disc disease surgery as a scheduled benefit rather than paying the invoice. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | One hundred and eighty days in most states for IVDD including slipped or herniated discs, written into AKC's filed form as a carve-out from the fourteen-day illness period. Roughly fifteen jurisdictions file 30 days instead. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded in dogs for the first 180 days, and the V6 form makes it pre-existing for the life of the policy rather than merely delayed. Cruciate is bilateral: a diagnosis in one leg inside the window makes the other leg pre-existing too. Embrace's orthopedic exam and waiver process can cut the period to 14 days in some states, and cats get 14 days throughout. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded for the first 180 days and pre-existing for life thereafter if it arises in that window. The knees-only waiver does not reach IVDD, and Fetch states IVDD will not be covered as an accident either. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 30 days | Not established from a primary source | Chewy's waiting-period table has a cruciate row but no row for this condition, and its pages do not address it. A CarePlus policy inherits whichever underwriter issued it, so the real terms are Trupanion's or Lemonade's. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not named on State Farm's pet pages. The operative document is the Trupanion policy, which State Farm links to but does not reproduce. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed anywhere on USAA's own pet page. The underlying Embrace policy applies a 180-day orthopedic exclusion in dogs, but USAA does not reproduce that term. |
Dog Splenectomy: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog splenectomy cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog splenectomy is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $2,300, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $1,440 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog splenectomy actually costs.
Dog Stenotic Nares Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog stenotic nares surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog stenotic nares surgery is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $900, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $320 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog stenotic nares surgery actually costs.
Dog Stitches (Laceration Repair): which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog stitches (laceration repair) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether dog stitches (laceration repair) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $610, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $88 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what dog stitches (laceration repair) actually costs.
Dog Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog surgery inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $2,500, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $1,600 of it and leaves $900 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $2,500 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Chewy states its insurance plans cover surgeries, X-rays, medications and hospitalisation fees, without naming individual procedures. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that on Major Medical plans Nationwide pays against a per-condition benefit schedule rather than reimbursing a percentage of the invoice, which changes what a large surgical bill actually returns. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that Pets Best applies the deductible after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a large surgical claim returns. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,600 | State Farm lists surgeries, hospital stays and treatment of serious illnesses including cancer as eligible, without naming individual procedures. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $1,600 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $1,600 | USAA lists surgery, hospitalisation and nursing care, and cancer treatment, as covered, without naming individual procedures. |
Dog Teeth Extraction: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog teeth extraction cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 11 put dog teeth extraction inside covered scope, 1 exclude it outright, and 5 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $800, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $240 of it and leaves $560 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $800 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Yes | 14 days | $240 | Pumpkin states directly that its plans cover tooth extractions for dental injuries, and cover dental illnesses including periodontal disease along with the exams, X-rays, surgery and medication used to treat them. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Yes | 15 days | $240 | Extractions, root canals and periodontal treatment are covered by the base policy - broader than most carriers here, which limit dental to accident damage. Routine cleaning is not. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | AKC's base policy covers extraction arising from accidental tooth damage. Extraction driven by periodontal disease is not clearly within scope. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Tooth extraction is payable under the base plan; routine cleaning is not. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Dental illness is covered but capped at a $1,000 annual sub-limit, and the cleaning component is never payable even when done as part of treating that illness. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Figo lists dental illness and injury among covered categories, so extraction driven by disease or trauma is payable; prophylaxis never is. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Dental treatment for a covered condition is payable, but oral health conditions with pre-existing clinical signs are excluded, and Nationwide's Major Medical plans pay dental work on a benefit schedule rather than reimbursing the invoice. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Covered but narrowly: endodontic treatment and extractions for canine and carnassial teeth in periodontal disease. Pets Best also requires records showing a cleaning under general anaesthetic within the last 13 months before it will pay a periodontal claim - a condition almost no other carrier publishes. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Tooth extraction is payable under the base policy; routine cleaning is not. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Covered when the damage is accidental - Healthy Paws pays for extraction and reconstruction of teeth injured in an accident - and dental illnesses are eligible if not pre-existing. Routine cleaning is not. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $240 | Dental treatment is covered, but conditionally: the pet's teeth must be examined by a vet at least once every 12 months, and dental illness is excluded if there was any prior periodontal disease, gingivitis, tartar, stomatitis or resorptive lesion. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | No | 14 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Dental accidents are covered by the base policy, but dental illness such as periodontal disease requires the Dental Illness add-on and is capped at $1,000 a year. Extraction driven by dental disease is therefore not a base-policy benefit. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on Chewy's own pages. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Unverified | 14 days | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed in MetLife's policy form or on its coverage pages. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Unverified | 15 days | Not established from a primary source | Progressive's program pages and statutory disclosure do not address tooth extraction. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on State Farm's pet pages. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not addressed on USAA's pet page. |
Dog TPLO Surgery: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog TPLO surgery cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 11 put dog TPLO surgery inside covered scope, 5 exclude it outright, and 1 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $3,525, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $2,420 of it and leaves $1,105 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Orthopedic waiting period | Pays on $3,525 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Yes | None | $2,420 | MetLife classes cruciate ligament injury - ACL, MCL, CCL and PCL - as an accident, which carries no waiting period at all. That makes it the fastest cruciate coverage in this dataset by a wide margin. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Yes | 30 days | $2,420 | Named directly in the policy's Orthopedic Condition definition, which lists elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Covered after 30 days if not accident-caused, immediately if it is, and the wait can be waived by a post-purchase vet exam. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered on the ordinary 14-day period, which the shared policy form applies to ligament and knee conditions too. Knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral and are excluded from the cured-condition carve-back. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered after the ordinary 14-day period. Pumpkin singles out knee and hind-leg ligament conditions elsewhere though: they are the one carve-out from its curable-pre-existing rule, so a ligament problem arising before or during the waiting period permanently excludes future ones. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $2,420 | Covered on the ordinary 14-day period - Spot's filed form names ligament and knee conditions inside it. The catch is permanence: knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral, so an occurrence on one side affects both, and they are excluded from the 180-day cured-condition rule. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Chewy publishes a dedicated Cruciate Knee Injury waiting period - 30 days on the Accident Only and Value tiers, 14 days on Essential, Essential Plus and Complete. It is one of very few carrier-published cruciate-specific numbers anywhere. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Covered only after the 30-day orthopedic waiting period, and permanently lost if signs appear before it ends - Lemonade states knee and ligament conditions can never qualify as a curable pre-existing condition. |
| Trupanion | Typically | 30 days | $2,420 | Covered, but Trupanion's policy applies an evidence window rather than a waiting period: it is excluded if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after. For cruciate that window is bilateral, so a sign on one knee excludes the other. Hip dysplasia and IVDD carry parallel clauses. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 180 days | $2,420 | Subject to Figo's orthopedic period, which is six months on the generation its coverage page describes and 30 days under a newer set of state disclosures. The six-month version is waivable via an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app if filed within the first 30 days. Figo lists surgeries and specialist treatment as covered. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 365 days | $2,420 | Covered if not pre-existing, on the ordinary 15-day period. The trap is bilateral: if one cruciate was injured before enrolment or during the waiting period, the other leg is excluded. Healthy Paws states this is the only bilateral exclusion in its policy. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $2,420 | USAA publishes a cruciate claims statistic - an average of $1,605 per claim - but no coverage statement, and a cost figure is not a coverage grant. The underlying Embrace policy makes cruciate disease pre-existing for life if signs appear in the first 180 days. |
| AKC Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | One hundred and eighty days in most states, written into AKC's filed form as a carve-out from the two-day injury period and applying regardless of cause. Roughly fifteen jurisdictions file a shorter 30-day period instead. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded in dogs for the first 180 days, and the V6 form makes it pre-existing for the life of the policy rather than merely delayed. Cruciate is bilateral: a diagnosis in one leg inside the window makes the other leg pre-existing too. Embrace's orthopedic exam and waiver process can cut the period to 14 days in some states, and cats get 14 days throughout. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Excluded for the first 180 days, and not merely delayed - orthopedic conditions arising in that window become pre-existing for the life of the policy. Cruciate is the one condition with an escape hatch: a vet exam inside the 180 days noting no pre-existing knee problems restores coverage. Fetch also blocks the accident route, stating cruciate ligament disease will not be covered as an accident. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | No | 180 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | Six-month waiting period, and the accident route is closed: Pets Best defines a Cruciate Ligament Event as any strain, sprain, rupture, tear or degeneration of a knee cruciate ligament and states these are always medical conditions rather than accidents. On the accident-only plan cruciate events are excluded outright, not delayed. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | No | 365 days | Excluded — the policy pays nothing | The hardest cruciate rule in this dataset. Nationwide's Whole Pet form excludes cruciate and meniscal damage diagnosed in the first twelve months, and lapsing coverage restarts the clock. On the Modular plan cruciate is a separate module that cannot be bought until twelve months after inception, and cruciate is never payable under accident coverage regardless of cause. Covered only from year two, and only if the module is added. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Unverified | Unverified | Not established from a primary source | Not named on State Farm's pet pages. The operative document is the Trupanion policy, which State Farm links to but does not reproduce. |
Dog Tumor Removal: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog tumor removal cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog tumor removal inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $800, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $240 of it and leaves $560 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $800 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Chewy states its insurance plans cover surgeries, X-rays, medications and hospitalisation fees, without naming individual procedures. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that on Major Medical plans Nationwide pays against a per-condition benefit schedule rather than reimbursing a percentage of the invoice, which changes what a large surgical bill actually returns. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a covered accident or illness is payable. Note that Pets Best applies the deductible after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a large surgical claim returns. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $240 | State Farm lists surgeries, hospital stays and treatment of serious illnesses including cancer as eligible, without naming individual procedures. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $240 | Surgery to treat a new accident or illness after the waiting period falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe surgery generically rather than naming this procedure. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $240 | USAA lists surgery, hospitalisation and nursing care, and cancer treatment, as covered, without naming individual procedures. |
Dog Ultrasound: which carriers pay
You arrived from the dog ultrasound cost page. This is the section for it.
Of the 17 brands here, 17 put dog ultrasound inside covered scope, 0 exclude it outright, and 0 publish nothing we could verify either way. The typical invoice is $483, so a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $0 of it and leaves $483 with you.
| Brand | Covered? | Illness waiting period | Pays on $483 | What the carrier’s own document says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKC Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| ASPCA Pet Health Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Chewy CarePlus | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Chewy names X-rays among covered services but does not mention ultrasound. |
| Embrace Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Figo Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Lemonade Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| MetLife Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | MetLife's policy form names ultrasounds directly among covered diagnostics, alongside lab work, blood tests, urinalysis, MRIs and CT scans. |
| Nationwide Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Pets Best Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Spot Pet Insurance | Typically | 14 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Fetch by The Dodo | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostics including MRI and ultrasound are in Fetch's base policy with no add-on required. |
| Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| Progressive Pet Insurance | Typically | 15 days | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| State Farm Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $0 | State Farm lists diagnostic tests as covered but does not name ultrasound. |
| Trupanion | Typically | Unverified | $0 | Diagnostic imaging used to investigate a covered accident or illness falls inside the carrier's covered scope. The carrier's own documents describe diagnostics generically rather than naming ultrasound. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | Typically | Unverified | $0 | USAA lists diagnostic testing and imaging as covered but does not name ultrasound. |
Low-Cost Dog and Cat Dental Cleaning: which carriers pay
You arrived from the low-cost dog and cat dental cleaning cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether low-cost dog and cat dental cleaning is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $465, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what low-cost dog and cat dental cleaning actually costs.
Puppy Vaccination Series: which carriers pay
You arrived from the puppy vaccination series cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether puppy vaccination series is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $291, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what puppy vaccination series actually costs.
Veterinary Urgent Care Visit: which carriers pay
You arrived from the veterinary urgent care visit cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether veterinary urgent care visit is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $124, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what veterinary urgent care visit actually costs.
Routine Vet Checkup (Wellness Exam): which carriers pay
You arrived from the routine vet checkup (wellness exam) cost page. This is the section for it.
None of the 17 brands here publishes a document that settles whether routine vet checkup (wellness exam) is covered — so rather than print 17 rows of “unverified”, this section says so once. What is not in doubt is the bill: the typical invoice is $66, and a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible would pay back $0 of it if it covers the claim at all. Treat the illness waiting period in the brand records below as the clause most likely to gate it, and ask the carrier in writing before you buy. See what routine vet checkup (wellness exam) actually costs.
What we could not verify
Seventeen brands, ten insurance companies
The brand on the advertisement is usually not the company on the risk. Grouping the seventeen by the underwriter each one names in its own disclosure collapses the market considerably, and it means two “independent” quotes can be the same insurer pricing the same book twice.
- Independence American / Independence Pet — AKC Pet Insurance, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Figo Pet Insurance, Pets Best Pet Insurance, Pumpkin Pet Insurance, Spot Pet Insurance
- Trupanion (American Pet Insurance Company) — Chewy CarePlus, Pets Best Pet Insurance, State Farm Pet Insurance, Trupanion
- Crum & Forster (United States Fire) — ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Pumpkin Pet Insurance, Spot Pet Insurance
- American Modern Insurance Group — Embrace Pet Insurance, USAA Pet Insurance
- Lemonade Insurance Company — Chewy CarePlus, Lemonade Pet Insurance
Three of these brands are one policy document
Two of these brands are not insurers at all
A pass-through brand sells you somebody else’s policy and says so, usually in the footer. It matters for two reasons: the terms that decide your claim are the underwriter’s, not the brand’s, and the brand often publishes none of them — which is why the records below are the thinnest on the page.
- State Farm Pet Insurance
- Not an insurer. State Farm resells the Trupanion program (American Pet Insurance Company / ZPIC) and states in its own footer that it is neither offering the product nor financially responsible for it.
- USAA Pet Insurance
- Not an insurer. The USAA Insurance Agency earns commission on an American Modern policy administered by Embrace — the same underwriter and the same administrator as Embrace's own product.
- Chewy CarePlus
- Not an insurer. Chewy is an agency reselling either a Trupanion-underwritten or a Lemonade-underwritten policy, depending on the state.
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
- Licensed brand, not an insurer. The ASPCA receives a royalty and states it is not engaged in the business of insurance.
- AKC Pet Insurance
- Licensed brand, not an insurer. Policies are produced by PetPartners and underwritten by Independence American or Independence Pet Insurance Company.
Where this dataset is too thin to compare
Every carrier record is scored on 27 fields: 20 procedure verdicts, three waiting periods, the enrolment-age ceiling, and the reimbursement, deductible and annual-limit ladders. These records fall short by seven fields or more, and a row of theirs in the tables above should be read as a gap in the public record rather than as a finding about the policy.
| Brand | Unverified | Why the record is thin |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm Pet Insurance | 13 of 27 | State Farm is a white-label of Trupanion and says so plainly in its own footer, including a disclaimer that State Farm entities are not financially responsible for the product. The four fields that matter most for comparison - waiting periods, reimbursement percentage, deductible amounts and enrolment age - are published nowhere State Farm controls; they live only in the Trupanion sample policy, which returns HTTP 403 to everything. This is the thinnest record in the dataset and is deliberately left that way. |
| USAA Pet Insurance | 12 of 27 | USAA is an affinity referral, not an insurer: the USAA Insurance Agency earns commission on a policy underwritten by American Modern and administered by Embrace. The member discount is the only thing genuinely specific to USAA - up to 15% for buying through the agency, plus 10% for military members or those with service dogs or multiple pets, capped at 25%. Note that usaa.com/insurance/pet/ serves an empty cookie-error shell; the real page is /insurance/additional/pet/. |
| Chewy CarePlus | 9 of 27 | CarePlus is not one product: Chewy is an agency reselling either a Trupanion-underwritten or a Lemonade-underwritten policy depending on the state, and its own disclosure names all six entities. Chewy's page is client-rendered, so the disclosure and the waiting-period table live in Chewy's first-party JavaScript bundles rather than the served HTML. Chewy publishes no exclusions list and no deductible or reimbursement figures. The old /app/careplus and /careplus paths now 404; the product lives at /pet-insurance/. |
| Trupanion | 7 of 27 | Trupanion's own site returns HTTP 403 to every non-browser request, so this record is built from Trupanion's SEC Form 10-K, an archived copy of its own sample policy form TRU (D) 00001 - the live PDF at trupanion.com returns HTTP 403 to every automated request, so the Wayback snapshot is cited because it resolves and the live URL does not, and State Farm's partner disclosure - State Farm resells this exact policy. The deductible is per-condition and lifetime, not annual, which makes Trupanion hard to compare like-for-like against every other carrier here. |
Every carrier record
The full record behind each row above: option ladders, exclusions read from the carrier’s own document, the caveats our research recorded, and the sources.
AKC Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company or Independence Pet Insurance Company; policies produced by PetPartners, Inc. The American Kennel Club is not an insurer and licenses its marks to PetPartners for compensation. Licensed brand, not an insurer. Policies are produced by PetPartners and underwritten by Independence American or Independence Pet Insurance Company.
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: $100, $250, $500, $750, $1,000
- Annual limits: $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: 9 years. There is no maximum age to enrol, but pets over nine are eligible for accident coverage only, so nine is the practical ceiling for accident-and-illness cover.
- Orthopedic waiting period: One hundred and eighty days for both IVDD and cruciate ligament conditions, written into the filed Texas form as two separate carve-outs. This is not uniform nationally: PetPartners files a shorter 30-day orthopedic period in roughly fifteen jurisdictions, and its newer form moves the number onto the declarations page instead of printing it. The 180 recorded here is what AKC's own filed policy says in the majority of states. Hip dysplasia and luxating patella are a different problem again - they are excluded from the base plan entirely and sold only through a hereditary rider that adds its own wait and is limited to pets under two.
- Notable exclusions: Cruciate ligament conditions in the first 180 days, regardless of cause; IVDD, including slipped or herniated discs, in the first 180 days; Hip dysplasia and luxating patella, unless the hereditary rider is bought before the pet turns two; Pre-existing conditions for the first 365 days of continuous coverage; Routine and preventive care unless a wellness add-on is bought.
- Record completeness: 0 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
AKC has the most restrictive orthopedic terms in this dataset once the rider structure is accounted for: cruciate and IVDD wait 180 days in most states, and hip dysplasia and luxating patella are not on the base plan at all. It also has the most generous pre-existing rule anywhere here - conditions become eligible after 365 days of continuous coverage. AKC's marketing page caps annual limits at "up to $10,000", which is inconsistent with the higher tiers its own quoting system offers; the ladder recorded here is the wider one. AKC Pet Insurance is a marketing name used by PetPartners; the AKC neither offers nor sells insurance.
Read from: Accident & Illness Policy sample, Texas, form IAIC_PPI_AI_POL_007_TX_1120 (Independence American Insurance Company / PetPartners, 2020); Pet Insurance Underwriting & Plans (AKC Pet Insurance / PetPartners, 2026); State Documents and Sample Policies (AKC Pet Insurance / PetPartners, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by PTZ Insurance Agency, Ltd. The ASPCA is not an insurer and licenses its name for a royalty. Licensed brand, not an insurer. The ASPCA receives a royalty and states it is not engaged in the business of insurance.
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No upper age limit is imposed, and no numeric ceiling is published. Null here means no verified figure, not an unknown cut-off.
- Orthopedic waiting period: No separate orthopedic period on the shared Independence American form, which names ligament and knee conditions inside the ordinary 14 days. ASPCA differs from its sibling AKC in a way that matters more than the waiting period: hip dysplasia and luxating patella sit in the base plan, not behind a hereditary rider.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, including anything arising during a waiting period; Knee and ligament conditions excluded from the cured-condition carve-back, and treated as bilateral; Preventive and routine care unless a Preventive Care add-on is bought.
- Record completeness: 4 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
ASPCA is a licensed brand, not an insurer - its own footer says the ASPCA receives a royalty and is not engaged in the business of insurance. The policy is the same Independence American form Spot and Pumpkin issue, so the three should never be presented as independently corroborating each other. Annual limits are described as starting at $3,000 with $5,000 and $10,000 tiers, but whether an unlimited option exists is unverified, and the reimbursement and deductible ladders are not published, so those fields are empty.
Read from: Accident & Illness Policy sample, form PET-P-20000-1024 (shared Independence American form) (Independence American Insurance Company, 2024); ASPCA Pet Health Insurance - underwriter disclosure (ASPCA Pet Health Insurance / PTZ Insurance Agency, 2026); State Documents and Sample Policies (ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Chewy CarePlus
Underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or ZPIC Insurance Company (Trupanion program), or Lemonade Insurance Company or Metromile Insurance Company (Lemonade program), depending on the state; sold by Chewy Insurance Services, LLC Not an insurer. Chewy is an agency reselling either a Trupanion-underwritten or a Lemonade-underwritten policy, depending on the state.
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. Chewy publishes no maximum enrolment age. Its quote form tops out at a "15+ years old" option, but that is an input range, not a stated eligibility rule, and was not recorded as one.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Chewy's table carries a dedicated "Cruciate Knee Injury" row: 30 days on Accident Only and Value, dropping to 14 days on Essential, Essential Plus and Complete. It is one of the very few carrier-published cruciate-specific numbers in this dataset. Hip dysplasia, patella and IVDD get no separate row, and a CarePlus policy otherwise inherits its underwriter's orthopedic rules.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions - anything showing signs before enrolment or before the waiting period ends; Routine and preventive care, unless a wellness plan is bought alongside.
- Record completeness: 9 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
CarePlus is not one product: Chewy is an agency reselling either a Trupanion-underwritten or a Lemonade-underwritten policy depending on the state, and its own disclosure names all six entities. Chewy's page is client-rendered, so the disclosure and the waiting-period table live in Chewy's first-party JavaScript bundles rather than the served HTML. Chewy publishes no exclusions list and no deductible or reimbursement figures. The old /app/careplus and /careplus paths now 404; the product lives at /pet-insurance/.
Read from: CarePlus Pet Insurance & Wellness (Chewy Health, 2026); Pet Insurance - underwriter and coverage disclosure (State Farm, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Embrace Pet Insurance
Underwritten by American Modern Home Insurance Company (d/b/a American Modern Insurance Company in California) or American Southern Home Insurance Company, both American Modern Insurance Group; administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: 15 years. Pets aged 15 or older cannot buy full accident-and-illness coverage; Embrace offers them an accident-only policy instead, so this is a coverage-type cut-off rather than an outright decline.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Dogs only, and the V6 form frames it as an exclusion rather than a delay: cruciate ligament disease, IVDD, patellar luxation and hip dysplasia that occur or show clinical signs in the first 180 days are excluded and become pre-existing for the life of the policy. It is bilateral - a cruciate diagnosis in one leg inside that window makes the other leg pre-existing too. The older V5 form states the same six months as a reducible waiting period, and Embrace still runs an orthopedic exam and waiver process that can cut it to 14 days in some states. Cats get 14 days.
- Notable exclusions: Cruciate ligament disease, IVDD, patellar luxation and hip dysplasia in dogs within the first 180 days; Pre-existing conditions; Preventive care including spay/neuter; Dental prophylaxis, even when performed as treatment for a covered dental illness; Cosmetic and elective surgery: tail docking, ear cropping, declawing; Supplements, vitamins and all foods; Illnesses preventable by a vaccine the owner declined; Breeding and pregnancy; PennHIP and OFA evaluations; Avian flu or nuclear war.
- Record completeness: 2 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Embrace publishes its filed policy forms by version, and the V5 and V6 forms describe the orthopedic rule differently - V5 as a six-month reducible waiting period, V6 as a 180-day lifetime exclusion naming four conditions. Both are live on the site, which is exactly the kind of discrepancy an affiliate comparison table flattens away. Deductibles are published as a $200-$1,000 range and annual limits as $2,000 to unlimited, without discrete ladders, so those fields stay empty. Embrace is also the carrier behind USAA's pet insurance. Wellness Rewards is not insurance.
Read from: Embrace Pet Health Insurance policy terms, version V6 (American Modern Insurance Group / Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026); Pet Insurance Coverage & Plans - what is never covered (Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026); Dog Insurance - plan options (Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Fetch by The Dodo
Underwritten by AXIS Insurance Company (an Illinois corporation); administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: $5,000, $10,000, $15,000
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No maximum: Fetch states it has no breed restrictions and no upper-age limits. Minimum enrolment age is 6 weeks.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Strictly, this is not a waiting period at all - it is worse. Orthopedic conditions arising in the first 180 days are excluded and become pre-existing conditions for the life of the policy. The escape hatch is knees only: a vet exam inside those 180 days noting no pre-existing knee problems restores cruciate coverage, and hips, elbows, IVDD and patella get no equivalent. Fetch also blocks the accident route, stating that degenerative disorders including cruciate ligament disease and IVDD will not be covered as accidents.
- Notable exclusions: Orthopedic conditions arising in the first 180 days, which become pre-existing for life; Routine and preventive care, including vaccinations and preventive dental prophylaxis; Elective procedures: tail docking, dewclaw and eyelash removal, ear cropping, spaying or neutering, cosmetic dentistry, elective gastropexy; Prescription food; Euthanasia not recommended by the treating veterinarian, post-mortem exams, and cremation; Parasite treatment where preventive medication exists; Breeding, pregnancy and whelping; More than one anaesthetic foreign-body removal per period.
- Record completeness: 2 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Fetch's reputation for having no orthopedic waiting period is wrong, and its own filed form GPTM 050 1125 A says so: the 180-day orthopedic provision is the strictest in this dataset because affected conditions are excluded permanently rather than merely delayed. Two procedural duties are also unusually tight - a vet visit within 48 hours of first clinical signs, and a claim within 90 days. Deductibles are described as ranging from $250 to $2,500 but the discrete ladder is not published, so the field is empty. Whether Fetch sells an unlimited annual option is unverified: its FAQ defines the term without saying it offers one.
Read from: Pet Insurance Policy, form GPTM 050 1125 A - sample (AXIS Insurance Company / Fetch Pet Insurance, 2025); View a Sample Pet Insurance Policy (Fetch by The Dodo, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Figo Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: $5,000, $10,000, unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No upper age limit is applied, and Figo publishes no numeric ceiling on its public coverage pages.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Six months on the generation Figo's own coverage page describes, and it is waivable: an Orthopedic Conditions waiver in the Pet Cloud app eliminates it if used within the first 30 days. But Figo runs two policy generations simultaneously - a newer set of state disclosures replaces the six months with 30 days for orthopedic illnesses and no wait at all for orthopedic injuries caused by an accident. A single number is wrong for roughly half the country, which is why the note matters more than the figure here.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, though curable ones may be covered after 12 months symptom-free; Experimental procedures; Breeding, pregnancy or giving birth; Cloned pets or cloning procedures; Cosmetic surgery; Dental prophylaxis at any time or for any reason.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Figo is the clearest example in this dataset of why a single orthopedic number is dangerous: two policy generations are live at once, one with a six-month waivable orthopedic period and one with 30 days, and which applies depends on the state. Figo also runs soft 404s - non-existent paths return HTTP 200 serving the homepage - so a status code alone does not prove a Figo URL resolves. Exam fees are not in the base plan; they are a paid Powerup, as is wellness coverage. Figo caps nothing per incident.
Read from: Pet Insurance Coverage - waiting periods, exclusions and Powerups (Figo Pet Insurance, 2026); Best Pet Insurance Plans - underwriter disclosure (Figo Pet Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
Underwritten by ACE American Insurance Company and affiliated Chubb underwriting companies (Westchester Fire Insurance Company, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Atlantic Employers Insurance Company)
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: $5,000, $7,000, unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. Healthy Paws publishes no maximum enrolment age. It does gate hip dysplasia coverage on enrolling before the pet's sixth birthday, and requires a vet exam within 30 days for pets aged 6 or over, but neither is an enrolment cut-off.
- Orthopedic waiting period: The longest orthopedic wait of any carrier in this dataset, and it applies to hip dysplasia only: twelve months for pets enrolled at age five or below. Other orthopedic conditions sit on the standard 15 days. In the sixteen carve-out states hip dysplasia drops to 30 days, waivable by a clinical exam. Cruciate carries a bilateral exclusion instead of a longer wait - Healthy Paws says it is the only bilateral exclusion in the policy.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, except curable conditions symptom-free and treatment-free for 365 continuous days; Examination fees; Preventive healthcare: vaccinations, titer tests, parasite and flea control, heartworm medication, de-worming, nail trims, grooming, anal gland expression, spay/neuter and routine dental care; The contralateral cruciate ligament when one side was injured before enrolment or during the waiting period; Elective procedures, boarding, behavioural modification, training and behavioural medications; Cremation, burial and other aftercare following euthanasia.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Healthy Paws moved from healthypaws.com to healthypawspetinsurance.com and its WAF blocks most automated requests, so these facts were read from the live FAQ during a window when it answered. Healthy Paws is sold as surplus lines insurance through Chubb Insurance Solutions Agency, which is unusual for this market and is disclosed on its own FAQ page. Healthy Paws' dedicated hip-dysplasia page corroborates the twelve-month figure but returns HTTP 403 to automated requests, so it is not cited as a source; the FAQ carries the same statement and does resolve.
Read from: Frequently Asked Questions - waiting periods, limits and deductibles (Healthy Paws Pet Insurance (a Chubb company), 2026); Coverage & Exclusions Details (Healthy Paws Pet Insurance (a Chubb company), 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Lemonade Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Lemonade Insurance Company; Metromile Insurance Company also writes the pet line
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. Lemonade says an age limit exists - a first-time enrolment past it "may be declined entirely" - but does not publish the number. Recorded as null with the limit's existence noted, rather than guessing a figure.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Thirty days for orthopedic conditions, named as a separate period in Lemonade's own FAQ. A cruciate ligament sign appearing before or during that window makes the condition pre-existing permanently: Lemonade states that knee, ligament and chronic conditions can never qualify as a curable pre-existing condition.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions - anything showing signs before the end of the waiting periods; Vet examination fees, unless the vet visit fee add-on is bought; Recurring conditions the carrier considers preventable, such as repeated foreign-body ingestion; Lost or stolen pets; Orthodontics and at-home dental care; Routine and preventive care unless a Preventative package is bought.
- Record completeness: 6 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Lemonade publishes a dental coverage matrix with hard sub-limits that most carriers do not disclose: dental illness sits behind a Dental Illness add-on capped at $1,000 a year, and routine cleaning behind the Preventative+ package capped at $150. Deductible and annual-limit tiers are only shown inside the quote flow, so both are left empty here.
Read from: The Ultimate Lemonade Pet FAQ (Lemonade, 2026); Lemonade, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR; requires a declared user-agent), 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
MetLife Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Metropolitan General Insurance Company, a Rhode Island insurance company; policy administrator MetLife Pet Insurance Solutions LLC
- Reimbursement: 50%, 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No maximum: MetLife states it has no upper age restrictions and no breed exclusions. It does add elsewhere that coverage options may be limited for certain ages without publishing the thresholds, which is why this is recorded as null rather than as an explicit no-limit.
- Orthopedic waiting period: MetLife is the one carrier here that affirmatively says it has no separate orthopedic waiting period - orthopedic conditions fall under the ordinary accident or illness period, and MetLife classes cruciate ligament injury as an accident, which carries no wait at all. Corroborated by negative evidence: the 15-page policy form contains no occurrence of orthopedic, cruciate, ligament, dysplasia, patella or intervertebral. The caveat is that the affirmative statement sits on a MetLife blog page rather than in the contract, and the declarations page is absent from the public sample, so a declarations-level period cannot be ruled out entirely.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions; Treatment outside the United States, which MetLife states does not include US territories or possessions; Complications or progression of conditions that are not themselves covered; Deliberate injury, persistent neglect and deliberate endangerment; Commercial or working use: racing, paid exhibition, law enforcement, guarding; Anything not medically necessary, including cosmetic and elective procedures, anal gland expression, nail trims, grooming, obedience training and over-the-counter foods; Treatment by unlicensed veterinarians.
- Record completeness: 6 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
MetLife has the widest published option ranges of any carrier here - deductibles from $0 to $2,500 and annual limits from $500 to $25,000 or unlimited - but publishes them as ranges with increments rather than as discrete ladders, so deductibleOptions and annualLimitOptions are left empty rather than reconstructed. MetLife does not sell an accident-only policy. Its policy form covers cremation or burial up to $500 as a mortality benefit, yet the word euthanasia appears nowhere in the 15-page form, which is an odd gap worth flagging on any end-of-life page.
Read from: MetLife Pet Insurance Policy - sample, form PET21-01-V (Metropolitan General Insurance Company, 2025); Pet Insurance Coverage and Exclusions (MetLife Pet Insurance, 2026); Pet Insurance FAQs (MetLife Pet Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Nationwide Pet Insurance
Underwritten by National Casualty Company (all states except California) or Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (California), both subsidiaries of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company; agency of record DVM Insurance Agency
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: $250, $500, $1,000
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No numeric upper age limit appears anywhere on petinsurance.com. Nationwide says it insures dogs at any stage of life, which is marketing language rather than an eligibility rule, so this stays null.
- Orthopedic waiting period: The harshest cruciate rule in this dataset, and Nationwide's own Whole Pet form calls it a waiting period: cruciate or meniscal damage diagnosed in the first twelve months is not covered, and lapsing coverage restarts the twelve months. On the Modular plan cruciate is a separate module you cannot even buy until 12 months after inception, and cruciate is never payable under accident coverage regardless of cause. The waiting-period waiver form does not reach it. Note this rule is cruciate-specific: on the Major Medical form, hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation and osteochondritis dissecans are excluded outright rather than delayed.
- Notable exclusions: Cruciate ligament or meniscal damage with clinical signs in the first policy term; Pre-existing conditions; Oral health conditions with pre-existing clinical signs; Experimental or investigational treatment, and cannabis; Breeding; Grooming, boarding and transport; Non-veterinary fees: waste disposal, tax, records charges and bank fees; Spay/neuter and dental cleaning within the first 90 days of the original policy term.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Nationwide publishes its actual filed coverage forms, which makes it the best-documented carrier here and also the one whose real terms differ most from how it is described elsewhere. Two facts nobody else surfaces: cruciate carries a twelve-month bar that no vet exam can waive, and end-of-life services - euthanasia, cremation, urns, burial, aqua cremation, paw prints, necropsy - are covered up to $250 a term with no deductible or coinsurance and are paid even for pre-existing or otherwise ineligible conditions. Reimbursement options and the full annual-limit ladder are not enumerated on any public Nationwide page, so both are left empty; only 70% and 80% appear, inside rate-example footnotes.
Read from: Modular Pet Insurance Coverage Form, VS-G-15 (9-24) (National Casualty Company (Nationwide), 2024); Whole Pet Coverage Form - sample (Nationwide, 2024); Pet Insurance by Nationwide - underwriter disclosure (Nationwide, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Pets Best Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company in most states, or American Pet Insurance Company in New York and Washington; Pets Best's own disclosure also names Independence Pet Insurance Company and MS Transverse Insurance Company. Offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC.
- Reimbursement: 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No maximum. Pets Best states plainly that its plans have no upper age limits and that senior pets get the same coverage as puppies and kittens; enrolment opens at 7 weeks.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Six months, and cruciate only. The policy defines a Cruciate Ligament Event as any strain, sprain, rupture, tear or degeneration of any cruciate ligament in the knee, and states these are always treated as medical conditions rather than accidents - so the accident route is closed. Hip dysplasia, luxating patella and IVDD are not singled out and sit on the ordinary 14-day illness period. Pets Best says waiting periods may be reduced or waived at its discretion when a vet certifies the pet's health, but no Pets Best document says whether that reaches the cruciate period, so no waived figure is recorded.
- Notable exclusions: Cruciate ligament events within the first six months, and entirely on the accident-only plan; Pre-existing conditions - anything present before the end of the waiting periods, even if never formally diagnosed; Preventive care and spay/neuter; Dental prophylaxis - scaling, cleaning and polishing - at any time or for any reason; An enumerated list of alternative and holistic treatments including reiki, prolotherapy, ozone, PRP, stem cell, shockwave, PEMF and E-Stim; Cremation, burial and any after-life care; Anal gland expression; Recurrence of the same cancer type anywhere in the body; Treatment outside the United States and Canada.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Pets Best publishes filed policy booklets for all 51 jurisdictions, and the waiting-period clause is identical across every one of them. Two quirks matter for comparison. Deductible is applied after coinsurance rather than before, which is the reverse of most carriers and changes what a claim actually pays; the deductible ladder itself runs $50 to $2,000 in $50 increments, which is a range rather than an option set, so the field is empty. And the accident-only plan excludes cruciate events outright rather than delaying them. Pets Best's marketing pages say euthanasia is covered, but the word appears in neither the coverage nor the exclusion sections of any policy booklet - a genuine gap between the site and the contract.
Read from: Pet Insurance Policy Documents by State - Accident & Illness booklet, form IAIC-PB10001-ILL (Independence American Insurance Company / Pets Best, 2026); Pets Best Frequently Asked Questions (Pets Best Insurance Services, 2026); Pet Insurance by Pets Best - underwriter disclosure (Pets Best Insurance Services, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Progressive Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (administered by Companion Protect Agency, LLC). Progressive also places business with Old Republic Insurance Company through the same administrator, and refers some customers to Pets Best.
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: $5,000, $10,000, $20,000
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. Neither the program site nor the statutory Insurer Disclosure states a maximum enrolment age. Progressive's editorial pages discuss age limits at other insurers, which is not a statement about its own product and was not used.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Thirty days for orthopedic conditions that do not result from an accident - and this is the clearest orthopedic definition any carrier here publishes. The policy defines an Orthopedic Condition to include elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments, so all four sit under one rule. Also waivable by a post-purchase vet exam.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, defined as prior vet advice, prior treatment, or verifiable signs before the effective date; Breeding and pregnancy; Spaying and neutering; Neglect; Intentional acts.
- Record completeness: 6 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Progressive is three programs sold under one brand, and its own footer says so. This record describes the Progressive Casualty / Companion Protect program, which is the one Progressive's own quote flow leads with. Deductible and reimbursement options appear only on the individual declarations page, so both are empty. Uniquely in this dataset, all waiting periods can be waived by paying for a vet exam after purchase.
Read from: Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions - Pet Insurance Plan, form PUP300 (03/25) (Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, 2025); Pet Insurance for Cats & Dogs (Progressive, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by Pumpkin Insurance Services Inc., which is an agency, not an insurer
- Reimbursement: 80% or 90%
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. Pumpkin does not publish an upper enrolment age on its FAQ or coverage pages, and its sibling brands' no-limit position must not be assumed to carry over. Left null.
- Orthopedic waiting period: No separate orthopedic period on the shared Independence American form, which names ligament and knee conditions inside the ordinary 14 days. Pumpkin singles out knee and hind-leg ligament conditions a different way: they are the one carve-out from its curable-pre-existing rule, so a ligament condition arising before or during the waiting period permanently excludes future ones.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, with a carve-back for curable conditions symptom-free for 180 days - but never for knee or hind-leg ligament conditions; Annual dental cleanings; Elective procedures including spaying and neutering; Certain cosmetic services.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Pumpkin issues the same Independence American form as Spot and ASPCA, so agreement between those three is one document, not three sources. Pumpkin does publish its own limit tiers - $5k/$10k/$20k/unlimited for dogs and $5k/$7k/$15k/unlimited for cats - but because they differ by species they do not fit a single list and the field is left empty rather than misrepresented; deductibles are not published at all. Pumpkin Wellness Club replaced Preventive Essentials in August 2026 and is explicitly not insurance and not a regulated product.
Read from: Pumpkin Pet Insurance FAQs - waiting period, reimbursement and limits (Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026); Pumpkin Pet Insurance - underwriter disclosure (Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026); What Does Pet Insurance Cover? (Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Spot Pet Insurance
Underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster); produced by Spot Pet Insurance Services, LLC
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No upper age limit for coverage or enrolment, per Spot's own policy documentation. Recorded as null because null in this schema means no verified number, and Spot publishes no numeric ceiling - the substance is that there is no cut-off.
- Orthopedic waiting period: No longer orthopedic period: the filed form names ligament and knee conditions inside the ordinary 14 days. The catch is permanence rather than delay - knee and ligament conditions are treated as bilateral, so an occurrence on one side affects both, and they are excluded from the 180-day cured-condition rule that lets other resolved conditions become eligible again.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, including anything arising during a waiting period; Knee and ligament conditions excluded from the cured-condition carve-back, and treated as bilateral; Grooming; Preventive and routine care unless a Gold or Platinum preventive add-on is bought.
- Record completeness: 3 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin all issue the same Independence American form, PET-P-20000-1024, differing only in the administrator's address. Treating them as three independent data points would be a mistake: where they agree, it is one document counted three times. Spot publishes no reimbursement, deductible or annual-limit ladder anywhere public; the 80% / $500 / $2,500 figures on its site are single-quote advertising examples and were not recorded as options. Preventive add-ons carry their own 24-hour waiting period.
Read from: Accident & Illness Policy sample, Arizona, form PET-P-20000-1024 (Independence American Insurance Company / Spot Pet Insurance, 2024); Spot Pet Insurance - underwriter disclosure (Spot Pet Insurance Services, 2026); What Does Pet Insurance Cover? (Spot Pet Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
State Farm Pet Insurance
Underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company and ZPIC Insurance Company, administered by Trupanion Managers USA, Inc. State Farm states it neither offers nor is financially responsible for the product. Not an insurer. State Farm resells the Trupanion program (American Pet Insurance Company / ZPIC) and states in its own footer that it is neither offering the product nor financially responsible for it.
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No age limit is stated on State Farm's pet pages. Marketing language about covering pets from kittens to seniors is not an eligibility rule and was not treated as one.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Not stated on statefarm.com. The underlying Trupanion policy applies a 30-day forward-looking exclusion window to cruciate, patella, hip dysplasia and IVDD, but State Farm does not reproduce or reference that provision, so it is not recorded as State Farm's own published term.
- Notable exclusions: Pre-existing conditions, defined as anything for which signs or evidence of potential manifestation existed before the effective date; Wellness and preventive care, including parasite control, spay/neuter and vaccinations; Exam fees, including specialist and emergency exam fees; Any applicable taxes.
- Record completeness: 13 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
State Farm is a white-label of Trupanion and says so plainly in its own footer, including a disclaimer that State Farm entities are not financially responsible for the product. The four fields that matter most for comparison - waiting periods, reimbursement percentage, deductible amounts and enrolment age - are published nowhere State Farm controls; they live only in the Trupanion sample policy, which returns HTTP 403 to everything. This is the thinnest record in the dataset and is deliberately left that way.
Read from: Pet Insurance - get a free cat or dog insurance quote (State Farm, 2026); Dog Insurance (State Farm, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Trupanion
Underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company (APIC), a Trupanion subsidiary; ZPIC Insurance Company is licensed but not yet writing
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: unlimited
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No maximum enrolment age is stated in any Trupanion document we could reach. Left null rather than asserted as unlimited.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Structurally different from a waiting period. Trupanion's policy form excludes cruciate ligament disease, luxating patella and elbow dysplasia if signs appeared in the 18 months before enrolment through the 30 days after it - and the exclusion is bilateral, so a sign on one knee voids the other. Hip dysplasia and intervertebral disc disease carry their own parallel 30-day look-forward clauses.
- Notable exclusions: Examination fees, including specialist and emergency exam fees; Dental prophylaxis (routine cleaning) at any time or for any reason; Open or closed root planing at any time or for any reason; Wellness and preventive care, including parasite control, spay/neuter and vaccinations; Anal gland expression; Boarding, day care, day stay and day observation; Administrative charges, taxes and shipping costs; Pre-existing conditions.
- Record completeness: 7 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
Trupanion's own site returns HTTP 403 to every non-browser request, so this record is built from Trupanion's SEC Form 10-K, an archived copy of its own sample policy form TRU (D) 00001 - the live PDF at trupanion.com returns HTTP 403 to every automated request, so the Wayback snapshot is cited because it resolves and the live URL does not, and State Farm's partner disclosure - State Farm resells this exact policy. The deductible is per-condition and lifetime, not annual, which makes Trupanion hard to compare like-for-like against every other carrier here.
Read from: Trupanion, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR; requires a declared user-agent), 2026); Medical Insurance for the Life of Your Pet - sample policy, form TRU (D) 00001 (archived copy of trupanion.com/docs/.../2019_policy_english_sample.pdf, which returns HTTP 403 to all automated requests) (Trupanion, 2019); Pet Insurance - underwriter and coverage disclosure (State Farm, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
USAA Pet Insurance
Underwritten by American Modern Home Insurance Company or American Southern Home Insurance Company, both American Modern Insurance Group; administered by Embrace Pet Insurance Agency, LLC. USAA itself carries no risk. Not an insurer. The USAA Insurance Agency earns commission on an American Modern policy administered by Embrace — the same underwriter and the same administrator as Embrace's own product.
- Reimbursement: Not published
- Deductibles: Not published
- Annual limits: Not published
- Oldest age you can enrol: No published ceiling. No maximum: USAA states Embrace insures dogs and cats of any age. There is a coverage-type cut-off rather than an enrolment cut-off - a pet older than 14 at purchase is eligible only for an accident-only policy.
- Orthopedic waiting period: Not stated on usaa.com. Embrace, the underlying carrier, confirms an orthopedic waiting period exists but publishes only "varies by state" rather than a number.
- Notable exclusions: Routine and preventive care; Pre-existing conditions, except certain curable ones after a year symptom-free; Breeding, whelping and pregnancy; Deliberate injury caused by any person or pet residing in your home; Injury or illness resulting from fighting, racing, cruelty or neglect; Cosmetic procedures, unless medically necessary; DNA testing or cloning; Stem cell therapy not deemed medically necessary.
- Record completeness: 12 of 27 fields could not be established from a primary source.
USAA is an affinity referral, not an insurer: the USAA Insurance Agency earns commission on a policy underwritten by American Modern and administered by Embrace. The member discount is the only thing genuinely specific to USAA - up to 15% for buying through the agency, plus 10% for military members or those with service dogs or multiple pets, capped at 25%. Note that usaa.com/insurance/pet/ serves an empty cookie-error shell; the real page is /insurance/additional/pet/.
Read from: Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats. Quotes and Rates (USAA, 2026); Pet Insurance Coverage & Plans - what is never covered (Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026). Last verified 2026-08-28.
Common questions
Which pet insurance carriers have no orthopedic waiting period?
Three of the seventeen apply no separate orthopedic period at all: MetLife opens orthopedic cover on day zero, and Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin fold knee and ligament conditions into the ordinary 14-day period on the Independence American form they share. At the other end, Healthy Paws and Nationwide both run 365 days before a cruciate claim is payable.
What is an orthopedic waiting period?
A second, longer waiting period that applies only to cruciate ligament, patella, hip dysplasia and intervertebral disc conditions, and it is the number that decides most large orthopedic claims. Carriers rarely advertise it: the 14-day figure on a marketing page is almost always the illness period, not the orthopedic one.
Does pet insurance cover ACL or TPLO surgery in dogs?
Most carriers put cruciate surgery inside covered scope, but the waiting period decides whether a specific claim is paid, and it runs from 0 to 365 days across these seventeen brands. On a $3,525 invoice, a policy set to 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible pays back $2,420.
Who underwrites Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin pet insurance?
All three issue Independence American Insurance Company form PET-P-20000-1024, differing only in the administrator's address. They are three brands on one filed policy document, so where they agree that is one source, not three.
Is State Farm pet insurance the same as Trupanion?
Effectively yes. State Farm resells the Trupanion program, underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company and ZPIC, and its own disclosure says State Farm neither offers the product nor is financially responsible for it. The same pattern applies to USAA, which is a referral to an American Modern policy administered by Embrace.
Does pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions?
No carrier in this dataset covers them. The South Carolina Department of Insurance notes that claim rejection for conditions or treatments not covered by the policy is a leading complaint to regulators, and that some conditions may be treated as pre-existing if they develop up to a year after enrolment.
How much of a vet bill does pet insurance actually pay back?
Less than the reimbursement percentage suggests, because the deductible comes off first. On a $3,525 cruciate surgery at 80% reimbursement after a $500 annual deductible, the policy pays $2,420 and you keep $1,105 — and on any invoice under $500 it pays nothing at all.
Pet insurance by state
Pet insurance is regulated state by state, and vet prices move with the state too. We publish local pages where there is something specific to say: South Carolina pet insurance, where the state’s own Department of Insurance publishes unusually blunt consumer guidance, and pet insurance in Las Vegas, where the honest finding is that no Nevada-specific published price exists for most procedures.
Sources
Every fact on this page is read from a carrier’s own filed policy form, its own published policy page, or a regulator. No comparison blog is cited anywhere in this dataset.
- Pet Insurance Model Act (Model #633) — National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2022.
- Is Pet Insurance Worth It? — South Carolina Department of Insurance, 2024.
- Pet Insurance Underwriting & Plans — AKC Pet Insurance / PetPartners, 2026.
- State Documents and Sample Policies — AKC Pet Insurance / PetPartners, 2026.
- Embrace Pet Health Insurance policy terms, version V6 — American Modern Insurance Group / Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026.
- State Documents and Sample Policies — ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, 2026.
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance - underwriter disclosure — ASPCA Pet Health Insurance / PTZ Insurance Agency, 2026.
- Pet Insurance Policy, form GPTM 050 1125 A - sample — AXIS Insurance Company / Fetch Pet Insurance, 2025.
- CarePlus Pet Insurance & Wellness — Chewy Health, 2026.
- Dog Insurance - plan options — Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026.
- Pet Insurance Coverage & Plans - what is never covered — Embrace Pet Insurance, 2026.
- View a Sample Pet Insurance Policy — Fetch by The Dodo, 2026.
- Best Pet Insurance Plans - underwriter disclosure — Figo Pet Insurance, 2026.
- Pet Insurance Coverage - waiting periods, exclusions and Powerups — Figo Pet Insurance, 2026.
- Coverage & Exclusions Details — Healthy Paws Pet Insurance (a Chubb company), 2026.
- Frequently Asked Questions - waiting periods, limits and deductibles — Healthy Paws Pet Insurance (a Chubb company), 2026.
- Accident & Illness Policy sample, Texas, form IAIC_PPI_AI_POL_007_TX_1120 — Independence American Insurance Company / PetPartners, 2020.
- Pet Insurance Policy Documents by State - Accident & Illness booklet, form IAIC-PB10001-ILL — Independence American Insurance Company / Pets Best, 2026.
- Accident & Illness Policy sample, Arizona, form PET-P-20000-1024 — Independence American Insurance Company / Spot Pet Insurance, 2024.
- The Ultimate Lemonade Pet FAQ — Lemonade, 2026.
- Pet Insurance Coverage and Exclusions — MetLife Pet Insurance, 2026.
- Pet Insurance FAQs — MetLife Pet Insurance, 2026.
- MetLife Pet Insurance Policy - sample, form PET21-01-V — Metropolitan General Insurance Company, 2025.
- Modular Pet Insurance Coverage Form, VS-G-15 (9-24) — National Casualty Company (Nationwide), 2024.
- Pet Insurance by Nationwide - underwriter disclosure — Nationwide, 2026.
- Whole Pet Coverage Form - sample — Nationwide, 2024.
- Pet Insurance by Pets Best - underwriter disclosure — Pets Best Insurance Services, 2026.
- Pets Best Frequently Asked Questions — Pets Best Insurance Services, 2026.
- Pet Insurance for Cats & Dogs — Progressive, 2026.
- Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions - Pet Insurance Plan, form PUP300 (03/25) — Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, 2025.
- Pumpkin Pet Insurance - underwriter disclosure — Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026.
- Pumpkin Pet Insurance FAQs - waiting period, reimbursement and limits — Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026.
- What Does Pet Insurance Cover? — Pumpkin Insurance Services, 2026.
- What Does Pet Insurance Cover? — Spot Pet Insurance, 2026.
- Spot Pet Insurance - underwriter disclosure — Spot Pet Insurance Services, 2026.
- Dog Insurance — State Farm, 2026.
- Pet Insurance - underwriter and coverage disclosure — State Farm, 2026.
- Medical Insurance for the Life of Your Pet - sample policy, form TRU (D) 00001 (archived copy of trupanion.com/docs/.../2019_policy_english_sample.pdf, which returns HTTP 403 to all automated requests) — Trupanion, 2019.
- Lemonade, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR; requires a declared user-agent), 2026.
- Trupanion, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR; requires a declared user-agent), 2026.
- Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats. Quotes and Rates — USAA, 2026.