Trupanion Pet Insurance Review
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Jeff Root
Licensed Insurance Agent
Jeff is a well-known speaker and expert in insurance and financial planning. He has spoken at top insurance conferences around the U.S., including the InsuranceNewsNet Super Conference, the 8% Nation Insurance Wealth Conference, and the Digital Life Insurance Agent Mastermind. He has been featured and quoted in Nerdwallet, Bloomberg, Forbes, U.S. News & Money, USA Today, and other leading fina...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Mar 24, 2024
Pet Insurance U receives compensation from the third parties included on this site. This includes payment for clicks from our site to insurance providers’ sites and quote requests generated. Our rankings and reviews are not affected by payments from the insurance companies. The compensation we receive allows the site to be free and regularly updated. Our goal is to review every pet insurance provider, but not all companies are listed on the site.
And many of the companies we review do not pay us anything. We simply rate, compare and review their plan because we feel it will be valuable to you. Our reviews are guaranteed to be unbiased, professional and advertising compensation does not influence rankings.
We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about pet insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything pet insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by pet insurance experts.
UPDATED: Mar 24, 2024
Pet Insurance U receives compensation from the third parties included on this site. This includes payment for clicks from our site to insurance providers’ sites and quote requests generated. Our rankings and reviews are not affected by payments from the insurance companies. The compensation we receive allows the site to be free and regularly updated. Our goal is to review every pet insurance provider, but not all companies are listed on the site.
And many of the companies we review do not pay us anything. We simply rate, compare and review their plan because we feel it will be valuable to you. Our reviews are guaranteed to be unbiased, professional and advertising compensation does not influence rankings.
On This Page
What’s New In 2021 For Trupanion Pet Insurance
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new normal for businesses worldwide, including Trupanion Pet Insurance. This article looks at the changes you’ll see at Trupanion Pet Insurance in 2021. After reading this article, you’ll be up to date on all the new happenings at Trupanion Pet Insurance.
How Has Covid-19 Affected Trupanion Pet Insurance?
Seattle-based Trupanion transitioned its entire almost 1,000 member workforce to remote work on March 3, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company continued to provide 24/7 support to pet owners from its socially distanced set-up.
Trupanion has continued to monitor claims in real-time and has not seen any unexpected increases in claims that indicate a COVID-19 has impacted pets negatively. Trupanion has hosted webinars throughout the pandemic to educate pet owners about pets and COVID-19.
Using its claims history database with claims from the past 20 years, Trupanion analyzed longitudinal trends among cats and dogs to include fact-based information during webinars to increase understanding of the current pandemic. Thousands have attended the webinars since late March 2020.
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New Products and Changes
Trupanion has not announced any new products over the past year, and its major change has been its transition to a remote workforce in response to the pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the company published a list of the top ten pet conditions during COVID-19.
Trupanion Pet Insurance in the News
In the past year, most news concerning Trupanion has been related to its activities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Trupanion stock price has also been in the news because of its recent growth, with some analysts claiming it’s overvalued.
2021 Latest Trupanion Pet Insurance Reviews
Reviews of Trupanion Pet Insurance range from very positive to very negative depending on where you look. Positive reviewers gave the company stellar reviews, commenting on their Trupanion insurance paying policies funding life-saving treatment for their pets.
They also praised the company’s customer service, saying Trupanion’s customer service agents guided them through the claim process. Some customers said Trupanion paid their claims quickly, while others said it took Trupanion more than a month to process claims.
Many reviewers said having Trupanion pet insurance gave them peace of mind because they knew their pets would be covered in an emergency. Others appreciated that Trupanion had addressed their concerns or proactively reached out to them after posting a negative review online.
A few reviewers expressed frustration when Trupanion refused to cover certain services after they’d paid premiums for many years. They were unhappy that Trupanion didn’t cover routine veterinarian visits such as vaccinations, euthanasia, and other office visits.
Our team researched Trupanion’s pet insurance coverage, cost, and customer satisfaction scores.
Trupanion offers comprehensive coverage and has an excellent reputation, with a top rating on TrustPilot and an A+ grade with the BBB.
Based in Seattle, Washington, Trupanion sells pet insurance for cats and dogs. Though initially based in Canada, the company began servicing the United States and Puerto Rico in 2005.
Read more:
Table of Contents:
- How Trupanion Works
- Insurance Options
- Hereditary Condition Coverage
- What Are The Costs
- Trupanion Pet Insurance vs Healthy Paws Costs
- What Isn’t Covered
- Benefit Limits
- FAQ
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FACT: Pet insurance pays up to 90% of vet bills when your pet is sick or injured!
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How Trupanion Pet Insurance Works
Trupanion offers pet insurance policies that cover the typical pet insurance options of accident and illness coverage as well as some other items such as prescriptions and prosthetics.
Trupanion offers unlimited, per incident, lifetime coverage–one of the few pet insurance companies to do so.
While this is a great perk, it makes Trupanion more expensive and doesn’t offer you other options.
Therefore, Trupanion tends to be a lot less flexible than most other pet insurance companies.
Coverage Options
Trupanion offers one reasonably comprehensive plan, to the point of even including prescription foods.
Similarly to other pet insurance providers, pre-existing conditions, and most preventative routine care isn’t included.
As mentioned above, while having only one plan makes it easy to decide, it offers very little limited flexibility in catering premium and reimbursement rates to your specific needs.
Trupanion offers the following standard coverage for accidents and illnesses, without any restrictions for hereditary or congenital conditions, including cancer.
Trupanion also covers x-rays, blood tests, ultrasounds, emergency and specialty care, and alternative treatments.
Hereditary and Congenital Conditions
Trupanion commits to cover genetic conditions your cat or dog might be prone to includes:
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Hip Dysplasia
- Diabetes
- Upper Respiratory Infections
- Thyroid Disease
Trupanion also covers congenital conditions which are usually developed before birth (but aren’t pre-existing) including:
- Heart Disease
- Nervous System Issues
- Cataracts
- Liver Disease
Trupanion also covers hip dysplasia without a waiting period which is a nice benefit and pretty rare.
Real Cost Savings from PetFirst Clients
Luna
PetFirst saved his parents
$6,712
A happy energetic Luna one morning couldn’t hold her food down. After months of multiple costly vet visits to specialists and an endoscopy, the problem was discovered and fixed. Luna put 22 pounds back on in no time and her parents were grateful for having PetFirst by their side to pay the bills.
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Additional Coverage
Trupanion also offers two additional riders or add-on coverage to your existing policy at an additional cost:
#1 – Pet Owner Assistance Add-On Package
This package costs $4.95/month plus the cost of the core plan premium and includes the following:
- Boarding fees if your pet is hospitalized
- Liability coverage if your dog or cat causes property damage
- Reimbursement for holiday cancellation expenses
- Burial expenses if accident-related
- Advertising and a reward if your dog or cat is lost
#2 – Recovery & Complementary Care Rider
The cost of this plan can vary from a few dollars to thirty and is additional to the core plan premium. It includes:
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic care
- Homeopathy
- Hydrotherapy
- Physical and rehabilitative therapy
- Behavioral modification
- Naturopathy
With Trupanion, you can go to any licensed veterinarian that you choose, including specialists and emergency animal hospitals.
Related: 10 Things You Must Know Before You Buy Pet Insurance
The company also covers dental coverage for treatment for all new dental illnesses or injuries such as:
- Extractions of permanent and baby (deciduous) teeth
- Coverage for retained baby teeth (if your pet is enrolled by six months old)
- Root canal
- Root canal treatments for canine or carnassial teeth
- Endodontic treatments performed on other teeth
As with most pet insurance companies, Trupanion will not cover teeth cleaning or any related dental procedures that are preventative and not accident-related.
How Much Does Trupanion Pet Insurance Cost?
As with all the pet insurance companies, monthly premiums are affected by where you live, the breed of your cat or dog, and its age.
Trupanion’s monthly premium rates are higher than most of the other companies we reviewed. Although it does offer very comprehensive insurance, this tends to cost an approximate $20 per month more than its competitors.
The average starting premium for dogs is $59 and for cats is $32.
So far as we’ve seen, the company does not have discounts available, even if you enroll more than one pet.
Costs Compared To Trupanion Pet Insurance vs Healthy Paws And Competitors
Trupanion’s pet insurance costs vs Healthy Paws and other competitors are generally a bit higher.
You can see some of the cost comparisons of Trupanion vs Healthy Paws and others below:
Trupanion vs. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
Trupanion Pet Insurance vs. Nationwide
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What Isn’t Covered?
Trupanion does not offer a wellness package, or preventative care as an additional rider, as the company considers that these costs can easily be paid out of pocket.
Similar to the other pet insurance companies, Trupanion will not pay for any pre-existing condition that your pet might have upon enrollment.
Trupanion does not cover services such as:
- Vaccines
- Dental Cleanings
- Spaying/neutering
And with that, they do not offer any way to purchase additional coverage for these.
If wellness coverage is of interest to you, you may want to check out another company.
Real Cost Savings from PetFirst Clients
Gidget
PetFirst saved his parents
$2,194
Artemis was a beautiful and friendly cat to all who were willing to pet him. Unfortunately, he developed feline diabetes which required regular vet visits and medications that his Mother could not otherwise afford on her fixed income. Having PetFirst insurance, she called and discussed the problem with a friendly PetFirst agent. To her surprise, she found out that Artemis’ ongoing required vet visits and medication would be covered by his PetFirst insurance. Artemis was able to live out the rest of his life with proper medical care and medicines thanks to PetFirst insurance.
Benefit Limits
Trupanion, similarly to other top pet insurance companies, offers unlimited coverage with no payout limits or caps.
While this is usually the preferred benefit limit, some pet owners may prefer a lower benefit limit cap that would help lower their premium.
For example, some pet owners might know that they will not go past a cap of $25,000 payout per year, and then they can customize their policy to reflect this payout and budget accordingly.
Having this option and the flexibility to cater to your dog or cat’s policy to their specific needs can be helpful.
So long as the condition your pet is being treated for isn’t pre-existing, Trupanion will cover the entire bill, no matter the cost, at the facility or doctor of your choice.
Reimbursement Method
Trupanion only offers one reimbursement option:
All new injuries and illnesses are covered at 90%.
Once you have met the deductible, Trupanion will pay 90% of the remaining invoice.
While this makes their choice easier, it doesn’t give pet owners the option of a lesser reimbursement choice to lower their premium.
Healthy Paws, Embrace, and even Petplan offers much more flexibility in reimbursement choices.
Trupanion does pay the vet directly off the invoice which is a nice feature, as this means customers are never out of pocket for the entire bill, only having to pay their portion at check-out.
Trupanion then works directly with the veterinarian to pay the rest of the invoice.
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Deductible Type
Trupanion is unique in that it offers a lifetime per-incident deductible. This means that the deductible won’t reset annually for a specific condition or illness.
Once the deductible is paid, customers then receive unlimited benefits for that condition during the rest of that pet’s life.
This is especially useful for dogs or cats with serious diseases or chronic conditions that won’t be cured in a year.
Trupanion allows consumers to choose a deductible between $0 and $1,000 per condition, paying a per condition lifetime deductible.
For instance, if your dog has chronic allergies and you have a $500 deductible, Trupanion will pay 90% of all related expenses once the one-time $500 deductible is met.
How to File A Claim
Trupanion pays claims within two months. While this may seem excessive, bear in mind that it’s one of the few pet insurance companies that pay the vet or hospital directly.
Not having to wait to be reimbursed is a great perk and unusual for any pet insurance company.
After downloading the online claim and filling it out, all that’s necessary is to either email it back or take a picture of or scan the claim form and your itemized invoice from your pet’s visit and email it to the company. It’s pretty straightforward.
Enrollment And Waiting Period
The time between your enrollment and when your coverage becomes fully active is known as a waiting period.
With Trupanion, customers have a 5-day waiting period for injuries and a 30-day waiting period for illnesses. As soon as that time passes, pets are covered for new injuries, mishaps, or diseases. If a pet becomes sick or gets hurt during the waiting periods, these will be considered pre-existing conditions, and therefore ineligible for coverage.
Trupanion will also cover hip dysplasia as long as it is not a pre-existing condition.
Dogs are cats can enroll in Trupanion from a mere eight weeks up to 14 years old.
Other articles you may find helpful:
Is Exotic Pet Insurance Necessary?
The Best Pet Insurance By State
Fun Facts, Dog FAQ, And Unsolicited Dog Advice
5 Training Commands to Save Your Dog’s Life
The Ultimate Guide to Safe Foods for Dogs
You may find helpful one of our other Best Pet Insurance Reviews which include over 35 top insurers compared with cheap and affordable pet insurance and discounted mixed breed pet insurance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Trupanion Insurance secured?
Yes, Trupanion Insurance is secured with SHA-256 Encryption, ensuring the safety of your information.
Who is Melanie Musson, the author of the Trupanion Insurance review?
Melanie Musson is the author of the Trupanion Insurance review. She is a published insurance expert with a deep understanding of -specific car insurance laws and a broad knowledge of how insurance fits into people’s lives.
When was the Trupanion Insurance review last updated?
The Trupanion Insurance review was last updated on April 13, 2023.
How does Trupanion Insurance handle compensation?
Trupanion Insurance receives compensation from third parties, including payment for clicks and quote requests generated. This compensation allows the site to be free and regularly updated. The reviews are guaranteed to be unbiased, and advertising compensation does not influence rankings.
What’s new in 2021 for Trupanion Insurance?
The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to Trupanion Insurance, including a transition to a remote workforce. The article explores these changes in detail.
How has COVID-19 affected Trupanion Insurance?
Trupanion transitioned its workforce to remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company continued to provide 24/7 support to owners and hosted webinars to educate them about pets and COVID-19.
Does Trupanion offer new products?
Trupanion has not announced any new products in the past year. The major change has been the transition to a remote workforce in response to the pandemic.
What are the latest Trupanion Insurance reviews in 2021?
Reviews of Trupanion Insurance vary from very positive to negative. Customers appreciate the coverage and quick claims payment, while some express frustration over denied claims for certain services.
How does Trupanion Insurance work?
Trupanion offers insurance policies covering accidents, illnesses, prescriptions, and prosthetics. It provides unlimited, per incident, lifetime coverage, making it less flexible but comprehensive.
What coverage options does Trupanion offer?
Trupanion covers accidents, illnesses, hereditary and congenital conditions, and additional coverage like prescription foods. It also offers two add-on coverage options for owners.
Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap pet insurance rates.
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Jeff Root
Licensed Insurance Agent
Jeff is a well-known speaker and expert in insurance and financial planning. He has spoken at top insurance conferences around the U.S., including the InsuranceNewsNet Super Conference, the 8% Nation Insurance Wealth Conference, and the Digital Life Insurance Agent Mastermind. He has been featured and quoted in Nerdwallet, Bloomberg, Forbes, U.S. News & Money, USA Today, and other leading fina...
Licensed Insurance Agent
We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about pet insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything pet insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by pet insurance experts.