To sustain this free service, we receive affiliate commissions via some of our links. This doesn’t affect rankings. Our review process.
Almost any kind of insurance is notorious for being difficult to decipher — from inclusions and exclusions to complicated deductibles and premiums. Trupanion, however, claims to set itself apart from the pack. Does Trupanion live up to its promise to provide a straightforward and transparent pet insurance experience? Or it is just hype to get your business?
Article Overview
Trupanion
Pros
- 90% reimbursement with no payout limits
- Offers optional benefits for additional expenses that cover acupuncture, physical therapy, hydrotherapy and behavioral modification training and therapy
- Hip dysplasia has no age restrictions
- BBB rating: A+
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Pet is covered in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico
Cons
- More expensive
- One-time $35 administration fee
- Policies have 5-day waiting period for injuries and 30-day waiting period for illnesses
- Up to a 20% increase in premiums from year to year (based on the state you live in)
- Pets aren't eligible for enrollment after their 14th birthday
- No wellness plan
- Does not cover exam fees
- No multi-pet discount
Key Features
- Underwriter: American Pet Insurance Company (same as Pets Best)
- A.M. Best rating: Unrated
- Trupanion has a per-incident deductible instead of an annual deductible; this means you’ll have to meet the deductible multiple times for every new emergency your pet encounters instead of one annual deductible, which means all claims go toward one deductible (annual deductibles are usually less costly to the policyholder)
- No exam period
- No bilateral exclusions (a condition or disease that affects both sides of the body)
- Claim repayment is within 60 days and averages 14 days
- Must submit claims within 90 days of the treatment date via mail, email or fax
- Option to have Trupanion pay vets directly, so you don’t have to pay a hefty vet bill in advance and wait for reimbursement (not available everywhere but ask your vet, and they may be able to call to set up Trupanion Express)
- 30-day free look period (similar to a money back guarantee)
- Continues coverage for a pet if its policy transfers to a new owner
- FLORIDA RESIDENTS: The plan reviewed here is not available for new customers in Florida. Contact Trupanion to learn more about what is available in your state and read the policy carefully for details.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Defined by Trupanion as:
I. Illnesses or Injuries for which signs or evidence of their potential manifestation existed within the 18 months prior to the Policy Enrollment Date.
II. Illnesses or Injuries masked or controlled by treatment or Medication at any time during the 18 months prior to the Policy Enrollment Date. SAMPLE 14 Medical Insurance for Your Pet – TRU 00001 (v09.201601) SECTION 9 CONTINUED
III. Illnesses or Injuries that occurred or began within the 18 months prior to the Policy Enrollment Date and would have been observable or reasonably known to be present by You or Your Veterinarian or that are evidenced by the presence of typical signs, even if they are not noted in Your Pet’s medical records.
IV. The Actual Cost of Treatment for the following if signs or evidence presented on either side of Your Pet during the period 18 months prior to the Policy Enrollment Date through to and including the 30 days after the Policy Enrollment Date: luxating patella, glaucoma, entropion, ectropion, elbow dysplasia, cataracts, prolapse of the tear gland of the third eyelid (cherry eye), and disease, weakness, instability, tear, partial tear or rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament.
V. Hip dysplasia if there was any sign or evidence of the potential manifestation of the Condition any time prior to the Policy Enrollment Date or if the Condition was reasonably known to be present by You, even if not noted in Your Pet’s medical records.
VI. Illnesses or Injuries that arise from a repetitive and specific activity that leads to medical or surgical treatment of Your Pet (e.g., ingestion of foreign materials and bite wounds) if the same or similar activity occurred two times within the 18 month period prior to the Policy Enrollment Date.
VII. The Actual Cost of Treatment for any cutaneous or subcutaneous mass if cutaneous or subcutaneous mass(es) of the same type (determined by diagnostic testing or medical records descriptions) are present during the 18 months prior to the Policy Enrollment Date through to and including the 30 days after the Policy Enrollment Date.
VIII. The Actual Cost of Treatment relating to intervertebral disc disease if there was any sign or evidence of the potential manifestation of it in any part of the spine prior to the Policy Enrollment Date or during any applicable waiting periods.
Customer Service Hours
- Email, phone and SMS: 24/7
Waiting Periods
- 30 days: Illnesses
- 5 days: Accidents
- 30 days: Cruciate ligament events and hip dysplasia
What Does Trupanion Cover?
Services included are not limited to this list and are subject to change.
| Covered by Trupanion | Not Covered by Trupanion |
|---|---|
| Illnesses | Exam fees |
| Injuries | Sales tax where applicable |
| Hereditary conditions | Wellness and preventive care (parasite control, spay/neuter, vaccinations) |
| Congenital conditions | Pre-existing conditions |
| Diagnostic tests | |
| Surgeries | |
| Hospital stays | |
| Medications | |
| Veterinary supplements | |
| Herbal therapy | |
| Prosthetic devices and carts |
NOTE: This plan is not available for new enrollments in Florida. See policy for details.
Pet Owner Assistance Add-On Package
The Pet Owner Assistance package costs $4.95/month in addition to the core plan premium.
- Boarding fees in the event you’re hospitalized
- Liability coverage for third-party property damage
- Holiday vacation cancellation costs
- Cremation or burial for deaths due to an accident
- Advertising and rewards for lost pets
Recovery & Complementary Care Rider
The price of this plan can vary from a couple of dollars up to $30 and is in addition to the core plan premium.
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic
- Homeopathy
- Hydrotherapy
- Physical and rehabilitative therapy
- Behavioral modification
- Naturopathy
Is Hip Dysplasia Covered?
Trupanion covers hip dysplasia in its core policy. There is a 30-day waiting period, and it has an exclusion, which states the following.
Hip dysplasia (is covered) if there was any sign or evidence of the potential manifestation of the Condition any time prior to the Policy Enrollment Date or if the Condition was reasonably known to be present by You, even if not noted in Your Pet’s medical records.
Pricing Quotes
Trupanion has a set 90% reimbursement with the option of a $0 to $1,000 deductible and unlimited annual limit.
The cost of each policy is unique to your pet and depends on many variables, including your pet’s age, breed, location, health conditions and more. Below are some example monthly premiums for various pets from December 2019.
| Breed | Labrador Retriever | German Shepherd | Yorkshire Terrier | Mixed Breed Cat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 4 Months | 2 Years | 6 Months | 4 Years |
| Male/Female | Female | Male | Female | Male |
| Location | New York City (10005) | Los Angeles (90010) | Chicago (60604) | Miami (33114) |
| Reimbursement Level | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% |
| Annual Deductible | $200 | $200 | $200 | $500 |
| Price Per Month | $125.57 | $142.10 | $66.80 | $51.13 |
You can get personalized price quotes for your pet(s) from reputable companies when you fill out just 1 short form. You can also visit our pet insurance quotes page to see how the cost of Trupanion stacks up against the competition.
Coupon Code
Reimbursement Story
- Dog: Maelee
- Condition: Spay complications
- Trupanion Reimbursed: $34,401.80
A few days after a healthy spay procedure, Maelee had a horrific accident while recovering at home. Within 24 hours she went from the veterinarian’s to the overnight emergency clinic, then on to the emergency hospital. Trupanion was covering Maelee’s bills at 90%. Maelee had better health insurance than me! – Elizabeth S.
Customer Reviews
Positive Reviews
I rarely have to contact Trupanion. I had log on issues which were resolve promptly by Pamela. She was incredibly helpful and resolved the problem right away. I received a standard customer service survey shortly thereafter. The first question was, why did I rate customer service a 10. Here is the text of my response… Because there isn’t an 11. Trupanion has been wonderful. Our pups have had coverage since they were born. This is the first time we have ever had to use our coverage, and thank God we have it! Claim submission and processing are so easy and fast. When I have had to contact directly, your team has been so helpful and kind. I have recommended multiple times to family and friends – even my vet’s office. You are wonderful, thank you so much. – Ken W., Yelp 11/12/2019
In the 8 years I have been using Trupanion, they have always been cheerfully helpful and quick to respond whenever I have had to make a claim or just simply had a question. I am very happy with the services they provide. ****** *. – Sandra B., BBB 5/19/2019
Negative Reviews
Beware of trupanion! In 2009, I decided to get this insurance for my 2 month old puppy that I had adopted. I paid $31 monthly with $1000 deductible for “lifetime” of coverage. Sound good on paper, but I am now finding out that this insurance is useless and it is the worst insurance out there. In Sept 2019, my now 10yr old dog had a surgery to remove a lump on his paw, neck, and stomach area that cost $811. I also filed a claim for his eye and skin allergy bills worth $450. I thought I had met the $1000 deductible right?, but NO! they categorized the lumps into two different lumps meaning my deductible was $2K and another $1K deductible for the eye/skin allergy. So for a $1261 claim, I had a $3k deductible in total. I was disappointed to say the least. To make matters worst, a week ago I received an email that they are increasing my monthly fee from $31 to $38. I asked why and I was told that it was based of their data report. BS! this insurance is a SCAM! After 10 years of having this insurance, I have yet to see a penny and now they want more money? Trupanion is a joke! – Ena O., Yelp 11/9/2019
Buyer beware, you’ll be charged an extra $35 when you sign up: I enrolled my kitten in Trupanion based on an article in the *** **** *****’ ********** newsletter. I received my quote online and signed up. Today I checked my bank balance and they deducted $35 for an administrative fee. Notice of this fee was not included in the total quote. When I called, the customer service rep assured me it was included on another page. I guess I should have gone hunting for it. At the outset of this relationship, subterfuge is not a good look, Trupanion. What other hidden fees can I expect? – Patricia A., BBB 9/12/2019
Why Get Pet Insurance?
Need a better understanding of why you should consider purchasing pet insurance for your pup? Check out our video below.
Compare Trupanion To Other Leading Pet Insurance Providers
Trupanion’s policy choices are less complicated than many other pet insurance providers, which may be appealing for some consumers. Of course, this also means fewer options. It’s also on the expensive side compared to similar coverage from other companies, and its underwriter is unrated by A.M. Best.
Visit our best pet insurance comparison to see a comprehensive review of the leading insurance providers for your four-pawed family members. See how Trupanion stacks up against the competition and if they’re the right pick of the litter for you.
Are you considering pet insurance through Trupanion?
Disclaimer: This website contains reviews, opinions and information regarding products and services manufactured or provided by third parties. We are not responsible in any way for such products and services, and nothing contained here should be construed as a guarantee of the functionality, utility, safety or reliability of any product or services reviewed or discussed. Please follow the directions provided by the manufacturer or service provider when using any product or service reviewed or discussed on this website.
How are you able to see what the premiums will increase to every year? Customers aren’t told what their premiums will be throughout the dog’s life because they vary. If you’re plugging in details for a 9 year old, 10 year old, etc. with your dog’s specific characteristics the prices will be different but that doesn’t mean that’s what they will be when your dog reaches that age. Dogs who are enrolled earlier in life don’t have as high of premiums as dogs who are enrolled later in life. So if your dog were enrolled in pet insurance as a puppy, the premium wouldn’t be as high as what you’re seeing as a quote for your dog today. Does that make sense?
Trupanion does increase its premiums, as all pet insurance companies we review do.
Since your dog is 9 years old and has had many vet visits for minor ailments, any of the pet insurance companies could turn those into pre-existing conditions.
I would suggest you consider Petplan as one of your options. Petplan covers curable pre-existing conditions after 365 days. So depending on what ailments your dog has been seen for, they may not be considered pre-existing through Petplan. This is an extremely rare feature that only Petplan offers that we’re aware of and it can help many pet parents.
Another company I’d suggest considering is Pets Best. It is our #2 pick and has no age restrictions. It’s commonly among the least expensive and has great coverage, but it may consider some of the minor ailments your dog has been seen for as pre-existing conditions.
You can obtain quotes from both Petplan and Pets Best in our quote form here. Not knowing everything about your dog, I’m thinking you’ll probably get a lower quote from Pets Best but you’ll want to keep in mind the curable pre-existing conditions feature that Petplan has. Let me know if you have any follow up questions!
CONDITIONS NOT COVERED
(1) Illnesses for which any evidence and/or symptoms of their
potential manifestation already exist at, or prior to, the policy
enrollment date;
(2) The cost of treatment for bilateral conditions presenting on one
side of the body, if that condition was a pre-existing condition on
the other side of the body (such as luxating patella or anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) weakness);
it is said that the cost of treatment for bilateral conditions presenting on one side of the body is not covered under the system of Trupanion. However, in your article it says “No bilateral exclusions (a condition or disease that affects both sides of the body)”
What is right one?
Are you reading from a policy you personally have? We’d like to get to the bottom of this to make sure we are sharing accurate information with our readers. Thank you for taking the time to help us resolve this.
My dog injured her ear a little over a week after we enrolled in Trupanion. We kennelled her and came home after going out for a bit. When we came back she had (what we learned) a hematoma forming under her ear. It got worse over the next couple of days because she began scratching at it because it was obviously bothering her.
We took her to the vet and learned it was a hematoma from hitting her ear on the kennel wire. She was thoroughly checked for any underlying causes like an infection or something else, and the doctor found nothing. The dr even noted in the medical record that there was no sign of infection or other underlying causes besides the trauma.
Trupanion denied our claim based on their 30-day illness waiting Period stating that a hematoma can be caused by an underlying ear infection. They never called, they never spoke to the vet before denying the claim. Mind you, they also have a 5-day injury waiting period. And my dog’s ear injury was caused by trauma. NOT an illness.
We appealed the claim because the ear hematoma was caused by trauma and not an illness. The vet we took her to called Trupanion and explained that there was no underlying illness and that the ear hematoma was caused by trauma.
And after waiting and waiting to learn if the claim would now be honored…I received an email informing me that they would still not cover the claim and they were still holding to the explanation that it was during the illness waiting period.
In my opinion, Trupanion operates under deceitful business practices and do not honor their own policies. Don’t have an injury waiting period and an illness waiting period that are different if you are going to have to lie when a claim is received so you don’t have to cover it.
And then when I called Trupanion to cancel because I refuse to give a dishonorable company my business. Christine answers and can’t do anything because she’s not licensed in Utah. So she somehow works in a call center that not 1 person is licensed in Utah and she will have to open a file and have someone call me in a few days.
I wish I had never trusted Trupanion. You can bet they collected their money every month, but that is where their service ends.
Here are the specifics: Our puppy had heat rash – denied due to allergies. Then he got pink eye from the neighbor’s dog – denied due to allergies. Then he got pink eye again from the same neighbor dog – denied again due to allergies. Then he had a puncture wound – that too was denied due to allergies. And then when I said I wanted to cancel and move to another company they threatened me that they will share their findings of allergies with the other company and it will always remain a pre-existing condition. When my dog has NO allergies to anything, ever. We feed him every kind of human food (except for the ones all dogs are not aloud like gapes, garlic, onions, etc) and all dog treats. He has never shown signs of allergies once, and the vet agrees he has never had allergies either.
I bought the insurance for peace of mind. I am thankful for this experience because now I have confidently canceled all insurance for our dog. I’ll be putting my monthly money into a savings plan to use for future vet bills. Possibly without this experience, I wouldn’t be so confident when future vet bills come up. I hope this honest bad review of how Trupanion is a scam will help future animal owners.
Future buyer suggestion – If you do buy insurance be sure to do it before you ever take them to the vet and don’t share any information on issues that arrived before the policy is out of the waiting period. That seems to be the only approach for them to not irrationally denying every claim. Good luck and I wish you the best with your little one.
Fast forward 5 years later and the dog has had a very healthy life so no new claims. He ended up with a foot infection from something he had stepped on and cut his paw. after all the treatment and medicine we were out almost $1000. No problem though we have insurance and Trupanion has our back right?, Wrong!!! Submitted the claim and waited the 30 days for them to make a determination and to my surprise CLAIM DENIED!!!! The reason, ha you’ll love this, this claim was also denied because once upon a time the vet noted he had redness in his ears(not an infection, just redness). The redness in the ears was in July 2014, infection in the paw August 2019. Called and spoke with Karin and she said it must be related to allergies so you can go through the appeal process again if you want to try to overturn it. WHA WHHAAAT!!! My dog possibly had an ear infection over 5 ears ago so now all skin related issues can not be covered, WHAT THE? They never contacted the vet or myself for clarification just seems it is policy to deny all claims then put the extraordinary burden of appeal on the customer to try to get reimbursement. Sound like a good company to you? I am no longer a customer of Trupanion and would recommend all others to be very careful before putting your trust in them like i did. If you do be ready for a fight with every claim.
The representative advised me to appeal and have the doctors code the visits as diagnostic evaluations. I did so and asked my veterinarian to send me an email as soon as this was faxed to Trupanion. I ACTUALLY RECEIVED TRUPANION’S DENIAL OF THE APPEAL BEFORE I RECEIVED OUR VET’S EMAIL. I called my vet to save the records and advised them to NEVER recommend Trupanion again. Trupanion took my $6000, but refused to pay for any diagnostic evaluations done in a doctor’s office. Attorneys: I recommend class action.
Horrendous, horrendous experience. Stay as far away as possible.
Take note if you have time read the article in the ny times about pet insurance its worth the read, its all a hoax, big money making opportunity for the insurance company. 10-20% of all injuries are really covered. We invested a ton on money into trupanion insurance to only be denied our claims. Take the money you were going to pay for insurance and put in into a pet emergency savings and you will come out way ahead. We would have actually had money left!