This content was reviewed by our licensed insurance agent, Michelle Schenker.
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Have you seen flyers for Trupanion hanging in your vet’s office but heard about Pets Best from a friend? Do both companies insure the same accidents and illnesses, or is there a reason to choose one over the other?
Read our Trupanion vs Pets Best showdown to decide which company may be a better fit for your pet. We compare coverage, customer service, claim processing, customization options, and price to help you understand what each company has to offer.
Visit Trupanion’s Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
| Trupanion | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Coverage | More Limited | Extensive |
| Customer Service & Reputation | Excellent, Stable | Good |
| Claim Processing Average | 2 Days | 10-30 Days |
| Price Of Policy | Higher On Average | Lower on Average |
| Plan Customizations | Very Limited | Many Options |
| Overall Winner |  |  |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Policy Coverage
The table below shows precisely what Trupanion and Pets Best cover. Both companies cover emergency care, surgery and hospitalization, specialized exams and specialty care, X-rays, blood tests, ultrasounds, cat scans, MRIs, rehabilitation, cancer, chronic conditions, euthanasia, hereditary conditions, congenital conditions, non-routine dental treatment, and prescription medications.
Neither covers pre-existing conditions, cremation and burial costs, pregnancy and breeding, or unnecessary cosmetic procedures.
| Trupanion | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Ranking In Our Pet Insurance Comparison | Best Vet Direct Pay | Best Overall |
| Illness Waiting Period | 30 Days | 14 Days |
| Accident Waiting Period | 5 Days | 3 Days |
| Hip Dysplasia Waiting Period | 30 Days | 14 Days |
| CCL Surgery Waiting Period | 30 Days | 6 Months |
| Behavioral Therapies | | |
| Alternative/Holistic Therapy | Extra Fee | |
| Wellness Care For An Extra Fee | | |
| Exam Fees | | Extra Fee |
| Underwriter | American Pet Insurance Company | American Pet Insurance Company |
| A.M. Best Rating | Unrated | Unrated |
Pets Best comes out ahead because it offers coverage for wellness items and exam fees for an additional charge. Pets Best also has shorter waiting periods for illness, accidents, and hip dysplasia.
Coincidentally, these two companies have the same underwriter, which is unrated by A.M. Best (a measurement of financial stability). This means that neither company is considered less risky regarding the dependability of claim repayment.
Another key deciding factor for you may be the age restrictions attached to Trupanion, which doesn’t enroll pets who are older than 14 years old. Overall, Pets Best offers more extensive coverage and fewer restrictions than Trupanion.
Policy Coverage Winner: Pets Best
Customer Service & Reputation
Trupanion has seen no significant policy changes for several years now, and prices have remained relatively consistent. This is a good sign that you can count on things being steady when you sign up for a Trupanion policy. However, Trupanion isn’t immune to high prices or coverage and reimbursement complaints.
In recent years, Pets Best suffered from many negative reviews regarding a prolonged claim processing timeline due to an influx of customers (due to COVID-19 increase in adoptions paired with Pets Best’s excellent coverage and low prices) adding pressure to the customer service team. The company has taken action to reduce this issue and is seeing a positive trend in improving their claims process turnaround time.
As you can see, both companies have areas they can improve, but Pets Best wins this category in the end.
Customer Service & Reputation Winner: Pets Best
Claim Processing
Trupanion processes claims within two days on average. A two-day claim repayment is among the fastest and is considered extremely good. You may be able to have Trupanion pay your vet directly, so you don’t have to pay a hefty vet bill in advance and wait for reimbursement. But this isn’t available everywhere, so check with your vet first to see if Trupanion Express is an option for you.
Pets Best averages 10 to 30 days for processing claims. This is considered long compared to the majority of its competitors. Pets Best also has an option to pay your vet directly, but this seems less available than Trupanion’s vet direct pay option. Be sure to speak with Pets Best and your vet about it before assuming this option is available for you.
Because Trupanion has a much shorter claim processing average, it wins this category.
Claim Processing Winner: Trupanion
Price Of Policy
To give you an example of the price difference between Trupanion and Pets Best, we’ve created a quote comparison with an example dog. Quotes are from December 2021 for pets without a microchip, no multi-pet discount, and no pre-existing conditions.
| Breed | Birthday | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Payout | Price Per Month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trupanion | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 90% | Unlimited | $231.45 |
| Pets Best | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $93.77 |
| Trupanion | 40 lb Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 90% | Unlimited | $142.36 |
| Pets Best | 40 lb Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $43.20 |
| Trupanion | American Pit Bull Terrier | July 2021 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 90% | Unlimited | $121.83 |
| Pets Best | American Pit Bull Terrier | July 2021 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $51.84 |
We like that Pets Best offers more annual payouts and reimbursement percentage options than Trupanion. It allows you the opportunity to adjust your coverage based on your budget. Trupanion is often more expensive than Pets Best for a similar deductible, reimbursement percentage, and annual payout.
Keep in mind that it’s always best to get quotes for your specific dog to compare what pet insurance could cost you. You can use our pet insurance quote form to get started. To see more quote comparisons, take a look at our pet insurance comparison page. You’ll see that Trupanion was consistently more expensive than Pets Best for every quote we ran but that does not mean this will be the case for you.
One additional cost consideration is servicing fees. Trupanion requires a one-time enrollment fee of either $0, $25, or $35, depending on the state in which you live, but has no transaction fees. Pets Best has a transaction fee of $2 for every payment (waived if you pay annually or live in AK or MD), but no one-time fees.
Price Of Policy Winner: Pets Best
Coupons
Trupanion
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price and get a quote for your pet from Trupanion. You can also visit our dedicated Trupanion promotions page to learn more.
Pets Best
Pets Best offers the following discounts:
- 5% off for multiple pets
- 5% off for military members and their families
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price. No promo code is needed. You can also visit our dedicated Pets Best promotions page to learn more.
Plan Customization
One of the significant differences between these two companies is available plan customizations.
Trupanion has unlimited payouts and 90% reimbursement for all plans. The only customization option available on a Trupanion policy is the ability to choose the deductible amount between $0 and $1,000. These reduced customization options also make it easier to understand and make decisions. So, depending on how complicated you want your insurance to be, you might make a different choice than someone else with a different comfort level.
On the flip side, Pets Best offers many customizations, so you can adjust your policy to fit your budget.
- Annual payout options: $5,000 and unlimited
- Deductibles: $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, or $1,000
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80%, or 90%
Overall, Pets Best has significantly more customization options than Trupanion, which often makes it more capable of fitting into your budget.
Plan Customization Winner: Pets Best
What’s Our Verdict?
In the end, Pets Best wins this comparison against Trupanion due to its thorough coverage, lower average prices, and considerable customization options. However, if you want coverage for your pet beginning at birth or faster claim processing, you may want to consider Trupanion. Further, you don’t know how prices will compare until you run quotes for both companies.
If you didn’t find what you were looking for, our experts dig even deeper into each company in our individual reviews of Trupanion and Pets Best.
Overall Winner: Pets Best
Our experts have spent hundreds of hours researching to bring you our comprehensive and frequently updated pet insurance reviews, including our top picks along with details on each of the most popular pet insurance companies.
If you prefer to see winners by category, check out our best pet insurance comparison. We give awards for the best price, multi-pet discounts, 100% reimbursement, unlimited payouts, and other “best for” categories, including puppies, older dogs, dental, wellness coverage, bilateral conditions, behavioral therapy, vet direct pay, and more. You’ll even see winners for cats and exotic pets (i.e., rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, etc.).
Tagged With: Reviewed By Insurance Agent
