Best Dog Insurance
Only the insurers that fit "best dog insurance", quoted for the same pets and read policy by policy.
Embrace (Accident & illness + optional wellness) - Covers exam fees and dental illness, shrinks your deductible $50 for every claim-free year, and will re-cover a curable condition after twelve clear months Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Exam fees, dental illness, behavioural therapy and prescription food all included
- Healthy Pet Deductible drops your deductible $50 each claim-free year
- Orthopaedic wait waived after an exam and a short questionnaire
Healthy Paws (Accident & illness, one plan) - One simple plan with no annual, lifetime or per-condition payout limit — the policy that does not run out when the bill is large Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- No annual or lifetime cap — the catastrophic claim is the one that matters and this is where it pays
- Hereditary and congenital conditions covered
- Claims processed in about two days on published figures; photo upload in the app
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance (Complete Coverage) - Covers exam fees, dental illness, behavioural treatment and microchipping, insures horses too, and re-covers curable conditions after a clear year Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Exam fees, dental disease, behavioural therapy and microchipping in the base policy
- No upper age limit; horses insurable too
- Single 14-day waiting period with no long orthopaedic exclusion
Pets Best (Accident & illness, three tiers) - Three coverage tiers, an unlimited option, a three-day accident wait and direct deposit — the flexible middle of the market Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- No upper age limit — one of the few that will still enrol a senior pet
- Three-day accident waiting period, the shortest here
- Unlimited annual payout available on the Elite tier
Trupanion (90% reimbursement, per-condition deductible) - Pays the clinic directly at checkout in thousands of US hospitals, reimburses 90% with no payout limit, and charges the deductible once per condition rather than every year Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Direct payment to the vet means you never front a $7,000 surgery
- Per-condition deductible: pay it once for a chronic condition, not every renewal year
- 90% reimbursement with no annual or lifetime cap
Figo (Accident & illness, 100% option) - The only insurer here offering 100% reimbursement, with a one-day accident wait and a pet cloud app that holds records and vet chat Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- 100% reimbursement is available — no other insurer in the test offers it
- One-day accident waiting period
- Pet Cloud app stores records, finds vets and includes 24/7 vet chat
Lemonade Pet (Accident & illness + add-ons) - The cheapest quotes in our test, an app that settles simple claims in minutes, and bundling discounts with renters or car insurance Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Cheapest monthly premium on three of our four test pets
- Simple claims paid in minutes through the app
- Bundle discount with Lemonade renters, home or car insurance
Nationwide Pet Insurance (Whole Pet with Wellness / Avian & Exotic) - The only major US insurer that covers birds, reptiles and small mammals — and one of the few whose top plan includes wellness in the same policy Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Covers birds, rabbits, reptiles, ferrets and other exotics — almost nobody else does
- Whole Pet with Wellness rolls routine care into one policy
- Backed by one of the largest US insurers
What separates the top dog insurance picks?
Eight insurers made the cut, and the scores sit close together: Embrace at 8.7, Healthy Paws at 8.6, then ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Pets Best and Trupanion all at 8.3. What splits them is what each one does with a large bill.
Healthy Paws has no annual or lifetime cap, and claims run about two days on published figures. Embrace covers exam fees, dental illness, behavioural therapy and prescription food, and drops your deductible $50 for every claim-free year. Trupanion pays the clinic directly at checkout in thousands of US hospitals and charges the deductible once per condition rather than every renewal year.
Price runs the other way. Lemonade Pet quotes $32, Pets Best $38, Figo $40, Healthy Paws $43, ASPCA $45, Embrace $47, Nationwide $62 and Trupanion $68. The cheap quotes often need paid add-ons: Lemonade's exam fees, dental and behavioural cover are add-ons that erase the price advantage, and Pets Best puts exam fees and dental on the Plus tier or higher.
What should you check before buying dog insurance?
Coverage carries the most weight in our scoring, so read the exclusions first. Waiting periods vary more than the premiums do.
- Figo has a one-day accident wait; Pets Best three days; ASPCA a single 14-day period with no long orthopaedic exclusion.
- Healthy Paws waits twelve months for hip dysplasia, and it is permanent for pets enrolled after age six. Figo and Lemonade both carry a six-month orthopaedic wait; Pets Best a six-month cruciate wait.
- Annual limits matter. Embrace runs $5,000 to $30,000, ASPCA tops out at $10,000, Pets Best offers unlimited on the Elite tier, and Trupanion has no annual or lifetime cap.
- Reimbursement: Nationwide caps at 70% on most plans, Trupanion pays 90%, and Figo is the only insurer here offering 100%.
- Age: ASPCA and Pets Best have no upper age limit.
If the big surgery is your worry
Healthy Paws suits owners who want no payout ceiling, and Trupanion suits anyone who would rather the clinic bill the insurer than front a $7,000 surgery.
If you want routine costs back
Embrace fits dogs that need exam fees, dental illness or behavioural therapy covered, and ASPCA adds microchipping in the base policy. Nationwide's Whole Pet with Wellness rolls routine care into one policy.
If the monthly premium leads
Lemonade Pet is the cheapest quote on three of our four test pets and settles simple claims in minutes through the app. Pets Best sits in the flexible middle with three coverage tiers.
If your pet is not a dog or cat
Nationwide covers birds, rabbits, reptiles, ferrets and other exotics, and insures horses through ASPCA.
For a dog that might need major surgery, Healthy Paws and Trupanion are the two to quote first. If you want exam fees, dental and behavioural cover back, Embrace and ASPCA Pet Health Insurance include them in the base policy. On a tight monthly budget, Lemonade Pet and Pets Best come in lowest, and Nationwide is the pick for birds, rabbits, reptiles and other exotics.
Questions about best dog insurance
*Scores: What is covered 30 · Limits & exclusions 20 · Price 20 · Claims & payout 20 · Wellness & extras 10; score = Σ ÷ 10. Prices shown were checked on the date beside each and may change. Affiliate links are added only after a score is locked and can never change it. How we rank.