Lemonade Pet Insurance: Is it the right choice?

Tanveen Vohra
Written by
Tanveen Vohra
Photo of an Insurify author
Written by
Tanveen Vohra
Editorial Manager
Tanveen Vohra is an editorial manager at Insurify specializing in writing about property and casualty insurance. Through her work, Tanveen helps consumers better understand the components of their insurance policies so they can make smarter purchase decisions.Tanveen's work has been cited by CNBC , Fox Business, Business Insider, Fortune, and Market Watch, among others.
John Leach
Edited by
John Leach
Photo of an Insurify author
Edited by
John Leach
Insurance Content Editor at Insurify
John Leach is an insurance content editor who has worked in print and online. He has years of experience in car and home insurance and strives to make these topics easy to understand for everyone. He has a linguistics degree from UC Santa Barbara.

Updated April 13, 2022

Reading time: 4 minutes

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Best For…

  • Pet owners who have a renters or homeowners insurance policy with Lemonade

  • Pet parents looking for a robust accident and illness plan

  • Dog and cat owners looking for a relatively affordable pet insurance policy

Not the Best For…

Why buy pet insurance?

You love your pet just like you love any of your family members. You take care of them, shower them with love and affection, and make sure they’re well-fed and looked after.

Most pet parents are familiar with the sinking feeling of realizing their pet is sick. Aside from the emotional turmoil a pet owner faces when taking care of a sick pet, the financial strain of constant vet visits and prescriptions can put many in a tight spot.

Buying a pet insurance plan for your pet would give you peace of mind knowing that your pet will be taken care of regardless of your personal finances.

Apart from covering treatment costs for your sick pet, pet health insurance can also help cover vet bills, routine care, preventative measures to ward off parasites, and even behavioral therapy.

If you’re considering pet insurance, make sure you compare companies, quotes, and policies on Insurify today!

Lemonade vs. Healthy Paws and Embrace

To see how Lemonade ’s pet insurance prices stacked up to those of its competitors, we compared quotes from Lemonade, Healthy Paws, and Embrace. All plans were standardized to have a 90 percent reimbursement rate and a $250 annual deductible.

Below are the pet insurance quotes for a two-year-old purebred labrador retriever named Sally who lives in San Jose, California:

Company NameQuotes
Lemonade$44/mo
Embrace$46/mo
Healthy Paws$66/mo

These are the pet insurance quotes for a one-year-old German shepherd named Jerry who also lives in San Jose, California:

Company NameQuotes
Lemonade$45/mo
Embrace$61/mo
Healthy Paws$63/mo

These are the quotes for a three-year-old labradoodle named Sandy in San Jose. Mixed breed dogs usually have lower insurance premiums since they aren’t as susceptible to genetic diseases:

Company NameQuotes
Lemonade$29/mo
Embrace$36/mo
Healthy Paws$53/mo

Now moving on to cats, these are the cat health insurance quotes for Simon, a three-year-old British shorthair who lives in Houston, Texas:

Company NameQuotes
Lemonade$13/mo
Embrace$28/mo
Healthy Paws$16/mo

Remember, cat insurance premiums tend to be cheaper than dog insurance premiums.

Finally, these are the quotes for a five-year-old mixed breed long-haired cat named Wesley, who also lives in Houston, Texas:

Company NameQuotes
Lemonade$14/mo
Embrace$32/mo
Healthy Paws$14/mo

Lemonade ’s policies are on par and even tend to be a couple of dollars cheaper than those of its competitors. However, remember to always take into account the coverage each company provides in addition to prices.

Lemonade Pet Insurance Policies and Pricing

Lemonade offers customers basic, hassle-free accident and illness coverage with an optional preventative and wellness package add on. If the basic accident and illness plan isn’t robust enough for your needs, Lemonade also offers an Extended Accident and Illness package, which includes alternative therapies like acupuncture and hydrotherapy and covers wellness exam fees.

Lemonade ’s basic accident and illness plan covers most injuries your pet sustains from an accident, as well as all illnesses ranging from ear infections and diabetes to cancer. This includes congenital and hereditary conditions like elbow or hip dysplasia.

However, like most pet insurance companies, Lemonade won’t cover illnesses, injuries, and allergies your pet was afflicted with before your Lemonade policy started or during any of the waiting periods. Those conditions will be considered pre-existing. No pet insurance company covers pre-existing conditions, but some, like Embrace, will cover them if your pet doesn’t exhibit symptoms for a certain period of time.

The company also won’t cover bilateral conditions. So if your pet had elbow dysplasia in its right hip before enrolling in a Lemonade policy, its left hip wouldn’t be covered for hip dysplasia in the future.

The basic accident and illness plan also covers diagnostic tests a vet decides to carry out on your pet. This means it will cover all blood tests, urinalysis, x-rays, MRI ’s, labwork, CT scans, and ultrasounds, as long as they’re not associated with a pre-existing condition.

Lemonade also covers surgeries, such as an endoscopic removal surgery if your dog or cat swallows a toy. However, Lemonade won’t cover this type of surgery if your pet has had a documented history of swallowing toys.

If your pet is diagnosed with cancer while they’re on a Lemonade policy, the company will cover all cancer-related costs, which can often amount to thousands of dollars. However, Lemonade will only cover traditional cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, not any experimental treatments.

Overnight visits at the vet are also covered by your Lemonade pet insurance plan, as long as its for an eligible, covered condition. It’ll also cover any vet-recommended hospitalizations, fluids, medications, and additional tests.

Since Lemonade ’s basic policy doesn’t cover preventative and wellness care, you can purchase the preventative and wellness add-on to cover things like annual check-ups, vaccinations, bloodwork, heartworm prevention, fecal tests, and access to an online medical advice chat.

Like most pet insurance policies, your Lemonade policy won’t cover spaying or neutering, breeding or grooming related costs, prescription food, or vitamins.

Check Out: 10 Dog Breeds With the Least Health Problems

Lemonade Insurance for Your Bird or Exotic Animal

Currently, Lemonade only provides pet insurance for dogs and cats. As of now, Nationwide is the only pet insurance company to cover birds and exotic animals.

Lemonade Deductibles, Reimbursements, Claims, and Limits

Lemonade offers an annual deductible. So if you pick a $250 deductible, you only have to pay $250 towards a covered condition before your Lemonade policy kicks in for the rest of the year. Currently, pet owners can pick deductibles of either $100, $250, or $500.

Pet parents can also pick their own payout limit, which is the maximum amount of money Lemonade will pay out in claims over the course of the year. These limits range from $5,000 to $100,000.

Policyholders also have three reimbursement options. Reimbursement rates are like co-insurance. So if you have a 70 percent reimbursement percentage, Lemonade will pay for 70 percent of the bill while you have to pay the rest of the 30 percent. Currently, customers can choose either a 70 percent, 80 percent, or 90 percent reimbursement rate.

You can adjust your deductible, payout limit, and reimbursement percentage to customize your policy. Picking low payout limits, low reimbursement percentages, and high deductibles can drastically reduce your monthly payments. But, this might leave you having to pay more out-of-pocket if your pet requires expensive surgery or treatments. Customize your plan wisely!

Lemonade allows customers to file their claims within 180 days of an accident or illness occurring.

Lemonade’s Waiting period

Lemonade has a two-day waiting period for accidents, a 14-day waiting period for illnesses, and a six-month waiting period for cruciate ligament events.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Lemonade’s pet insurance policies tend to be a couple of dollars cheaper than those of its competitors. Dog insurance prices tend to be in the $20-$70 range, while cat insurance prices range from $12-$30. Adding the preventive and wellness add-on costs an additional $10-16. Again, these prices rely heavily on factors like the location, breed, and age of your pet.

  • Given that Insurtech company Lemonade only started selling its pet insurance product in 2020, only time will tell the quality of its pet insurance policies. That being said, Lemonade’s basic accident and illness plan, in combination with its preventative and wellness add-on, seems to give customers quite a robust policy, especially given the relatively low price.

  • Those who currently have a homeowners or renters insurance policy with Lemonade, can get a 10 percent discount on its pet insurance policies.

Tanveen Vohra
Written by
Tanveen Vohra
Linkedin

Editorial Manager

Tanveen Vohra is an editorial manager at Insurify specializing in writing about property and casualty insurance. Through her work, Tanveen helps consumers better understand the components of their insurance policies so they can make smarter purchase decisions.

Tanveen's work has been cited by CNBC , Fox Business, Business Insider, Fortune, and Market Watch, among others.

Learn More
John Leach
Edited by
John Leach

Insurance Content Editor at Insurify

Photo of an Insurify author
Edited by
John Leach
Insurance Content Editor at Insurify
John Leach is an insurance content editor who has worked in print and online. He has years of experience in car and home insurance and strives to make these topics easy to understand for everyone. He has a linguistics degree from UC Santa Barbara.