A Lemonade pet insurance policy can give you peace of mind that your dog or cat will be kept healthy and receive the necessary medical attention when an unexpected illness or accident occurs, no matter how expensive the vet bill may be.
Lemonade is one of the best pet insurance providers available due to its comprehensive coverage and affordable policies. Keep reading to learn more about the company’s history, plans, pricing, and customer reviews.
Background
Lemonade is an insurance company that was founded by Daniel Schreiber, Shai Wininger, and Ty Sagalow in April 2015.
The founders wanted to disrupt the current insurance model, offering a smooth, hassle-free claims process through AI technology. Although Lemonade started out only offering renters insurance and homeowners insurance, it now offers pet insurance and life insurance.
Additionally, the company has a unique business model with an emphasis on social responsibility, donating up to 40% of unused customer premiums to pet organizations and charities. Lemonade takes a flat rate from each customer’s premium to pay for its operating costs and leaves the rest to help pay for claims. Customers who don’t file claims are free to donate that money to a charity of their choice at the end of their policy term.
Pros & Cons
Pricing
Based on our research, we found Lemonade to be one of the cheapest pet insurance companies on the market, offering customizability and generally low monthly premiums.
Not to mention, its preventative care add-on comes at an affordable rate of of $16–$25 per month for dogs and $10–$20 per month for cats, depending on your policy’s reimbursement rate and the level of coverage you need.
Additional coverage for vet visit fees typically costs around $2–$8 per month, and the add-on for physical therapy coverage comes at only $1–$4 extra per month.
To customize policy pricing, pet owners can select from the following:
- 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement percentages
- $100, $250, or $500 deductibles
- $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, or $100,000 annual coverage limits.
Below are some examples of monthly premiums for various four-year-old dog and cat breeds in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a $250 deductible, 80% reimbursement rate, and $20,000 annual limit.
| Species/breed | Dog - Medium Mixed | Dog - Golden Retriever | Dog - Yorkshire Terrier | Cat - Domestic Medium Hair |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accident and Illness Plan | $18.50 | $26.67 | $17.00 | $10.83 |
| Accident and Illness Plan With Preventative Care | $34.50 | $42.67 | $33.00 | $20.83 |
| Accident and Illness Plan With Vet Fees and Physical Therapy Coverage | $23.67 | $34.08 | $21.75 | $13.83 |
Discounts
Lemonade offers a 10% discount for pet owners who bundle their pet insurance policy with a Lemonade home insurance policy.
You can also save an additional 5% on your policy by paying annually, rather than monthly.
Plans and Coverage
Lemonade offers one primary pet health insurance plan that includes accident and illness coverage. Here are a few examples of incidents that are covered under this plan:
- Vomiting, diarrhea, poisoning, and infections
- Broken bones, sprains, and other injuries
- Cancer, heart disease, arthritis, allergies
- Skin, congenital, hereditary, and other chronic conditions
- Elbow and hip dysplasia
Lemonade policies will cover procedures, treatments, or other costs related to accidents and illnesses, including the following:
- X-rays, MRIs, CT Scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, labwork
- Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, outpatient, and specialty care
- Prescription medications
For extra coverage options, you can add coverage for vet visit fees to your plan, which covers vet visit fees and exam fees related to a covered incident. You can also add coverage for costs related to physical therapy, including chiropractic care and acupuncture.
You can also purchase coverage for routine care with the Preventative Care add-on. It’s intended to assist with keeping your pet healthy and preventing any future issues and covers 70%, 80%, or 90% of the vet bills related to routine care, depending on which reimbursement rate you choose with your standard policy.
Here are the covered items and specific annual limits for each benefit on a policy with an 80% reimbursement rate:
| Covered Item | Annual Limit |
|---|---|
| Wellness exam | $50 |
| Heartworm test | $40 |
| Internal parasite or fecal test | $35 |
| Bloodwork | $65 |
| Three vaccines | $75 |
| Total benefit | $265 |
You can also pay extra for a premium version of the preventative care add-on that includes all of the above costs, plus routine dental cleaning in addition to flea, tick, or heartworm medication. Lemonade also offer additional wellness visits and vaccinations in the premium preventative care option for puppies and kittens under 2 years old.
Coverage Exclusions
Lemonade pet insurance policies don’t cover pre-existing conditions, which are defined in a sample policy as, “conditions that existed before the policy was purchased, such as chronic conditions, bilateral conditions, or intervertebral conditions.” Other exclusions determined by Lemonade include:
- Dental care, unless necessary to treat an injury
- Cosmetic and elective procedures
- Microchipping
- Grooming
- Anal gland expression
- Spaying, neutering, breeding or pregnancy-related conditions
- Alternative treatments
Lemonade also has age limits for coverage that vary between 6 and 14 years old, depending on the breed’s estimated life expectancy.
State Availability
Lemonade pet insurance policies are available in 35 states across the country, in addition to Washington D.C.
These states include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Exact policy details and discount options may vary depending on your state, but you can enter your ZIP code into this online quote tool to check plans and pricing in your area.
Customer Reviews
Lemonade isn’t currently rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), unlike most competitors, but we found that its complaints comes primarily from renters or homeowners insurance policyholders.
BBB reviews from current Lemonade pet insurance customers are mixed. While some rave about the fast claims process and ease of use, others complain about denied coverage and a hard-to-reach customer service team.
Here are some Lemonade pet insurance reviews from the BBB:
Kelsey M. from BBB says:
“I’ve had Lemonade for a while now and 10/10 would recommend. They are affordable, easy to use, and all communication with them has been understandable—simple language and simple requests.”
Dwin C. from BBB says:
“I have only been with Lemonade for pet insurance for several months. The company will only review one claim at a time even though more than one vet visit occurred in a two-week period. Nowhere in the agreement that I could find did it tell me I had to wait for one claim to be reviewed before another could be submitted. The decision was made to submit the larger of the two amounts. I had to contact the company [four] times within a month period to find out the status of the claim. They were still reviewing it all the while my premium was being collected.”
*BBB information accurate as of March 2023
Lemonade vs Others
| Provider | Our Rating | Monthy Sample Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | 96 | $18.50 |
| Spot | 91 | $34.60 |
| Embrace | 93.5 | $44.09 |
| Healthy Paws | 93.5 | $45.88 |
*Based on sample quotes for a mixed four-year-old dog in Raleigh, North Carolina
Our Conclusion
If you’re looking for an insurer with customizable annual limits, comprehensive coverage, a wellness add-on, and a fast claims process, Lemonade is the best pet insurance provider for you and your animal. However, look to Healthy Paws for unlimited coverage with no annual caps or Embrace for more flexible pet insurance deductibles. We always suggest pet parents get quotes from a few different providers to compare prices based on their location and pet’s species, breed, age, and size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Rating Methodology
The This Old House Reviews team is dedicated to thorough, in-depth reviews of each product or service that we detail in our content. Determined to build trust with our readers through transparency, accuracy, and accountability, we’ve built a detailed rating system to score pet insurance brands. Included in this methodology are the following six factors with their respective scoring weights:
- Coverage (25)
- Plan options (20)
- Monthly cost (20)
- Company reputation (15)
- Customer service (10)
- Species eligibility (10)
Our researchers keep all data in each company’s score up to date, making any changes to our content when necessary to provide our readers with the most accurate information on relevant metrics, such as plan options, customer service, reputation, and monthly pet insurance cost.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.