Pumpkin vs. Lemonade Pet Insurance Comparison 2024: Which is Best?
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In This Review:
Pet insurance may be something that you’re considering as a pet owner, but there are many options out there. To find the best company for your needs, you have to consider things like price, coverage options, deductibles, and reimbursements. Here, we selected two top-ranking companies and examined what they have to offer in detail, to help you decide if one is right for you.
Pet insurance can be helpful if your pet has chronic conditions, becomes ill, needs to be hospitalized, or requires emergency surgery. These costs can be astronomical, especially if they come as a surprise. Read through this comparison to see if one of these companies can offer your pet what they need.
A Quick Comparison
Company Name | Pumpkin Pet Insurance | Lemonade Pet Insurance |
Pets Covered | Dogs and cats | Dogs and cats |
Types of Plans | Accident and illness base plan with optional wellness packages | One basic policy that can be modified with wellness plans, preventative care plans, and an extended accident and illness plan |
Deductibles | $100, $250, or $500 | $100, $250, or $500 |
Reimbursement | 90% | 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% |
Additional Perks | Multi-pet discounts | Several discounts offered |
Brief Overview of Pumpkin Pet Insurance
- Offers unlimited coverage
- Optional wellness plans
- Can pay your vet directly in some cases
- Focused on preventative care
- 90% reimbursement level
- Discounts for enrolling multiple pets
- Long waiting periods
- No accident-only plan
- Only one basic plan option
- Pricey premiums
Pumpkin Pet Insurance is sold in all 50 United States. This company was founded in 2020 by Alex Douzet, who founded Ollie, a pet food company. The company provides a preventative care option that can be purchased along with a basic plan for extensive accident and illness coverage. While the preventative care package isn’t mandatory, it will cover 100% of your routine vet care, like wellness exams and vaccines, so many pet owners think that it is worth the money.
Like many other pet insurance companies, Pumpkin does not cover ongoing pre-existing conditions. There are three deductible options, so you can choose the one that fits your budget. The company also has coverage limits each year that state the maximum amount that you can be reimbursed annually. There are three options to choose from for dogs and cats. Limits for dogs are $10,000, $20,000, or unlimited, depending on how much you’d like your premium to be. Cat limits are $7,000, $15,000, or unlimited.
Pumpkin offers just one reimbursement percentage of 90%, which is high. This also means that your premiums may be high. Other companies offer a range, starting with a low percentage that will keep your monthly costs low too.
Pumpkin focuses on preventative care, operating under the idea that if you keep your pet healthy, you will avoid having to file claims down the road.
Brief Overview of Lemonade Pet Insurance
- Donates extra money to charity
- Claims are processed quickly
- Claims can be filed through the app
- Wellness plan offered
- Affordable premiums
- Multiple deductible options
- Covers hereditary conditions and pre-existing conditions*
- Not available in every state
- Will not pay your vet directly
Lemonade offers low-cost pet insurance that can be customized to fit your needs. It’s new to the pet insurance world, offering services only through a website and app. Claims are submitted online using an AI system. You won’t be texting a real person, but the process is step-by-step and easy to follow. Nearly half of claims are resolved instantly, but if you need support through the claims process, a real person will be there to guide you through the process
Each premium has a flat fee taken by the company. The rest goes toward paying claims. Any leftover money at the end of the year is donated to the charity of your choice, which is decided at the time of enrollment. This insurance is only available in 36 states, plus Washington D.C.
Lemonade offers multiple plans for dogs and cats. The base accident and illness plan can be customized by adding preventative care, or optional add-ons.
The website is user-friendly, and you can get a quote in just a few minutes. If you’d prefer to speak to a real person, there is a toll-free number to call.
The costs of the premiums are low, some starting at just $10 a month, depending on the coverage that you choose. Depending on your plan, you can access Lemonade’s online medical chat and communicate with an expert who may be able to help.
If you bundle your pet insurance with Lemonade’s other coverage for home, term life, and car, you can save 10%.
Other Top-Rated Pet Insurance Companies
Plans Available
Both companies have various plans available for your pet’s health. These options can be customized so you can choose the coverage that you need. There are plans available for every budget.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
Pumpkin offers one base plan for accidents and illnesses for dogs and cats.
- Behavioral issues
- Dental issues
- Prescription food
- Exam fees
- Surgery
- Hospitalization
- Cancer treatment
- Hereditary conditions
- Parasites
- Pre-existing conditions (provided that the pet was cured and symptom free for 180 days before a recurrence)
Like many other pet insurances, Pumpkin does not cover pre-existing conditions that did not have 180 consecutive days of a “cured” period, routine dental cleanings, cosmetic procedures like tail docking and ear cropping, spaying, neutering, or breeding costs.
If you opt to add the preventative essentials package to this plan, it will help pay for annual wellness exams, vaccines, fecal tests, and heartworm tests to keep your pet as healthy as possible.
Lemonade Pet Insurance
Lemonade offers a base accident and illness plan. Customers can select preventative care or optional add-ons for more coverage.
The base accident and illness plan cover emergencies. If your pet gets hurt or sick, their treatments and hospital stays can be covered. It also covers treatment for diabetes, infections, arthritis, cuts, and broken bones. If blood tests, MRIs, or surgeries are needed, these will also be covered.
There are also a number of add-ons, including physical therapy, vet visit fees, dental illness, behavioral conditions, and end-of-life and remembrance.
There are also a number of preventative care packages. These will provide coverage for wellness exams, vaccines, heartworm tests, and even flea-and-tick treatment. This package could also cover spaying, neutering, microchipping, and routine dental cleaning. There is an option that is specifically geared toward puppies and kittens.
Reimbursements and Deductibles
The amounts of your reimbursement and deductible will factor into the cost of your premiums each month. Both of these companies offer the same deductible options, but the reimbursement amounts differ.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
- 90%
- $100
- $250
- $500
- $7,000
- $10,000
- $15,000
- $20,000
- Unlimited
Pumpkin offers annual deductible options of $100, $250, and $500. There is a reimbursement of 90% regardless of your deductible.
Lemonade Pet Insurance
- 60%
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- $100
- $250
- $500
- $750
- $5,000
- $10,000
- $20,000
- $100,000
Lemonade also offers deductibles of $100, $250, and $500. However, the reimbursement amount options are 70%, 80%, and 90%.
Additional Perks
Each company offers perks that users may enjoy taking advantage of once they enroll. Discounts and user-friendly claim filings are things that the companies have in common.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
Pumpkin offers a 10% Fur Family discount for each pet that you enroll, which is great for multi-pet households. The company does not have an app, but its website is user friendly and optimized for use on a phone or tablet. If you don’t want to pay your vet the entire bill up front, Pumpkin can pay your vet directly if you file a claim requesting this service.
Lemonade Pet Insurance
Lemonade offers a 10% discount if you bundle your pet insurance with another policy, like home or renter’s insurance. It offers a 5% discount for enrolling multiple pets, and you can receive another 5% if you pay your premium in full annually instead of monthly. The website is user friendly, and it has an app that you can use to file claims.
Company Verdict: Which One Has the Edge?
Customer Service 📞
- Edge: Lemonade
While Lemonade is mostly run through AI and you don’t ever have to speak to a real person, you can if you need to. You can launch the chat-box feature to start a conversation or send an email. If you need a live agent immediately, there’s a toll-free number that you can call 24/7 for assistance.
You can send an email to Pumpkin and wait for a reply up to 1 day later. You can also reach someone online through the live chat option on the website. However, you can only reach customer service over the phone from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
Price of Plans💲
- Edge: Lemonade
Lemonade’s plans are extremely low if you choose the base policy, and there are options to fit every budget. Pumpkin offers a 90% reimbursement rate, which means its premiums are a bit high to account for this percentage. It’s nice if you use your insurance often, but if you just want basic coverage for your pet in case of emergencies, Lemonade is more affordable.
Areas of Coverage 🌐
- Edge: Tie
Both Pumpkin and Lemonade cover behavioral issues and hereditary conditions. It also covers pre-existing conditions if they’ve been cured for 180 days. Both companies offer wellness options to cover preventative care.
Perks 📱
- Edge: Lemonade
Lemonade offers extensive customer support, and claims can be filed easily online without having to speak to a live agent if you don’t want to. It also offers more discounts for multiple pets and bundled policies. One perk that Pumpkin has that Lemonade doesn’t is the ability to pay your vet directly, but for some pet owners, this might not be important.
Conclusion
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Wellness Options |
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Preventative Care |
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Prescription Foods |
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Surgery |
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Pumpkin pet insurance focuses on preventative care, with a wide range of coverage for multiple conditions. It offers a 90% reimbursement level, but the premiums may be high because of this. Lemonade offers basic coverage that can be modified with a wellness plan, like Pumpkin. However, its range of coverage is smaller.
Lemonade plans are more affordable and can be customized to fit different budgets. This insurance would appeal to those who are looking for coverage in the event of an emergency, like a serious sudden illness, emergency surgery, broken bone, or other injuries. Surprise vet bills can be costly, and Lemonade can help cover them.
Pumpkin is great for preventative care coverage if you are interested in getting reimbursed for your pet’s annual vet visits. It will also cover emergencies, but you can’t customize your plan as much as Lemonade allows.
Both companies are great options to help get your pet the treatment that they need when they need it.
- Read Also: 10 Best Cheap Pet Insurance Companies