Pumpkin vs. Trupanion Pet Insurance Comparison 2024: Which One’s Best?

Trupanion has been a top competitor in the pet insurance business for decades. It’s a well-established company that is trusted nationwide. Pumpkin has recently entered the pet insurance market and is changing the face of pet insurance. While the company isn’t as well known, its extensive coverage and customization options make it a true competitor.

Is Pumpkin or Trupanion a better fit for your pet? Here, we give you a thorough overview of what each insurance company offers, including plan options and coverage, to explain which one is the best.

A Quick Comparison

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Brief Overview of Pumpkin

Pumpkin Insurance Service, Inc. is one of the newest companies to offer pet insurance. It emerged on the scene in April 2020 as a response to the increase in pet adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pumpkin is owned by the veterinary drug and vaccine producer Zoetis and aims to provide an affordable way for pet parents to offset the cost of veterinary care during an unexpected accident or illness. What stands out the most about Pumpkin is its extended coverage. Its insurance policy includes coverage for things like dental care, which isn’t common among pet insurance policies.

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Brief Overview of Trupanion

Trupanion is a Canadian company that has offered pet insurance since 1999. It has since expanded into the U.S. and is a top competitor in the industry. At present, it serves over 700,000 policyholders and offers some of the best comprehensive coverage available.

The popularity of Trupanion comes from both its coverage and its customer service. It does offer unlimited coverage and the option to directly pay your veterinarian. This alone is a huge plus if you wish to avoid waiting for reimbursements. Trupanion also has excellent 24/7 customer service.

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Other Top-Rated Pet Insurance Companies

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Pumpkin vs. Trupanion: Plans Available

Both Pumpkin and Trupanion offer a single insurance plan for accident and illness coverage. These plans do not cover general routine care, but there are add-ons available that enable you to receive minimal coverage for certain routine exams. Trupanion has one add-on option that Pumpkin does not.

Let’s look at what these plans cover in detail.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin has a Pet Health Insurance Plan that covers accidents and illnesses. Examples of vet bills covered under this plan are:

Procedures, treatments, and other vet expenses that are covered under the plan include:

The Preventative Essentials Pack is available to purchase as an add-on and offers minimal coverage for routine care. What this pack covers is different for dogs and cats.

Coverage Exclusions

Pumpkin does not offer coverage for pre-existing conditions or any conditions resulting from a prior diagnosis. This does not include cured conditions that have not required treatment for 180 days.

Trupanion

Trupanion has one insurance plan for accidents and illness. Accidents include things like broken bones, infections, dental trauma, coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea. Illness includes diabetes, hip dysplasia, respiratory infections, thyroid disease, heart disease, cataracts, liver disease, and allergies.

Diagnostic procedures and treatments are covered under Trupanion, including herbal therapies and reimbursement for 50% of the cost of prescription diets.

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Pumpkin vs. Trupanion: Reimbursements and Deductibles

Both Pumpkin and Trupanion offer 90% reimbursement for vet bills. Pumpkin has three deductible options to choose from, while Trupanion has a range.

Pumpkin

All Pumpkin policies offer a 90% reimbursement. Your monthly premium can be adjusted by choosing from $100, $250, or $500 deductibles.

Trupanion

Trupanion policyholders can choose a deductible anywhere between $0 and $1,000. It offers 90% reimbursement for vet bills covered by the policy. Trupanion also offers direct payments to your vet, so you don’t have to wait for your money.

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Pumpkin vs. Trupanion: Additional Perks

Since the coverage for pet insurance policies is similar between these companies, it’s important to know the advantages of each one.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin offers coverage for exam fees related to illness and injury and for preventable illnesses. It has behavioral therapy and training as part of its basic coverage and doesn’t charge extra for alternative therapies.

One thing that stands out about Pumpkin is that your pet does not have to be under a certain age to enroll; any pet 8 weeks of age or older can be insured. It has a 10% multi-pet discount for every additional animal that you enroll.

Trupanion

The option to have your vet directly bill your insurance company is a huge plus of Trupanion coverage. It means you won’t have to worry about having the money to pay your bill up front. For claims that can’t be directly billed, Trupanion’s claim-processing time averages 5 days; this is fast compared to most other insurance companies, which can take weeks to provide reimbursement.

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Company Verdict: Which One Has the Edge?

Customer Service 📞

• Edge: Trupanion

Trupanion offers 24/7 customer service, which Pumpkin doesn’t. The fact that Trupanion has been in business since 1999 with no significant changes to its policies means it’s a company that you can rely on.

Pumpkin is new to the insurance game, and its customer reviews show that it’s still struggling with long claim-processing times and consistent performance.

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Price of Plans 💲

• Edge: Pumpkin & Trupanion (Tie)

Trupanion has a one-time enrollment fee but no transaction fees. Pumpkin has no enrollment fees but requires monthly transaction fees.

Pricing for both companies changes depending on your location and your pet’s breed and age. We recommend getting a quote from both companies for your desired coverage before choosing. They are both fairly expensive compared to many competitors.

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Areas of Coverage 🌐

• Edge: Pumpkin

There are several things that Pumpkin covers as part of its basic coverage that Trupanion doesn’t. Exam fees are usually included on every vet bill, and Pumpkin covers these. Other examples of where Pumpkin coverage is better than Trupanion include:

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Perks 📱

• Edge: Pumpkin

Pumpkin offers several customization options that Trupanion does not. The only plan customization with Trupanion is the selection of your deductible. Pumpkin enables you to choose your annual payout and deductible.

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Conclusion

	Pumpkin	Trupanion
Our Rating	Our Rating:	Our Rating:
Multi-Pet Discount	Multi-Pet Discount:	Multi-Pet Discount:
Dental Options	Dental Options:	Dental Options:
Microchipping	Microchipping:	Microchipping:
Alternative Therapies	Alternative Therapies:	Alternative Therapies:
	Compare Price	Compare Price

Overall, Trupanion is great for its long-standing reputation, fast claims processing, and outstanding customer service. However, if you want wellness coverage for your pet’s routine care or more customization options on your policy, you should consider Pumpkin. It has a wide range of coverage for basic care, behavior treatment, and preventative treatments.

• Related Read: Pumpkin vs. ASPCA Pet Insurance: Which One’s Best?