Lemonade Pet Insurance Review

Lemonade Pet insurance is health insurance available for dogs and cats and includes hospitalization, accident and illness coverage, and several optional preventative packages. Coverage starts as low as $10 per month, and you can even get a bundling discount if you have other policies through the company.

Lemonade is different from traditional insurance companies. Traditionally, any money that is not paid out in claims is kept as profit by the company. But Lemonade does things differently. Lemonade takes a flat fee from the premiums paid and uses the rest to pay claims. Unclaimed premiums are donated to charity, not kept as extra profit.

Pros and Cons of Lemonade Pet Insurance

Lemonade Pet Insurance Plans and Coverage

Lemonade’s Pet Insurance is health insurance for your cat or dog. With Lemonade, you can go to any licenced vet in the country, plus it provides financial coverage if your pet gets sick with a new illness or gets hurt. Here’s some examples of what a base Lemonade Pet policy could cover:

• Accidents, unexpected events like road accidents or poisoning that result in injury, sickness, broken bones, and sprains.
• Illnesses, including vomiting, diarrhea, and infections.
• Repeating or chronic conditions, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, and skin conditions.
• Congenital or hereditary conditions, such as elbow and hip dysplasia, hernias, and blood and eye disorders.
• Diagnostics, including blood tests, urine analysis, x-rays, MRIs, lab work, CT scans, and ultrasounds.
• Outpatient, specialty, and emergency care, hospitalization, and surgery.
• Prescription medicines.

Here’s a chart from Lemonade that gives a quick overview of their coverage.

Deductible and Co-insurance levels

When setting up your policy you’ll be asked to choose your deductible, co-insurance and annual limit.

A deductible is how much you need to pay out of pocket per year before your insurance kicks in. For example, if you have a $100 deductible you’ll need to pay $100 before your insurance policy coverage begins. This is true for all types of insurance. At Lemonade, deductibles are annual, so once you’ve exhausted your deductible for the year, you won’t have to pay it again until renewal.

With Lemonade your deductible choices are:

• $100
• $250
• $500

The higher deductible you choose the lower your premium will be.

Co-insurance is the percentage of the cost that the insurance policy will pay. For example, if your bill is $1,000 and you have 80% co-insurance, assuming you’ve already paid off your deductible for the year the insurance company will pay $800 and you will be responsible for $200.

With Lemonade your co-insurance choices are:

• 70%
• 80%
• 90%

The lower co-insurance you choose the lower your premium will be.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say your dog is injured and the bill is $2,500. You’ve chosen a $500 deductible and 80% co-insurance.

First, you’ll pay your deductible of $500, bringing the outstanding bill to $2,000. Then Lemonade will pick up 80%, or $1,600. Leaving you with the remaining $400 to pay out of pocket.

So in this scenario, the bill was $2,500 and you will have paid $900 and the insurance paid $1,600. Of course, you only need to meet your deductible once per year. So if you had already met your deductible for the year insurance would have paid 80% of the entire bill – so $2,000.

An annual limit represents the amount that Lemonade can reibmurse you over the course of the year. The lower your annual limit, the lower your premium will be. At Lemonade, you can select an annual limit between $5,000-$100,000.

Get started with Lemonade Pet Insurance.

What Lemonade Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover

While pet insurance covers a lot, it won’t cover everything. If your pet has pre-existing conditions those will be excluded. Also, if your pet sustains injury due to neglect on your part then it may not be covered.

For example, if your dog eats laundry detergent once, the care required would be covered. But if you continually bring your dog to the vet for eating laundry detergent then they may stop covering those visits as it would be up to you to better secure the detergent.

Note that even if something isn’t covered doesn’t mean that you can’t get care. You would just have to pay for it out of pocket.

Waiting Periods

There are also some waiting periods after you first get coverage. Accident coverage has a two day waiting period. Coverage for illness has a 14 day waiting period. And cruciate ligament events have a six month waiting period.

What are cruciate ligament events? I’m no vet but from what I read it’s basically bad knees that’s common in dogs. Here’s more information on that.

Lemonade Pet Insurance Add-ons

If you want coverage above and beyond the base level coverage Lemonade has some preventative care packages and add-ons available that will boost your coverage on top of a base accident and illness policy.

Preventative package

Designed to keep your pet healthy, Lemonade will help pay for preventative care costs, including:

• 1 Annual Wellness Exam
• 1 Heartworm Test or FeLV/FIV Test
• 3 Vaccines or Boosters
• 1 CBC/Chem Blood Test
• 1 Fecal or Internal Parasite Test

Preventative+ package

This package adds on medication for heartworm and flea and tick as the above package only covers testing. This package includes:

• 1 Annual Wellness Exam
• 1 Heartworm or FeLV/FIV Test
• 3 Vaccines or Boosters
• 1 CBC/Chem Blood Test
• 1 Fecal or Internal Parasite Test
• Flea, Tick or Heartworm Medication
• Routine Dental Cleaning

Puppy/Kitten Preventative Package

If you have a puppy or kitten you may want to consider this package. It includes:

• 2 Annual Wellness Exams
• 1 Heartworm Test or FeLV/FIV Test
• 6 Vaccines or Boosters
• 1 CBC/Chem Blood Test
• 2 Fecal or Internal Parasite Tests
• Microchipping
• Flea, Tick or Heartworm Medication
• Spaying or Neutering Procedure

Five Additional Add-Ons

1. Vet Visit Fees – Fees the vet may charge for evaluation or things outside the actual cost of services rendered.
2. Physical Therapy – If your pet needs treatments for functionality issues; this is the coverage you’ll want to add.
3. Dental Illness – Helps cover the cost of things like crowns, root canals, extractions and more.
4. Behavorial Conditions – If your pet suffers from a variety of behavorial conditions like excessive barking, separation anxiety, aggression (to name a few), this add on coverage may be beneficial.
5. End-of-Life Remembrance – Help to cover the costs of your pets final resting place and possible keepsakes you may want.

What does Lemonade Pet Insurance Cost

Since Lemonade advertises monthly premiums as low as $10, I ran a scenario based on an average dog.

The information was entered on a five-year-old Terrier Mix, named Captain Jack, living in Phoenix and in good health.

The application requests the following information:

• Your pets name
• Dog or cat
• Your home address
• The pet’s age, breed, and sex
• Several health-related questions to determine any preexisting condition

With a $250 deductible and 80% co-insurance, the base plan came back at $38.02 per month. That includes diagnostics, procedures, and medications.

I could add on vet visit fees, which would cover the cost of the vet visit for accident or illness-related visits for $7.40 per month.

Then it asked me if I wanted to add on any preventative care packages. The Preventative package was an additional $17.58 per month and the Preventative+ was $26.70 per month.

At the end of the quoting questions, there is an option to adjust your deductible and co-insurance. It’s a little hard to find, once you receive your quote, you have to scroll down quite a bit to find where you can make this adjustment.

When I changed my deductible to $500, leaving the co-insurance at 80% my premium dropped to $27.80 a month.

It’s worth noting that pet insurance for cats is substantially less expensive than it is for dogs. Switching from dog to cat with all the other parameters the same brought the price down to $21.00 per month, from $38. And choosing a $500 deductible made the monthly payment only $15.48

I love that you can get your quote right online without any hassle. The whole process took just a few minutes.

How to File a Claim with Lemonade Pet Insurance

You’ll find filing a claim with Lemonade to be easier than with traditional insurance providers. You file a claim from the mobile app by hitting the File a Claim button. You’ll be guided through the rest of the process. In fact, the company claims around 50% of Pet claims are handled instantly.

You’ll be asked to enter your bank account wire information, and once your claim is approved, payment will be issued directly into your account. The company aims to pay claims “almost instantly”. That means it may be possible that the cost of a procedure or test will be paid before you even leave the veterinarian’s office.

You’ll be asked to do a short video on your mobile device explaining the claim in your own words. This may be an extra step, but it will avoid the need to complete too many input screens. You’ll also need to send a copy of the vet bill and receipt from your vet or clinic, which can easily be done by snapping a photo of the documents from your smartphone.

Some cases will need to be fully reviewed and may take longer to settle. This may be more likely to occur when you make your first claim, since you will be unfamiliar with the process. All claims must be filed within 180 dates of treatment, including providing all necessary information.

Lemonade Pet Insurance works entirely online. That includes access to both the website and your mobile device. And not only can you sign up for the coverage through the app, but you will also handle all communications and filing of claims in the same way.

Like most other pet insurance providers, Lemonade allows you to work with any licensed veterinarian or pet care facility in the U.S. You can bring your pet to the care provider of your choice, and obtain reimbursement for services, sometimes before you even leave the veterinarian’s office. However, like with most other pet insurance companies, you should expect to pay the care provider directly, then receive reimbursement from Lemonade.

Customer Service and Support

Customer support is available through the app and the website, under the “Help” button. Additionally, support is available by phone at (844) 733-8666, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 8 pm EST.

Lemonade Vs Other Pet Insurance Companies

The number of companies participating in pet insurance is growing, which is fortunate given that the cost of obtaining that care is also rising. In addition to Lemonade consider the following pet insurance providers:

Embrace

Embrace is one of the best-known pet insurance companies. Like most other pet insurance companies, they limit coverage to dogs and cats. And they allow you to work with any licensed veterinarian or pet care facility of your choice. They offer what they refer to as Nose-to-tail Pet Insurance Coverage, covering accidents, illnesses, breed-specific and genetic conditions, cancer, and dental illnesses. But they also cover more common conditions, like allergies, arthritis, and diabetes. What’s more, they also cover prescription medications, including, if necessary, oral chemotherapy. Reimbursement levels are set at your choice of 70%, 80%, or 90%, with deductibles ranging between $200 and $1,000.

Check out our full Embrace pet insurance review

Pumpkin Pet Insurance

Pumpkin Pet Insurance is another fast-rising pet insurance provider. Much like Lemonade, they only began their pet insurance operation in 2020. But they’re enabling participants to receive a high reimbursement rate on eligible veterinary expenses for both accidents and illnesses. They also offer an optional preventative care package that covers an annual wellness exam, vaccines, and key tests. They also offer flexible annual limits and deductibles. Also – very important – there are no upper age limitations.

Check out our full Pumpkin pet insurance review.

Is Lemonade Pet Insurance the Right Pet Insurance for You?

Due to rising costs and more expensive medical treatments available, having pet insurance is increasingly becoming a necessity for a pet parent. One of the big advantages Lemonade insurance offers is the absence of the bureaucratic process that typically accompanies dealing with insurance companies. Their unique business model allows them to use a simple process in which participants pay premiums, and the company pays out claims almost immediately. They view the premium money you pay as your money, and avoid creating unnecessary obstacles to paying claims.

One thing to be aware of is that there is a wide variation in the premium level you will pay. Even though the premiums start as low as $10 per month, that’s the cost of a stripped-down policy for cats. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive plan, the kind that will cover major surgery, you’ll need to go with more generous policy limits.

But don’t get too carried away on that front either. Though they offer annual coverage limits up to $100,000, that amount will be totally unnecessary in the vast majority of cases. For most pets, a policy limit of $20,000 or even $10,000 will be sufficient.

That may be the very best reason to choose Lemonade insurance company for your pet insurance needs. They offer a wider variety of coverage options than most other providers. You can pick the one that works best for you and fits neatly within your budget.

Learn More: The 5 Best Credit Cards for Pet Expenses

Bottom Line

You’re probably already painfully aware of how expensive health care has become for people. But just as medical technology has advanced, and expectations of care have increased, the same dynamic has been playing out with healthcare costs for pets. Having a policy in place will give you options to care for your pet in a way that might not exist without coverage.

Visit Lemonade Pet Insurance