Trupanion vs Embrace Pet Insurance

Trupanion has unlimited payouts. Embrace does not

The whole point of getting insurance for your pet is to be able to say “yes” to the veterinary treatment they need without personal finances inhibiting you. But if you end up being limited by how much your pet insurance coverage will pay out, you may quickly find yourself in a difficult and frustrating situation.

The truth is that pet insurance providers often impose annual limits on how much they will pay out in a given year. Embrace is no different, restricting its members to one of several payout limits ($5,000, $8,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $30,000) for its accident and illness coverage. Embrace also offers accident-only pet insurance with a $5,000 annual reimbursement limit.

Trupanion has one simple plan with no payout limits. This means that no matter how high or frequent your pet’s veterinary bills are for new illnesses and injuries, you never have to worry about running out of coverage.

Waiting periods: up to 30 days with Trupanion, 6 months with Embrace

Like almost all pet health insurance providers, both Trupanion and Embrace have waiting periods for new injuries and illnesses following enrollment. However, Trupanion has just a 5-day wait for injuries and a 30-day wait for illnesses.

With Embrace, waiting periods vary greatly. New members have a 2-day wait for accident coverage but have to wait 6 months for orthopedic conditions. This wait time can can only be reduced if members complete an orthopedic exam and waiver process within the first 14 days of policy activation.

With Trupanion, waiting periods can be waived entirely with an Exam Day Offer.

Trupanion doesn’t raise rates due to pet aging. Embrace does

Embrace, like most other pet health insurance companies besides Trupanion, uses a pricing structure called “birthday pricing.” With birthday pricing in place, your pet’s rate is likely to automatically increase just because they aged another year — regardless of whether their insurance coverage was used. These birthday rate increases often come on top of inflation and other factors that can affect your price.

Trupanion is different when it comes to pricing. Your pet’s starting rate is based on their age at enrollment and typical veterinary costs for their breed and location. While your cost with Trupanion can fluctuate over time due to things like inflation and changing veterinary costs, it will never increase simply because your pet has a birthday or you had to use their coverage.

Trupanion has 24/7 live support. Embrace has business hours

Have questions? Trupanion offers live support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year (even holidays!). Embrace’s live customer service hours are much more strict: 8:30am – 8pm on weekdays and Saturday 9am – 1pm, all EST.

For perspective, Trupanion is open to assist members 100% of the week whereas Embrace is available less than 37% of the week.

Trupanion can pay vets directly at checkout. Embrace cannot

Trupanion is the only provider that can pay veterinarians directly at time of checkout from your pet’s appointment. Eligible veterinary costs are often paid in just seconds. In many cases, this option requires no paperwork or phone calls from the pet owner. You can see any veterinarian you like with Trupanion, though not all are set up for direct pay. Even so, most claims are processed within 24 hours of filing.

Curious about not having to wait for reimbursement? It’s easy to find out if your veterinarian of choice accepts Trupanion’s Vet Direct Pay.

While many pet health insurance companies do not offer any direct pay option, Embrace can pay automatically for eligible wellness plans (for members who have wellness coverage). They cannot pay directly for accident or illness claims, meaning members have to wait for reimbursement.