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Pumpkin and Pets Best both offer pet insurance plans for accident and illness policies as well as optional wellness plans. However, there are some key differences you should know about before choosing between these providers. We pit the two pet insurance companies against one another to select a clear winner.
We compare coverage, customer service and reputation, claim processing, pricing, and customizations and explain which company we think is better in most cases. But, remember that each pet and household budget varies, so obtaining quotes from multiple companies for your unique situation can help ensure that you get the best policy and price to meet your specific needs.
Visit Pumpkin’s Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
Policy Coverage
Contents
The table below shows precisely what Pumpkin and Pets Best cover.
Both companies cover emergency care, surgery and hospitalization, specialized exams and specialty care, X-rays, blood tests, ultrasounds, cat scans, MRIs, rehabilitation, cancer, chronic conditions, euthanasia, hereditary conditions, congenital conditions, non-routine dental treatment, and prescription medications.
Neither covers pre-existing conditions, cremation and burial costs, pregnancy and breeding, or unnecessary cosmetic procedures.
Pumpkin Pet Insurance comes out ahead because it offers coverage for alternative/holistic therapy and exam fees without an extra fee. Pumpkin also has shorter waiting periods for CCL surgery. However, Pumpkin’s accident waiting period is considered long compared to most companies.
Pumpkin’s underwriter has an A rating from A.M. Best (a measurement of financial stability). This means that the underwriter may be more reliable than Pets Best’s (who has opted to go unrated) when it comes to claims repayment. However, Pets Best has been in business for 15 years longer than Pumpkin, so it has more experience paying out claims and customer experiences to read and learn from.
Ultimately, Pumpkin is the winner of this category because it provides more thorough coverage and excludes fewer health conditions; however, this is a close race due to Pets Best’s longer business history with a strong customer experience reputation (read more below).
Policy Coverage Winner: Pumpkin
Customer Service & Reputation
Founded in 2020, Pumpkin is new to the pet insurance space. And from the customer reviews we’ve seen, there are many complaints regarding pricing, cancelation difficulties, lengthy claim processing periods, and more. It can take years for a company to stabilize its performance and pricing, and it appears that Pumpkin is still working through these challenges.
Pets Best isn’t perfect either and has gone through a lot since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Thanks to its thorough coverage and low prices, it saw a massive uptick in policy purchases during this time. However, this led to more claims being filed, and there wasn’t enough staff to help resolve the increase in claims. As a result, complaints flooded in for poor customer service and long claim processing times. Unfortunately, Pets Best is still recovering.
However, Pets Best isn’t alone in increased policy purchases and insufficient staff to tend to claims and other customer service needs. In fact, we’ve spoken with many pet insurance providers and have noticed there are longer response times across the board.
Customer Service & Reputation Winner: Pets Best
Claim Processing
Pumpkin states it processes claims in two to four weeks. This is much longer than most of its competition. The majority of companies average fewer than ten days. But, due to the pandemic-related delays discussed above, Pets Best isn’t any better; it currently averages 25-40 days for its claim processing.
Because Pumpkin has a much shorter claim processing average, it wins this category. But, if you are looking for quick repayment, you might want to consider our winner for the fastest claims repayment.
Claim Processing Winner: Pumpkin
Price Of Policy
Both Pumpkin and Pets Best have monthly transaction fees of $2 but no one-time sign-up fees.
Pet insurance pricing is based on your pet’s details (age, breed, location, etc.). We recommend obtaining quotes from each company for your specific pet. You can also visit our pet insurance comparison quotes to see a few sample prices we’ve gathered. Then use our pet insurance quote form to see how other top companies compare for your actual pet.
Pets Best tends to offer some of the most affordable coverage. Meanwhile, Pumpkin is among the most expensive, on average.
Price Of Policy Winner: Pets Best
Coupons
Pumpkin
Pumpkin offers the following discount:
- 10% off for multiple pets
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price. No promo code is needed.
Pets Best
Pets Best offers the following discounts:
- 5% off for multiple pets
- 5% off for military members and their families
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price. No promo code is needed. You can also visit our dedicated Pets Best promotions page to learn more.
Plan Customization
Both companies offer several plan customization options to try and fit your premium into your budget.
| Pumpkin | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Payout Options | $10,000, $20,000, and unlimited | $5,000 and unlimited |
| Deductible Options | $100, $250, and $500 | $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, and $1,000 |
| Reimbursement Options | 90% | 70%, 80%, and 90% |
| Optional Wellness Plan |  |
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| Accident-Only Plan |  |
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Overall, Pets Best has more customization options than Pumpkin, which may make it a better, more flexible fit for your budget.
Plan Customization Winner: Pets Best
What’s Our Verdict?
In the end, Pets Best wins this comparison against Pumpkin due to its longstanding reputation, plan customizations, and lower pricing. However, if you want a faster turnaround for your claim processing, you may want to consider Pumpkin or another reputable provider.
If you didn’t find what you were looking for, our experts dig even deeper into each company in our individual reviews of Pumpkin and Pets Best.
Overall Winner: Pets Best
Our pet insurance experts have spent hundreds of hours researching to share our comprehensive and frequently updated pet insurance reviews, including our top picks along with details on the most popular pet insurance companies.
If you prefer to see winners by category, check out our best pet insurance comparison. We give awards for the best price, multi-pet discounts, 100% reimbursement, unlimited payouts, and other “best for” categories, including puppies, older dogs, dental, wellness coverage, bilateral conditions, behavioral therapy, vet direct pay, and more. You’ll even see winners for cats and exotic pets (i.e., rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, etc.).
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