Have you seen flyers for Trupanion hanging in your vet’s office but heard about Pets Best from a friend? Do they insure the same accidents and illnesses, or is there a reason to choose one company over the other?
Read our Trupanion vs Pets Best showdown to decide which company may be a better fit for your pet. We compare coverage, customer service, claim repayment, customization options, and price to help you understand what each company has to offer.
Visit Trupanion’s Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
Policy Coverage
Contents
The table below shows precisely what Trupanion and Pets Best cover. Both companies cover the following items when deemed medically necessary: 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, and non-routine dental treatment. However, there may be limitations to this coverage, so please check your policy.
As you can see, Pets Best has shorter waiting periods for accidents, illnesses, and hip dysplasia. Additionally, you can pay an extra fee for wellness care and exam fee coverage through Pets Best but not Trupanion. Although both companies have the same underwriter, you can see how coverage differs. Pets Best wins this category for having shorter waiting periods, more coverage options, and no enrollment fees.
Policy Coverage Winner: Pets Best
Customer Service & Reputation
Trupanion has a consistent history of high prices and moderate coverage. There have been no significant policy changes for several years now, and prices have remained about the same as well. This is a good sign that you can count on things being steady when you sign up for a Trupanion policy. However, Trupanion isn’t immune to complaints of high prices or lack of coverage and reimbursement.
The pet insurance industry saw a surge in policy purchases when COVID-19 hit and new pet adoptions soared. Dur this time, many pet parents chose to insure their pets with Pets Best due to its thorough coverage and low prices. This caused a delay in claim repayment due to the influx of customers and insufficient staff to resolve claims. Negative reviews began to pour in, and Pets Best still hasn’t been able to get back to its pre-COVID repayment timeline. We’ve been in close contact with Pets Best and have been told that they’re continuing to hire more staff to help reduce the claim repayment timeline.
As you can see, both companies have areas where they can improve, but Pets Best wins this category in the end.
Customer Service & Reputation Winner: Pets Best
Claim Repayment
Trupanion says it pays claims within 60 days but averages 14 days. A 14-day claim repayment is considered a longer repayment timeline since most companies average fewer than 10 days. You may be able to have Trupanion pay your vet directly, so you don’t have to pay a hefty vet bill in advance and wait for reimbursement. But this isn’t available everywhere, so check with your vet first to see if Trupanion Express is an option for you.
As we mentioned above, Pets Best is currently experiencing extremely long claim repayment timelines averaging 25 to 40 days. We’re hoping Pets Best catches up and reduces its average back down to eight days or fewer, which is where it was before the increase in customers. Pets Best also has an option to pay your vet directly, but this seems less available than Trupanion’s vet direct pay option. Be sure to speak with Pets Best and your vet about it before you assume this option is available for you.
Because Trupanion has a much shorter claim repayment average, it wins this category.
Claim Repayment Winner: Trupanion
Plan Customization
One of the significant differences between these two companies is available plan customizations and age restrictions.
Trupanion has unlimited payouts and 90% reimbursement for all plans. The only customization option available on a Trupanion policy is the ability to choose the deductible amount between $0 and $1,000. Additionally, Trupanion offers new enrollment starting at birth, but it doesn’t enroll pets older than 14 years old.
On the flip side, Pets Best offers many customizations, so you can adjust your policy to fit your budget.
- Annual payout options: $5,000 and unlimited
- Deductibles: $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, or $1,000
- Reimbursement: 70%, 80%, or 90%
To enroll your pet in a Pets Best policy, they must be at least seven weeks old. But, Pets Best has no upper age limits.
Overall, Pets Best has significantly more customization options than Trupanion, which may make it a better fit for your budget. Additionally, Pets Best enrolls pets older than 14 years old, which opens up more options for pet owners with older dogs seeking a pet insurance policy.
Plan Customization Winner: Pets Best
Price Of Policy
Below are some quotes we ran in June 2021. All information is for pets without a microchip, no multi-pet discount, and no pre-existing conditions.
| Breed | Birthday | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Payout | Price Per Month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trupanion | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $81.40 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $34.50 |
| Trupanion | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 90% | Unlimited | $231.45 |
| Pets Best | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $93.77 |
| Trupanion | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 90% | Unlimited | $125.27 |
| Pets Best | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | $5,000 | $39.06 |
| Trupanion | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2018 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 90% | Unlimited | $148.85 |
| Pets Best | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2018 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | $5,000 | $45.75 |
We like that Pets Best offers more annual payouts and reimbursement percentage options than Trupanion. It allows you the opportunity to adjust your coverage based on your budget. Trupanion is often more expensive than Pets Best for a similar deductible, reimbursement percentage, and annual payout.
One additional cost consideration is servicing fees. Trupanion requires a one-time enrollment fee of either $0, $25, or $35, depending on the state in which you live, but has no transaction fees. Pets Best has a transaction fee of $2 for every payment (waived if you pay annually or live in AK or MD), but no one-time fees.
Price Of Policy Winner: Pets Best
Coupons
Trupanion
Pets Best
- 5% multi-pet discount
- 5% discount for military members and their families
You can also visit our dedicated Pets Best promotions page to discuss current offers.
What’s Our Verdict?
In the end, Pets Best wins this comparison against Trupanion due to its thorough coverage, lower prices, and considerable customization options. However, if you want coverage for your pet beginning at birth or a faster claim repayment, you may want to consider Trupanion. Further, you don’t know how prices will compare until you run quotes for both companies.
If you didn’t find what you were looking for, our experts dig even deeper into each company in our individual reviews of Trupanion and Pets Best.
Overall Winner: Pets Best
Our experts have spent hundreds of hours researching to bring you our comprehensive and frequently updated pet insurance reviews, including our top picks along with details on each of 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.).
Which company do you feel is a better choice to insure your dog? Trupanion or Pets Best?