Best pet insurance in California (CA) July 2024

Embrace has the best dog insurance in California, with more comprehensive coverage than competitors.

With some California pet insurance companies, the price may be cheaper but coverage for advanced treatments, such as mobility aids or behavioral care, is excluded. That’s not the case with Embrace. Embrace pet insurance covers added services like rehabilitative therapy, prosthetic devices and dental illness care.

Read our full Embrace pet insurance review.

Embrace offers three forms of coverage in California:

Accident and illness

• Deductible: $100, $250, $500, $750, or $1,000.
• Coverage limits: $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, or unlimited.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70%, 80%, or 90%.

Embrace’s policy covers the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and illnesses. It also provides up to $1,000 per year in treatments for dental diseases or injuries, and it covers prescription medications and behavioral treatments.

Accident only

• Deductible: $100.
• Coverage limits: $5,000.
• Reimbursement percentage: 90%.

Embrace’s accident-only policy may be a cost-effective choice for senior pets or those with pre-existing conditions.

Wellness

You can choose an allowance of $250 to $650 per year to reimburse you for eligible preventative care expenses, such as vaccinations, bloodwork, and dental cleanings.

In California, an Embrace unlimited accident and illness plan for a dog costs about $40 per month. We found Embrace to be slightly more expensive than the average for other companies, particularly for older pets.

Embrace offers two discounts:

• 10% Multi-pet discount.
• 5% Military discount for active service members and veterans.

Embrace has positive customer reviews and has a 4.2 out of 5 (great) score on Trustpilot, based on 3,600 reviews.

Healthy Paws has the best cat insurance in California, based on rates. The average monthly cost of pet insurance for cats is $22. This is for a plan with unlimited annual coverage, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement level.

It also has the cheapest pet insurance for kittens in California, with an average monthly cost of $17 for the same unlimited plan for a 3-month-old cat.

Healthy Paws has no annual or lifetime limits on pet insurance coverage for accidents and illnesses. You’re not locked into the same deductible and reimbursement percentage choices you made at enrollment because Healthy Paws allows you to make adjustments at any time.

Read our full Healthy Paws pet insurance review.

Healthy Paws offers one form of pet insurance coverage:

Accident and illness

• Deductible: $50, $100, $250, $500, $750, or $1,000.
• Coverage limits: Unlimited.
• Reimbursement percentage: 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90%.

Besides the normal accident and illness coverage for dogs and cats, Healthy Paws also covers alternative care treatments. These treatments include acupuncture, chiropractic care, hydrotherapy, laser therapy, homeopathy, and veterinary herbal therapy.

In California, an unlimited Healthy Paws accident and illness plan costs an average of:

• $28 per month for dogs.
• $26 per month for puppies.
• $22 per month for cats.
• $17 per month for kittens.

Healthy Paws does not offer discounts in California. However, through its refer-a-friend program, it will donate $25 to homeless pets in your name for every completed referral.

Healthy Paws pet insurance reviews on Trustpilot have earned the provider an excellent rating after over 2,200 reviewers gave them 4.3 out of 5 stars (excellent).

Happy customers remark about their fast and easy claims process and coverage for their pet’s conditions, from laryngeal paralysis in someone’s cat to lymphoma cancer in another’s dog.

However, there are negative comments about having a hard time canceling the policy after a pet’s death or surrender and frustrations with claims denials, even after submitting the requested paperwork.

Lemonade offers some of the most affordable pet insurance in California. It also has some of the fastest claims response and reimbursement in the industry. Thanks to artificial intelligence chatbot Jim, most pet owners can submit a claim in a few minutes, get it approved in seconds and be on their way to getting reimbursed for eligible expenses. Some claims can take longer if a human has to manually process it.

Read our full Lemonade pet insurance review.

Accident and illness

• Deductible: $100, $250, or $500.
• Coverage limit: $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, or $100,000.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70%, 80%, or 90%.

In California, Lemonade accident and illness coverage is standard, providing coverage for diagnostic and blood testing, urinalysis, labwork, procedures and medication.

Wellness

Lemonade’s preventive care plan will cover vaccines, microchipping, spay or neuter surgery, two wellness visits, plus, flea, tick, and heartworm preventives.

There are several rider add-ons available through Lemonade:

• Vet visit fees.
• Dental illness.
• Physical therapy.
• Behavioral conditions.
• End-of-life and remembrance.

Pet insurance with Lemonade costs an average of $20 per month for a dog in California, according to our analysis of rates.

Lemonade offers several discounts in California. You can save 5% by insuring multiple pets, get a 5% annual discount and save 10% if you bundle pet insurance with home or renters insurance from Lemonade.

With more than 1,800 reviews, Lemonade has an excellent score on Trustpilot with 4.4 out of 5 stars, but this is for all insurance products the carrier offers — not just pet insurance.

Although most pet insurance reviews are positive, some customers say they have difficulties with what is considered a pre-existing condition. One example includes diarrhea, which is a common curable pre-existing condition other carriers will cover after a specific period being symptom- and treatment-free.

ManyPets has the best pet insurance for puppies in California. A puppy insurance plan with unlimited annual coverage costs an average of $33 per month.

Pet insurance from ManyPets covers curable pre-existing conditions once your pet has been free of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment for 18 months — unless it’s a cruciate ligament (CL, CCL, ACL) injury or hip dysplasia.

Not all pet insurance companies will cover vet exam fees, but with ManyPets exam fees to diagnose or treat your pet for a qualifying condition are reimbursable.

Pet insurance from ManyPets also covers prescription medications and holistic therapies—including acupuncture and chiropractic therapy—as long as they are prescribed by a veterinarian.

Read our full ManyPets pet insurance review.

In California, ManyPets sells an accident and illness plan with an optional wellness add-on.

Accident and illness

• Deductibles: $500.
• Coverage limits: Unlimited.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70% or 80%.

Accident and illness coverage, sometimes referred to as major medical insurance, covers veterinary expenses to diagnose and treat unexpected injuries or illnesses.

Wellness

Wellness plans are add-on benefits. While they aren’t insurance, they reimburse you — up to an annual maximum — for routine or preventative veterinary expenses, such as vaccines or wellness exams.

In California, ManyPets’ unlimited accident and illness policy for a dog is about $37 per month for dogs.

ManyPets doesn’t offer any discount programs in California.

ManyPets has strong customer reviews. On Trustpilot, it has a score of 4.4 out of 5 stars (excellent) based on more than 2,000 reviews.

Customers frequently praised the company for quickly processing claims and responsive customer support.

Pets Best is the best customizable pet insurance in California, allowing you to tailor your plan to give you the benefits you want at a price that fits your budget.

Pets Best offers three pet insurance plans with a wide range of deductibles, a 24/7 vet helpline, two wellness plan options and coverage for end-of-life care. It also has two wellness plans to choose from if you’d like to add on coverage for routine care.

Read our full Pets Best pet insurance review.

Accident and illness plan

• Deductible: $50, $100, $200, $250, $500 or $1,000.
• Annual coverage limit: $5,000 or unlimited.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70%, 80% or 90%.

Accident-only plan

• Deductible: $250.
• Annual coverage limits: $10,000.
• Reimbursement percentage: 90%.

Wellness plans

• EssentialWellness: $305 in wellness coverage per year.
• BestWellness: $535 in wellness coverage per year.

In California, a Pets Best accident and illness plan for a dog costs about $46 per month.

You may qualify for these pet insurance discounts in California:

• Multi-pet discount.
• Discount for qualifying veterinary staff.

In general, Pets Best insurance company has strong reviews. Its score on Trustpilot is 4 out of 5 stars (great) based on more than 4,400 reviews. Customers praised how easy it was to submit a Pets Best dog insurance claim through the pet insurance company, and the negative complaints tended to be misunderstandings about preventative care coverage.

Figo pet insurance has the shortest waiting period for accident coverage, of the California pet insurance plans we reviewed. When you buy Figo pet health insurance, you only have a one-day waiting period for accidents before coverage begins. The waiting period for illness is 14 days.

Read our full Figo pet insurance review.

Accident and illness

• Deductible: $100, $250, $500, or $750.
• Coverage limit: $5,000, $10,000, or unlimited.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%.

In California, Figo offers multiple tiers of coverage for accident and illness insurance for dogs and cats. The tiers cover the same tests and treatments but vary by reimbursement limit.

Wellness

Figo offers wellness plans for an additional fee. It reimburses you for routine care.

Figo offers several riders in addition to the wellness plan:

• Veterinary exam fees: This rider provides coverage for exam fees related to the diagnosis and treatment of covered conditions.
• Extra care: The extra care rider covers other pet-related expenses such as rewards for lost pets and vacation cancellation due to a pet’s illness.

Figo’s monthly rate for an unlimited accident and illness plan for a dog is an average of $44 per month in California.

Figo offers a 5% multi-pet discount in California.

Figo has a 4 out of 5 (great) score on Trustpilot based on more than 1,800 reviews. While that’s lower than some of the companies on our list, many of the complaints focus on annual premium increases. Unfortunately, it’s normal for pet insurance companies to raise rates as pets age, as older pets are more likely to develop health issues.

Although Fetch Pet Insurance doesn’t offer a wellness plan, its comprehensive pet insurance coverage has several extras that can be valuable. Its accident and illness plan covers virtual and in-home visits, exam fees for illnesses, aggression and separation anxiety treatment, as well as boarding and advertising for lost pets with a reward. Fetch has a strict 90-day limit on claim filings in California.

Read our full Fetch pet insurance review.

Fetch Pet Insurance only offers one form of coverage in California.

Accident and illness

• Deductible: $300, $500, or $700.
• Coverage limits: $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000.
• Reimbursement percentage: 70%, 80% or 90%.

Get standard accident and illness coverage from Fetch Pet Insurance, plus some extra features like virtual and in-home visit coverage, acupuncture and chiropractic care, and treatment for aggression and separation anxiety.

In California, an accident and illness pet insurance plan for a dog is an average of $31 per month with Fetch.

Although Fetch Pet Insurance doesn’t have a multi-pet discount in California, it offers up to 10% savings for active duty military and veterans.

California customers who don’t reach their deductible in a policy year can save up to 15% on premiums, while those who go two years can save up to 30% with the Healthy Pet Credit.

Fetch Pet Insurance reviews earn the carrier an excellent rating on Trustpilot. Based on more than 2,000 reviews, Fetch has 4.3 out of 5 stars.

Many reviewers remark on positive customer service experiences and an easy claims process. However, some complain about not getting the right reimbursement for claims, long processing times and high premiums for little added benefit.