Lemonade vs. Pumpkin Pet Insurance: 2024 Comparison

As the first fully digital insurer in the pet category, Lemonade sets itself apart from traditional insurance by introducing a paperless and convenient alternative for pet insurance enrollment, claims submission, customer support and overall plan management.

Streamlining its operations into an online desktop and app-based interface allows Lemonade to provide its customers with on-demand accident and illness coverage right from their own devices while also keeping company overhead costs low. Minimal operating expenses, in turn, translate into more affordable monthly premiums and a generous annual maximum of up to $100,000 for Lemonade policyholders.

Lemonade aims to keep things short and sweet beyond just its claims processes. Unlike Pumpkin, which initiates a 14-day waiting period for accidents, Lemonade policies only require 48 hours after activation for accident coverage to go into effect.

As accessible as it is online, Lemonade is still not available in 14 states nationwide. On the other hand, Pumpkin offers coverage in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C.

Lemonade’s pet health coverage pivots around one stock accident and illness base plan, which reimburses veterinary expenses related to emergency injuries and ailments. Covered services in response to eligible incidents include:

• Prescription medications
• Vaccinations
• Blood testing and urinalysis
• MRIs, X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds
• Lab work
• Emergency care, hospitalization and surgery
• Outpatient or specialty care

A key policy element that Lemonade and Pumpkin share is their fixed accident and illness plans. Instead of offering multiple base plan variations, both providers keep the groundwork simple but still leave ample room for customization through their robust optional preventative care arrangements. Lemonade and Pumpkin also mutually promote a wellness package designed specifically for kittens and puppies.

In line with the limitations of every other pet health insurance provider on the market — even Pumpkin — Lemonade does not offer coverage for pre-existing conditions. Anything in your pet’s medical record that predates the end of your policy waiting period will not be eligible for a Lemonade-sponsored reimbursement.

Lemonade also excludes medical expenses related to the following:

• Dental illness care
• Illnesses or injuries arising from intentional abuse or gross negligence
• Cosmetic procedures – grooming, nail trims, anal gland expression, etc.
• Internal and external parasite prevention
• Prescription food
• Behavioral training
• Breeding and pregnancy-related care
• Cremation and burial
• Annual checkups (unless add-on is purchased)
• Wellness care (unless add-on is purchased)
• Spaying/neutering (unless add-on is purchased)
• Microchipping (unless add-on is purchased)

Lemonade’s monthly premiums start at a remarkably low rate of $10, but the average cost tends to more closely resemble $37 per month for dogs and $15 per month for cats based on quotes our team gathered.

Upon requesting a custom quote, prospective policyholders will be prompted to answer a few identifying questions regarding their location as well as the species, breed and age of the pet needing coverage. Lemonade will then use these specs to configure a personalized premium that factors in regional vet costs and the probability of your pet needing future medical assistance based on its profile.

A policy through Lemonade can essentially be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be — it ultimately depends on how much coverage you can comfortably afford. Opting out of any wellness plan add-ons and just sticking with the base policy will yield a lower monthly premium, but at the cost of a much larger margin for claim denial should your pet become unexpectedly sick or hurt.

Lemonade would rather its policyholders have a low-cost option for comprehensive coverage than be left to make an all-or-nothing decision. This is why it offers a total of three optional preventative care riders — two adult pet plans that differ in coverage breadth and one package designed specifically for kittens and puppies.

Here’s how those three wellness coverage options unfold, in addition to approximately what they’ll run you each month:

Basic Preventative: $15+ per month for dogs, $10+ per month for cats

• One annual wellness exam
• One fecal exam
• One heartworm test
• One blood test
• Up to three routine vaccines
• Medical advice chat line

Preventative Plus: $17+ per month for dogs, $12+ per month for cats

• One annual wellness exam
• One fecal exam
• One heartworm test
• One blood test
• Up to three routine vaccines
• Medical advice chat line
• Flea/tick/heartworm prevention
• Routine dental cleaning (dental X-rays, anesthesia, polishing, etc.)

Puppy/Kitten Preventative: $40+ per month for puppies, $34+ per month for kittens

• Two annual wellness exams
• Two fecal or internal parasite tests
• One heartworm test
• One blood test
• Up to six routine vaccines
• Medical advice chat line
• Flea/tick/heartworm prevention
• Routine dental cleaning (dental X-rays, anesthesia, polishing, etc.)
• Microchip implantation
• Spay/neuter

Discounts Available

Lemonade offers stackable discounts of up to 20% in policy savings for its customers:

• Bundle discount: The company will take 10% of your premium total when you also enroll in either homeowners or renters insurance through Lemonade.
• Multi-pet discount: Save 5% when you enroll more than one pet in a Lemonade pet healthcare policy.
• Annual discount: Policyholders who stick with Lemonade will receive an additional 5% off as a loyalty reward.

Sample Pricing

For a more realistic picture of how Lemonade’s monthly premiums fluctuate between species and breed, we requested a sampling of quotes for four common pet profiles to see how they stack up.

Our direct quotes are based on a pet owner located in Wilmington, N.C., selecting Lemonade’s most mid-range plan customizations with an 80% reimbursement rate, up to $20,000 in annual coverage and a deductible of $250 per year.

Sample Monthly Pricing Options for Lemonade

Some pet owners might be discouraged by the idea of having only one option when it comes to base plans, especially if they’re on a limited budget and don’t have much wiggle room to spare for additional care riders. Fortunately, Pumpkin makes sure that its principal Accident and Illness offers comprehensive coverage if you can’t afford to go all out. At no extra charge, Pumpkin throws in a few premier services that other leading providers would typically upsell, including:

• Vet visit fees for accidents and illnesses
• Prescription food and supplements
• Behavioral issues
• Microchip implantation
• Alternative therapies like acupuncture, hydrotherapy, chiropractic care, etc.

Similar to its base plan model, Pumpkin provides its policyholders with one preset annual reimbursement rate of 90%. Even though 90% cashback is the standard industry maximum when it comes to claim reimbursements, a fixed rate doesn’t grant customers much freedom to sculpt a plan based on their budget.

However, Pumpkin makes up for it with its wall-to-wall preventative care coverage at a reasonable price. With multiple 100% refunds available to those who enlist in a Preventative Essentials package, Pumpkin will pay for select services like your pet’s annual exam fees, core vaccines and boosters and parasite screening tests.

Another benefit of Pumpkin coverage is that there is no upper age limit on initial enrollment for cats or dogs. Whereas Lemonade caps enrollment eligibility at the age of 14, Pumpkin prides itself on never denying coverage to any pet, no matter how old.

Regarding annual coverage limit options, Pumpkin offers higher coverage maximums for dogs than cats. Dog owners are given limits of either a $10,000 or $20,000 per year coverage cap, whereas cat owners can choose between $7,000 or $15,000. Both of these caps are significantly lower than Lemonade’s maximum of $100,000.

Pumpkin’s Accident and Illness plan reimburses veterinary expenses related to emergency injuries and ailments. Coverage for treatment services related to eligible incidents only includes:

• End-of-life expenses
• Intravenous (IV) fluids and medications
• Blood work
• Basic medical supplies
• MRIs, CT scans and X-rays
• Prescription pet food and supplements (for treating covered conditions only)
• Stem cell therapy, radiation and chemotherapy
• Poison control consultation fees
• Surgery and hospitalization
• Dental extractions
• Lab tests, exam fees and general consultation fees

Like Lemonade, Pumpkin also does not include coverage for pre-existing conditions in its policy coverage terms. Still, it does go the extra mile to distinguish between curable and incurable pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions will be deemed curable and therefore eligible for coverage if your pet can go 180 days without any expressed symptoms or need for treatment.

In addition to incurable pre-existing conditions, Pumpkin also excludes veterinary expenses related to:

• Aesthetic or cosmetic dentistry like caps, crowns, fillings, implants, etc.
• Anal gland expression or removal
• Kenneling or boarding
• Pregnancy, breeding, whelping or nursing
• Illnesses or injuries arising from intentional abuse or gross negligence
• Elective cosmetic procedures like tail docking, ear cropping, declawing, etc.
• Routine dental cleaning
• Spay/neuter
• Funeral services, urns or burial fees
• Grooming and grooming supplies
• Organ and heart transplants
• Vet house call fees
• Training or training devices
• Herbal products like CBD or any other holistic treatment approaches

On average, an accident and iIllness policy with Pumpkin will cost $50 to $80 per month for dogs and $30 to $50 per month for cats. Like any other provider, Pumpkin will use a few pieces of specifying information — namely your location, the species, breed and age of your pet — to provide you with an accurate monthly estimate.

Pumpkin offers two Preventative Essentials packages based on species to supplement your base policy, costing $18.95 per month for dogs and puppies and $11.95 for cats and kittens. In addition to a welcome box and dog or cat toy, here’s everything else new Pumpkin joiners get when they add Preventative Essentials to their monthly premiums:

Preventative Essentials for Adult Dogs

• One annual wellness checkup
• Two vaccines per year — only one is 100% refunded
• One annual blood test for heartworms, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis or anaplasmosis
• One annual fecal exam for giardia, coccidia, roundworms, whipworms and hookworms

Preventative Essentials for Puppies (under six months of age)

• One annual wellness checkup
• Any four core puppy vaccinations
• One annual fecal exam for giardia, coccidia, roundworms, whipworms and hookworms

Preventative Essentials for Adult Cats and Kittens

• One annual wellness checkup
• One annual vaccine
• One annual fecal exam for giardia, coccidia, roundworms, whipworms and hookworms

Discounts Available

As it stands, Pumpkin only offers one discount for its policyholders, extending 10% off for each additional pet that its customers enroll.

Sample Pricing

For a more realistic picture of how Pumpkin’s monthly premiums fluctuate between species and breed, we requested a sampling of quotes for four common pet profiles to see how they stack up.

Our direct quotes are based on the persona of a pet owner located in Wilmington, N.C., selecting Pumpkin’s most recommended plan customizations with a 90% reimbursement rate, up to $10,000 in annual coverage for dogs and $7,000 for cats, and a deductible of $250 per year.

Sample Monthly Pricing Options for Pumpkin

Unlike Lemonade, Pumpkin does not offer claims submission or plan management through a mobile app, nor does it feature a 24/7 helpline for its policyholders. Access to Pumpkin is limited to its main desktop customer portal. In our opinion, Lemonade’s tech-centric layout may be better suitedfor the more tech-savvy demographic. If the internet isn’t really your thing, not to worry — several leading pet insurance providers still offer mail-in processes for claims submissions for those who prefer a more traditional approach.

Another perk of choosing Lemonade is that its business model was created with a built-in philanthropic arm which donates a portion of unused reimbursement money to over 26 charities and counting.

We’ve excerpted a few verified blurbs, both positive and negative, from real Lemonade users to give you a sense of what your future pet insurance experience could look like:

“This Lemonade is chuggable. After comparing multiple insurance carriers, I chose Lemonade for my pet because the costs were not only competitive but the website and app are far more modern and user-friendly than most insurers. I recommend Lemonade to all my friends.” —Cole von R. via Trustpilot

“So fast and easy! My claim was approved instantly and the funds were wired to my bank account quickly. Quite the change from my previous pet insurance plan where I would wait weeks to find out if I was going to get a check in the mail.” —Kaitlin A. via Trustpilot

“I tried to get someone to answer my questions via email and app and all were answered by AI. And it’s pre-programmed. Not helpful…” —Zheng A. via Trustpilot

If you have an older pet or are just late to the pet insurance game, Pumpkin is probably the better option for you, given that it doesn’t uphold any restrictions based on your pet’s age or breed.

Moreover, if wellness benefits are important to you, Pumpkin will likely land you more savings on preventative care than Lemonade. Every year, several routine care items of your choice are 100% refunded with Pumpkin’s Preventative Essentials rider.

Here are some recent customer reviews from Pumpkin policyholders that we’ve curated to give you a look inside the Pumpkin customer base:

“Pumpkin helped make much needed oral surgery possible for our little 12-year-old kitty…we wouldn’t have been able to afford her surgery without Pumpkin pet insurance. Very responsive people and a quick turnaround from the presentation of our invoice to receiving a check.” —Judi J. via Trustpilot

“I wasn’t exactly sure what I needed for my new Husky pup, but Pumpkin made it easy to understand what would be covered. They also seemed to offer more than others at a transparent price. I even used the add-on for annual wellness right away and it processed within a day. I’m so glad I went with an easy-to-use provider that seems worth the cost.” —Jechri A. via Trustpilot

“The actual purchase of the four plans for my pet family was simple. It was more expensive than I had wanted it to be but I was also wanting the coverage offered. Now I go to file a claim on three of my pets and two are denied based on a loophole.” —Ellen A. via Trustpilot

Lemonade and Pumpkin are both newer pet insurance companies that have different advantages.

If you’re seeking comprehensive, affordable coverage that also gives back to the community, all from the comfort of your personal device, Lemonade could very well be a perfect match. But, if you care more about good deals on routine pet healthcare and don’t have a problem with managing your policy through a desktop portal, we’d point you toward Pumpkin.

We recommend comparing quotes from at least three different companies before you decide on the right policy for you and your furry friend.