Embrace Pet Insurance partners with insurance companies like Allstate, GEICO, and USAA to offer pet insurance. Pet parents enjoy protection against accidents and illnesses with up to 90% reimbursement for vet bills.
Business Insider compared Embrace to the best pet insurance companies and found it to be an average offering with some standout features, like its wellness package. However, be wary of Embrace's higher premiums.
Pros and Cons
Embrace Pet Insurance Pros
- Unlimited coverage option
- 10% multi-pet discount
- Optional wellness package with uncommon coverages like grooming and prescription diet food
- Healthy Pet Premium Discount program
Embrace Pet Insurance Cons
- Prescription drug coverage is only included as an add-on
- Expensive premiums, particularly for cats
- Pets older than 15 are ineligible for accident and illness policies
Get a Quote
None
None
- 48 hour waiting period for illnesses
- Covers “curable” preexisting conditions after a waiting period
- Available in all 50 states
- Offers up to $1,000 in dental care each year
- Does not cover alternative treatments that may aid in fast recoveries
- Does not cover costs associated with breeding, accidental or intentional
Compare Embrace Pet Insurance
- Offers pet insurance with unlimited coverage
- Offers deductibles of as low as $50 and as high as $1,000 annually
- Company partners with large insurance companies like GEICO
- Rates can be extremely affordable for pets of all breeds
- Coverage is available in all 50 states and Washington, DC
- Alternative and holistic treatments may not be included
- Customer reviews indicate claims processing may take longer
- $12 premiums for basic care
- Add-ons available for other preventative care
- Comprehensive mobile experience for claims and support
- Only available in 37 states and Washington DC
- No 24/7 telehealth line for veterinary advice
Lemonade offers auto, homeowners, renters, pet, and life insurance. It's been around since 2015 and is known for offering some of the lowest rates. Lemonade ranks on J.D. Power's customer satisfaction surveys for renters insurance, however, it doesn't rank for life and homeowners insurance.
Lemonade Pet Insurance- Discounts for bundling policies and having multiple pets
- Starts at $10 a month
- Offers a discount for enrolling in an annual payment plan
- Wellness plans and accident and illness plans available
- Available in all 50 states with comprehensive coverage options
- Coverage available for senior dogs and cats
- Pets have to be at least 8 weeks for coverage
- Does not offer coverage for exotic pets
Spot pet insurance provides comprehensive pet insurance, including an allowance for end-of-life memorials. Some plan upgrades cover dental cleanings and other costly services.
Spot Pet InsuranceEmbrace Pet Insurance Overview
Embrace Pet Insurance offers pet owners customized coverage plans tailored to pets' healthcare needs and owners' budgets. Established in 2003, Embrace is also the primary pet insurance company for other well-known insurers like Allstate, GEICO, and USAA. American Modern Insurance Group, a part of Munich Re Insurance Group, underwrites all policies. If you buy through your auto or home insurance portal with companies like Allstate or GEICO, you'll be redirected to Embrace's site to complete the transaction.
While Embrace offers pretty standard accident and illness coverage, it has one of the best wellness packages we've seen. While it offers uncommon coverages such as spaying/neutering, microchipping, and routine gland expressions, it also includes rare coverages like grooming, nutritional supplements, and prescription diet food. Additionally, Embrace's wellness package has one overall annual limit, up to $650, instead of individual limits per benefit. This is great for pet owners who don't use certain wellness benefits.
Unfortunately, Embrace is one of the more expensive pet insurance companies. It offers some relief in the form of its 10% multi-pet discount and Healthy Pet Premium Discount, which offers a 5% discount if you go a year without filing a claim and a 10% discount after the second year without a claim.
If the wellness package is enticing, but you don't want to pay the high premiums, our recommendation is to customize your policy with the highest deductibles and lowest limits and add the highest tier wellness plan.
Embrace Pet Insurance Plans
Embrace Pet Insurance keeps it simple by offering a single accident and illness plan. Families enjoy coverage for common accidents and illnesses, hereditary conditions occurring later in life, surgeries, and hospitalizations. Embrace also offers up to $1,000 annually in dental illness coverage in most states. For pet parents asking, "Should I get pet insurance?" Embrace's comprehensive protections may be appealing.
When customizing your coverage with Embrace, you have options. You can personalize the plan with different choices for deductible, reimbursement, and annual limit.
- Policy coinsurance: Embrace pays 70%, 80%, or 90% of each eligible bill.
- Annual deductible: Buyers pay up to $100, $250, $500, $750, or $1,000 annually before Embrace coverage kicks in.
- Annual maximum: Embrace pays up to $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, $15,000, or unlimited coverage.
As with most other insurance providers, pre-existing conditions aren't covered. However, Embrace differentiates between "curable" and "incurable" pre-existing conditions. Embrace may cover "curable" diseases if they have been asymptomatic for 12 months. This could include respiratory infections, UTIs, and gastrointestinal issues. It's worth noting that this period includes undiagnosed vomiting or diarrhea.
Additional Coverage Options from Embrace
Embrace offers three add-ons.
Wellness package: Embrace offers one wellness package with customizable annual limits: $250, $450, and $650. It offers the following coverages:
- Wellness exams
- Vaccinations/titer
- Routine gland expression
- Cremation/burial
- Blood and fecal tests
- Alternative treatments
- Nutritional supplements and prescription diet food
- Flea, tick, and heartworm prevention
- Grooming, medicated shampoo, toenail trimming
- Spay/neutering
- Microchipping
- Preventative dental cleaning
Exam fees: Covers exam fee costs for accidents and illnesses (does not include routine exam fee coverage)
Prescription drugs: Covers vet-prescribed drugs for your pets to manage covered conditions
Embrace Pet Insurance Cost
The price you'll pay depends on what levels of coverage you choose for your pet, along with your pet's breed, age, size, and location. The average cost of pet insurance is around $20-$60 monthly for each pet, which is exceptionally affordable depending on how many pets you have. So while Embrace pet insurance is not the most expensive pet insurance company, it's also not the cheapest.
To get a better idea of how much Embrace pet insurance costs, we'll look at how much a pet owner living in New York City would pay in pet insurance premiums. We chose New York City for our quotes because it is one of the most expensive places to receive vet care, which insurance premiums will reflect. Your premiums will likely be lower than the prices below.
Business Insider acquired the following dog insurance quotes for an Embrace plan with a $500 deductible, 80% reimbursement, and $10,000 annual limit:
| Breed | 2-year-old (monthly) | 6-year-old (monthly) |
| French Bulldog | $138.48 | $183.39 |
| Labrador Retriever | $90.25 | $119.51 |
| Golden Retriever | $90.25 | $119.51 |
| German Shepherd | $90.25 | $119.51 |
| Standard Poodle | $104.77 | $138.75 |
| Mixed Breed (31-50 lbs) | $60.17 | $79.68 |
Let's go over premiums for a New York City cat covered under an Embrace plan with a $500 deductible, 80% reimbursement, and $10,000 annual limit:
| Breed | 2-year-old (monthly) | 6-year-old (monthly) |
| Ragdoll | $61.82 | $78.01 |
| Maine Coon | $61.82 | $78.01 |
| Devon Rex | $61.82 | $78.01 |
| Exotic | $61.82 | $78.01 |
| Persian | $61.82 | $78.01 |
| Unsure/Mixed | $61.82 | $78.01 |
Embrace's routine care plan costs $18.75 for a $250 annual limit, $35.42 for a $450 annual limit, and $52.09 for a $650 annual limit.
Embrace offers some opportunities for discounts. For one, it has a 10% multi-pet discount, making it a decent choice for multi-pet insurance. It also offers a Healthy Pet Premium Discount. When you don't file a claim within a year, you get a 5% discount on premiums. You get a 10% discount in your second year. With annual increases in premiums, which are ubiquitous in the industry, this discount may ultimately go unnoticed. It's also worth noting that wellness claims are handled separately.
How to Purchase and Manage an Embrace Pet Insurance Policy
To purchase an Embrace policy, you'll need to obtain a quote on its website. Be prepared to provide your pet's name, species, breed, age, and sex. You'll also provide your ZIP code, as your location is one of the most important factors when pet insurance companies calculate your premiums.
Once you obtain your quote, you can adjust your premium by customizing your deductible, annual limit, and coinsurance. You can opt for Embrace's add-ons, such as prescription drugs, exam fees, and wellness. Before checking out, you can add another pet for a 10% discount.
When checking out, you can choose between annual or monthly payments. Monthly payments come with a $1 billing fee, which can be waived with annual payments. You'll also pay a one-time $25 admin fee.
For coverage to kick in, your pet must be examined 12 months prior to the effective date of your policy or within 14 days after your start date. If you fail to get your pet examined, your policy defaults to accident-only. However, you can re-add illness coverage with a vet exam.
Note that your policy has a two-day waiting period for accidents, 14 days for illnesses, and six months for orthopedic conditions. Any conditions that show up during this waiting period will be considered pre-existing.
How to File a Claim With Embrace Pet Insurance
Embrace pet insurance gives you lots of options when it comes to filing a claim.
Claims can be submitted through the app, as well as by email, fax, or mail through the following:
Online: Upload to MyEmbrace customer portal
Email: claims@embracepetinsurance.com
Fax: (800) 238-1042
Mail:
Embrace Pet Insurance
P.O. Box 22188
Beachwood, OH 44122-0188
Claims are generally processed within 10 to 15 days. For the fastest payment possible, choose direct deposit instead of receiving a check in the mail. Embrace's website will prompt you through the steps necessary to set up your bank account for reimbursement.
Embrace Customer Service and Claims Experience
Embrace has an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars on its Trustpilot page and 4.1 on Google reviews. Reviews spoke highly of the claims process and speed of reimbursements.
Among negative reviews, we noticed a pattern of customers reporting unresponsive customer service and unanswered emails/phone calls. Customers also reported having to submit vet medical records to Embrace multiple times. Additionally, customers were upset when Embrace denied claims as pre-existing, citing one-off vomiting or diarrhea prior to the policy's start date.
Embrace's customer service team regularly responds to customer reviews on both Google reviews and Trustpilot. While most pet insurance companies offer stock responses, Embrace directly engages with the customer's issues and complaints in its responses.
Embrace Pet Insurance Alternatives
See how Embrace compares to two alternative options for pet insurance coverage: American Kennel Club and ASPCA.
Embrace vs. American Kennel Club Pet Insurance
American Kennel Club Pet Insurance and Embrace both offer good pet insurance options, but they have some critical differences in coverage.
While Embrace and AKC both offer an option for unlimited coverage, AKC only offers unlimited coverage with its basic plan, which limits per-incident coverage to $500. Its custom plan only offers a $10,000 annual limit. Additionally, AKC only offers hereditary and congenital condition coverage as an add-on, while Embrace offers coverage with its base plan.
On the topic of add-ons, AKC has a breeding coverage add-on, which Embrace lacks. Additionally, AKC's wellness options (Defender and DefenderPlus) are cheaper and offer greater total benefits, though coverage is per benefit and not an overall limit. AKC's wellness plans also lack some of Embrace's benefits, such as grooming, gland expression, and nutritional supplements.
Embrace and AKC are also priced similarly, though AKC's dog insurance policies are generally cheaper. Embrace offers a better multi-pet discount at 10% compared to AKC's 5% multi-pet discount. However, AKC has an additional 10% discount for breeders who participate in AKC programs.
AKC's ace in the hole is its pre-existing condition policy. While most pet insurance companies will cover curable pre-existing conditions after your pet is asymptomatic for a period of time, Embrace included, AKC is one of the only pet insurance companies that will also cover incurable pre-existing conditions after 365 days of continuous coverage. For this reason alone, AKC may be the obvious choice for some pet owners.
Read our AKC pet insurance review.
Embrace vs. ASPCA Pet Insurance
ASPCA Pet Insurance and Embrace both offer great coverage for the market. Coverage options are similar as the companies provide coverage for accidents and illnesses, like emergency care, cancer, chronic conditions, congenital conditions, and prescription medications. Neither covers pre-existing conditions, but Embrace and ASPCA pet insurance define said conditions differently. Under ASPCA policies, pre-existing conditions are no longer pre-existing after your pet is asymptomatic for 180 days, compared to Embrace's 12-month period.
A key difference is Embrace doesn't cover illnesses if your pet is enrolled after their 15th birthday. ASPCA pet insurance doesn't have any upper age limit restrictions. Pet parents adopting senior pets (even those who aren't 15+) might prefer ASPCA pet insurance coverage.
As for claims processing times, Embrace provides a shorter-than-average turnaround time of five days. In contrast, ASPCA pet insurance can take between 15 and 30 days for claims processing. However, ASPCA pet insurance may also be able to pay qualifying vets directly, which could save you the hassle of waiting for a claim to be processed in the first place.
Lastly, ASPCA pet insurance's coverage options are less expensive for most pets, and it offers a 10% multi-pet discount. But considering Embrace's exceptional customer service record and plan customization options, it could be worth paying a little extra.
Read our ASPCA pet insurance review.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Embrace Pet Insurance
When reviewing pet insurance companies, Business Insider looks at various factors to determine the benefits and drawbacks of the provider and its plans.
Some of the factors we consider are the plans' customizability, reimbursement levels, wellness coverages, the ease of filing a claim, and claims processing times.
- Customization - How many options does a customer have regarding coverages, reimbursement levels, and annual maximums? Options are essential when building a plan to fit your needs and budget.
- Wellness coverage - Does the provider cover wellness and preventative exams and treatments? Are there add-ons available for this type of coverage?
- Claims process – How does the claims process work? Is it straightforward and efficient?
Understanding these aspects of an insurance provider will allow customers to make the most informed decision. Read the full methodology for how Business Insider rates pet insurance.
Embrace Pet Insurance FAQs
Embrace pet insurance normally processes claims within 10 to 15 days.
No, Embrace pet insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. However, even if your pet gets sick with certain curable conditions prior to your policy start date, they can be eligible for coverage after they're cured and asymptomatic for 12 months.
Embrace has a two-day waiting period for accidents, a 14-day period for illnesses, and a six-month period for orthopedic conditions.
Embrace allows you to submit a pet insurance claim at any point during the policy year the incident occurred, plus 60 days into the subsequent policy term. This provides you plenty of time to gather the required documentation and submit a claim for reimbursement.
Yes, Embrace pet insurance offers a 10% multi-pet discount.
