Lemonade pet insurance review 2025

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Lemonade pet insurance stands out for its great prices. If you’re looking for a rather bare-bones pet insurance policy at a good price, check out Lemonade’s pricing for your pet. Lemonade sells additional coverage as add-ons for extra cost, so you’ll pay more if you want a pet insurance policy comparable to many competitors, which include broader coverage in their base plans.

Learn more: How does pet insurance work? A complete guide.

Pros

Cons

Learn more: Is pet insurance worth it?

Lemonade pet insurance basics

Lemonade waiting periods

Learn more: Pet insurance with no waiting period: How it works?

Lemonade age restrictions for buying a new policy

Lemonade sells an accident and illness policy that offers the basic coverage below. There is no accident-only policy available.

Learn more: Your guide to what pet insurance covers

Lemonade offers three tiers of wellness plans that you can add to your base policy: Preventative Care, Preventative+ Care, and Preventative Care for Puppies and Kittens. Each plan reimburses you up to specified limits for routine care, with varying coverage based on your pet’s needs.

Preventative Care

Covers basic wellness care costs including:

Learn more: Does pet insurance cover vaccines?

Preventative+ Care

Includes everything in the Preventative Care plan, plus:

Learn more: Does pet insurance cover dental cleaning?

Preventative Care for Puppies and Kittens

Designed for younger pets (under 2 years old) with added benefits:

Learn more: Why a pet wellness plan is worth considering

No, Lemonade doesn’t cover preexisting conditions, which it defines as “any condition for which a veterinarian provided medical advice, the pet received treatment for, or the pet displayed signs or symptoms consistent with the stated condition prior to the start date of the first pet insurance policy issued . . . or during any waiting period.”

That said, there’s a little bit of flexibility in most states. Lemonade may cover certain curable preexisting conditions in the future, like diarrhea or roundworms as long as your pet has gone at least 12 months without symptoms or treatment.

It’s important to note that chronic conditions (such as asthma, cancer, allergies, etc.) and issues like knee or ligament problems are considered incurable. Therefore, these conditions won’t qualify for coverage in the future.

Learn more: Pet insurance that covers preexisting conditions

No, Lemonade doesn’t offer a 24/7 vet telehealth line. Many other pet insurance companies, like MetLife and Embrace, do provide round-the-clock access to licensed vet professionals who can give guidance for your pet’s health concerns.

Lemonade’s base pet insurance policy doesn’t cover:

Learn more: Does pet insurance cover separation anxiety in dogs?

Some things aren’t included in the base policy unless you add extra coverage. Lemonade’s add-ons can cover:

Any policy changes may have to be reviewed and approved by the underwriting team.

Lemonade’s base plan is very budget-friendly, but it also has slim coverage compared to many competitors. In our evaluation, Lemonade came in as the cheapest pick.

Learn more: How much does pet insurance cost?

Lemonade has the cheapest policy for $5,000 in annual coverage, among the policies we evaluated. It was also 31% less than the overall average cost.

Lemonade’s cost was also the cheapest among pet insurance companies offering very high or unlimited annual coverage. While Lemonade does not offer an unlimited plan, we compared the cost of its $100,000 policy to competitors. In this category, Lemonade came in 36% less than the overall average.

Learn more: How to compare pet insurance quotes

Yes, if you’re insuring more than one dog or cat, Lemonade offers 5% or 10% off each policy, depending on your state. The discount applies to the base accident and illness policy and add-ons for the vet exam fee and physical therapy. Discounts don’t apply to the wellness add-on.

No, Lemonade doesn’t have a system for paying vets directly. If you’re looking for a pet insurer with direct vet payments, check out ASPCA, Healthy Paws, Pets Best, or Trupanion.

If your pet insurer doesn’t offer direct pay and you’re facing a large bill, such as a surgery, ask your vet ahead of time if they’re willing to set up a payment plan. Your vet may offer payment options like weekly or monthly installments.

Learn more: Pet insurance that pays the vet directly

Before you file a pet insurance claim with Lemonade, make sure you have provided all medical records for your pet from the past 12 months. Lemonade won’t move forward with processing a claim without reviewing records first.

Here are the next steps in the Lemonade claims process:

Submit the claim. Log in to the Lemonade app and file your claim as soon as you can. Even though Lemonade gives you up to 180 days after your pet’s treatment to submit a claim (or 90 days if you live in Texas), filing right away can help streamline the process and make it easier to gather all the info you need while it’s still fresh in your mind.

Provide claim details. You’ll need to include details about what happened, what treatment your pet received, a photo of the receipt or paid invoice, and what you’re asking to be reimbursed for. Lemonade will also ask you to record a short, private video explaining the situation instead of typing out the information.

Receive reimbursement. Once your claim is approved, the money will go straight to your bank (minus your deductible). Lemonade sends reimbursements through wire transfer, so make sure your bank info is set up in your account.

With Lemonade pet insurance, you have up to 180 days to file a claim or 90 days if you live in Texas.

Lemonade says it aims to pay approved claims instantly. This means that in some cases, you could get reimbursed the same day you file. But if anything is missing or they need to take a closer look, it could take longer to process.

Lemonade primarily manages all of its policies and services through its website and mobile app. Lemonade’s mobile app gets good reviews for its ease of use and convenience. You can get a quote, manage your policy, file a claim, and check your claim status.

Lemonade uses AI technology to speed up the claims process, and in some cases, claims may be approved right away. As a policyholder, you must download the app to access and manage your Lemonade pet insurance policy.

Lemonade mobile app ratings:

Learn more: The best pet insurance companies

Lemonade offers pet insurance in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Coverage is available in these states:

Yes, Lemonade will help pay for neutering costs, but only if you add the Preventative Care Package for Puppies and Kittens to your policy. This is an optional add-on that includes spaying or neutering procedures, but it’s not part of the base accident and illness policy. You’ll need to purchase it separately for the coverage to apply.

Lemonade doesn’t require a vet exam to sign up, but you will need to provide recent medical records before you file a claim. Your pet must have had a vet visit in the past 12 months before the policy or up to 14 days after the policy start date. For pets under a year old, records from birth are required. If medical records aren’t on file, Lemonade won’t reimburse you for any claims.

You can contact Lemonade through its mobile app or by phone or email:

Lemonade lets you cancel any time through the app, with a refund on a pro-rata basis if you cancel before your policy renews. If you cancel, you’ll lose your Giveback funds (Lemonade’s program that donates leftover money to charities each year). If you decide to reenroll later, your rate could change, and any conditions your pet developed during your previous policy term will be considered preexisting and won’t be covered.

Amy Danise and Tim Manni edited this article.

We researched the coverage details and prices for 15 pet insurance plans. We then weighted categories, and each pet insurer was scored relative to the others to find the best pet insurance companies. Here are the factors we incorporated.

Coverage types: 40% of score. We examined the coverage provided by the base policy without the extra cost of add-ons. This encompassed coverage for alternative therapy, behavioral therapy, dental illness, euthanasia or end-of-life expenses, exotic pets, hereditary and congenital conditions, preexisting conditions, prescription food and supplements, veterinary exam fees, and advertising/reward for lost/stolen pets.

Average cost: 30% of score. We evaluated costs in five states for $5,000 and unlimited coverage for a mixed-breed dog (age 1), a French bulldog (age 5), and a Labrador retriever (age 8).

Unlimited coverage option: 10% of score. We gave points when pet insurers offered an unlimited annual limit (or a $100,000 limit), which gives pet owners the most robust financial protection possible in the event of a catastrophic pet medical issue.

Direct payments to the veterinarian: 5% of score. We gave points to pet insurers that state on their websites that they accommodate direct vet payments.

No special waiting periods for special conditions: 5% of score. We gave points when pet insurers have no waiting periods for special conditions, such as cruciate ligament conditions.

Routine wellness plan: 5% of score. Companies that offer a routine wellness plan in addition to pet insurance received points.

Multi-pet discount: 5% of score. We gave points when pet insurers offered a discount for insuring multiple pets.

 
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