How do dog and cat pet insurance scores compare?
We score the same eight insurers separately for dogs and for cats. There is no ninth combined average. Healthy Paws is first for dogs at 9.3 out of 10 and second for cats at 9.0. Lemonade is first for cats at 9.2 and second for dogs at 9.0. Trupanion has the largest drop: 8.6 (4th for dogs) to 7.8 (7th for cats), a spread of -0.8. Pets Best has the largest cat rise: 8.1 (6th) to 8.4 (4th), a spread of +0.3. Fetch is last on both lists (7.6 dogs, 7.5 cats). These are WhichPetPlan editorial scores out of 10, last verified 2026-08-17, not a customer-satisfaction rating.
How to read these scores
These are WhichPetPlan editorial scores out of 10. We scored eight insurers. Dogs and cats are scored separately. This is not a 26-criterion sheet, and it is not a customer-satisfaction rating. Some of the fact sources behind the reviews are third-party writeups, including for Trupanion, Spot, and Figo. If a from-premium appears on this page, treat it as an illustrative starting estimate, not a quote. Last verified 2026-08-17. The five axes live on our methodology page.
The five axes we score
Five axes, not a long criteria sheet. How we set a score.
| Axis | What differs here |
|---|---|
| Annual limit | How high the yearly payout cap goes. Healthy Paws and Trupanion list unlimited. Fetch lists $15,000. Spot has the widest menu, from $2,500 to unlimited. |
| Waiting periods | How long before a claim type is live. Accidents can clear in hours at Figo, or take two weeks at Spot. Illness waits cluster around 14 days; Trupanion waits 30. Orthopedic waits commonly run 6 months at Embrace, Figo, Lemonade, and Pets Best. Spot has no separate orthopedic wait. |
| Exclusion clarity | How plainly the policy states what is out. We read the wording, not the marketing page. That is a judgment call, not a complaint-rate score. |
| Pre-existing re-coverage | Embrace is the clearest curable-condition path: 12 clean months, then a curable issue can be looked at again. Lemonade has a curable path in most states, with chronic and knee or ligament conditions carved out. The rest use a standard permanent exclusion. |
| Wellness add-on | Healthy Paws and Trupanion do not sell one. Embrace, Lemonade, Spot, Pets Best, Figo, and Fetch do. |
Dog scores, last verified 2026-08-17
Healthy Paws leads. Lemonade is second. Fetch is last. Trupanion has no dog “best for” line on this sheet.
| # | Insurer | Score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healthy Paws | 9.3/10 | Most dogs |
| 2 | Lemonade | 9.0/10 | Puppies and tight budgets |
| 3 | Embrace | 8.8/10 | Owners who rarely claim |
| 4 | Trupanion | 8.6/10 | |
| 5 | Spot | 8.3/10 | Custom budgets |
| 6 | Pets Best | 8.1/10 | Fast start |
| 7 | Figo | 7.9/10 | Maximum payback |
| 8 | Fetch | 7.6/10 | Older dogs |
Cat scores, last verified 2026-08-17
Lemonade leads. Healthy Paws is second. Fetch is last.
| # | Insurer | Score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lemonade | 9.2/10 | Most cats |
| 2 | Healthy Paws | 9.0/10 | Cats with a long road ahead |
| 3 | Embrace | 8.7/10 | Indoor cats who rarely claim |
| 4 | Pets Best | 8.4/10 | Outdoor cats |
| 5 | Spot | 8.2/10 | Custom budgets |
| 6 | Figo | 8.0/10 | Maximum payback |
| 7 | Trupanion | 7.8/10 | Emergency-prone cats |
| 8 | Fetch | 7.5/10 | Senior cats |
Spread (cat score minus dog score)
Trupanion has the largest drop, from 4th to 7th. Pets Best has the largest cat rise, from 6th to 4th. Fetch is last on both lists. We do not average the two scores into a ninth number.
Get a Lemonade quote
Lemonade is the one insurer on this site we can send you to for a live quote. That does not make it the right plan for every pet. As of August 2026, Lemonade Pet is not available in Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming.
Some links here are partner links. If you buy through one, the insurer may pay us a fee. It never changes your premium and it never changes a ranking.
Get a quote from LemonadeEveryone else: use the Advisor
Lemonade is the one insurer we can send you to for a live quote. For Healthy Paws, Embrace, Trupanion, Spot, Pets Best, Figo, and Fetch, the Advisor ranks the eight reviewed plans from nine questions. It is not a quote form. Some links (currently Lemonade) may earn a fee. Other insurers listed here do not pay us.
Start the AdvisorWhat the spread is telling you
A negative spread means that insurer scored lower for cats than for dogs. A positive spread means it scored higher for cats. Most of the book moves by one or two tenths. Trupanion is the exception: it falls from 4th on the dog list to 7th on the cat list, and that 0.8 gap is the one worth sitting with.
Healthy Paws still sits at the top of the dog list and second on the cat list. Lemonade flips that: first for cats, second for dogs. Pets Best is the one that climbs on the cat side, from 6th to 4th. Fetch finishes last for both species.
These scores do not replace the dog ranking or the cat ranking. Those pages stay the ranked buyer guides. This page is the side-by-side score sheet they do not publish.
Which page to use next
If you are buying for a dog, start with the dog ranking. If you are buying for a cat, start with the cat ranking. If you have one of each, or you want to see who moves, use this page, then the Advisor.
Some links on WhichPetPlan (currently Lemonade) may earn a fee. Other insurers listed here do not pay us. The Advisor ranks the eight reviewed plans from nine questions. It is not a quote form.
Related questions
Keep reading
Some links (currently Lemonade) may earn a fee; it never changes the premium and never changes a ranking. Other insurers listed here do not pay us. Premium figures are illustrative starting estimates, not quotes. See our methodology for how scores are set.