Embrace vs Spot
Embrace wins this head-to-head for most owners: it scores 8.8 against 8.3 for Spot, rewards claim-free years with a $50 lower deductible each time, and is the only insurer here that re-covers curable pre-existing conditions after 12 clean months. Spot's case is flexibility and knees: the widest menu of annual limits in this lineup ($2,500 to unlimited) and no separate orthopedic waiting period, where Embrace holds cruciate claims for 6 months unless your vet submits an exam in the first two weeks. Pick Embrace for its policy mechanics, or Spot if orthopedic timing and limit choice matter more.
Side by side
| Embrace | Spot | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score (dogs) | 8.8/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Annual limit | $2k-unlimited | $2.5k-unlimited |
| Deductible | Annual, $100 to $1,000 ($100/$250/$500/$750/$1,000). Drops $50 for every claim-free year via the Healthy Pet Deductible. | Annual, $100/$250/$500/$750/$1,000 |
| Reimbursement options | 70%, 80% or 90% | 70%, 80% or 90% |
| Accident wait | Covered as soon as the policy is effective | 14 days (next-day in select states) |
| Illness wait | 14 days | 14 days |
| Orthopedic / cruciate wait | 6 months for cruciate ligament injury, IVDD and hip dysplasia , cut to 14 days if your vet performs an orthopedic exam and submits it within your first two weeks | No separate orthopedic or cruciate wait , the standard 14-day illness period applies |
| Wellness add-on | Available | Available |
| Direct vet pay | No, reimbursement only | No, reimbursement only |
Compare current quotes for the same pet and ZIP code, using the same deductible, reimbursement rate, annual limit, and add-ons. Older catalog price examples do not establish which insurer costs less today.
Pre-existing conditions
Embrace: Curable pre-existing conditions (like an old ear infection or a one-off bout of vomiting) can be re-evaluated and covered again after 12 consecutive symptom-free, treatment-free months. Chronic conditions (diabetes, ongoing allergies, chronic orthopedic issues) stay excluded for good. Few competitors distinguish curable from chronic this explicitly.
Spot: Not covered, standard exclusion for signs shown before enrollment or during the waiting period.
Choose Embrace if
You value the policy mechanics. Embrace cuts your deductible $50 every claim-free year, re-covers curable pre-existing conditions after 12 symptom-free months (few competitors distinguish curable from chronic this explicitly), and sells a wellness allowance covering even grooming and nail trims. The 6-month orthopedic hold is the main drawback, reducible to 14 days with a prompt vet exam.
Choose Spot if
You want more limit choices or earlier orthopedic coverage. Spot's caps run from $2,500 to unlimited, the widest menu here, and it applies no separate orthopedic wait beyond the 14-day illness period. Two warnings: the same flexibility makes Spot the easiest plan to under-buy, and both knees are treated as linked, so a prior cruciate injury on one side excludes the other.
The exclusions cheat sheet
A plain-English guide to waiting periods and key exclusions across eight insurers, with links to the full reviews.
Questions
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Written by the WhichPetPlan editorial team. Scores are our own editorial ratings, not an industry standard. See our methodology for how scores are set.