Pets Best vs Trupanion
Trupanion offers a different payout design from Pets Best. Trupanion pays unlimited with no annual cap, settles claims directly with participating clinics through Vet Direct Pay (about 75% of claims within 24 hours), and charges its per-condition deductible once per diagnosed condition for life. Scores run 8.6 for Trupanion against 8.1 for Pets Best on dogs, and 8.4 for Pets Best against 7.8 for Trupanion on cats. Pets Best offers a $50 deductible floor and a 3-day accident wait that can be waived with a qualifying exam. Compare current quotes for each pet.
Side by side
| Pets Best | Trupanion | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score (dogs) | 8.1/10 | 8.6/10 |
| Annual limit | $5k-unlimited | Unlimited |
| Deductible | Annual, $50/$100/$200/$250/$500/$1,000 | Per-condition, not annual , pay it once per diagnosed condition, for the life of the pet, not every year. Configurable in $50 steps from $0 to $1,000, plus $1,350/$1,500/$1,750 options. |
| Reimbursement options | 70%, 80% or 90% | Fixed at 90% , not configurable, unlike every other insurer here |
| Accident wait | 3 days (waivable entirely with a qualifying vet exam submitted within 30 days of enrollment) | 5 days |
| Illness wait | 14 days | 30 days |
| Orthopedic / cruciate wait | 6 months for cruciate ligament events. Waiting periods may be reduced or waived when a participating veterinarian certifies the pet (exam up to 3 days before or 7 days after the effective date; form back within 30 days of the exam) | None listed |
| Wellness add-on | Available | Not offered |
| Direct vet pay | No, reimbursement only | Yes (VetDirect Pay) |
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
Pets Best: Not covered, standard exclusion for signs shown before enrollment or during the waiting period.
Trupanion: Not covered, standard exclusion for signs shown before enrollment or during the waiting period.
Choose Pets Best if
You want friction removed at the worst moment: unlimited payout with no cap, Vet Direct Pay so you never front the bill at participating clinics, a once-per-lifetime per-condition deductible ($0-$1,000 configurable), and fixed 90% reimbursement. Request current quotes to compare its premium with other plans.
Choose Trupanion if
You want the deductible and annual-limit options Pets Best offers. Deductibles run $50 to $1,000 annually, limits come in $5,000, $10,000 or unlimited, and the 3-day accident wait can be waived with a qualifying vet exam within 30 days of enrollment. Note the 6-month cruciate wait (reducible via vet certification) and that exam-fee coverage costs extra on the base Essential plan.
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.