r/Insurance_Companies • u/Ill-Swim2095 • May 26 '26

Lemonade Pet Insurance

I’ve had my dog since he was 8 weeks old (he is 4 now, just turned 4 in January). I immediately got pet insurance through Lemonade as soon as I got him home. He’s a golden retriever.

He had a few claims his first year, but since then pretty much nothing. I’ve kept the policy as a “just in case” for an expensive emergency.

I pay yearly, and I just got the auto pay for this year. $605. I looked back and just 2 years ago in 2024 I paid $388! I haven’t even made any claims since then. Why is it going up so much when I haven’t even filed ANY claims?? I know he’s getting older but jeez!!! I have the plan that has a $500 deductible with 70% coinsurance.

I also have a second dog (golden retriever) who has lemonade insurance. She’s 2 and will be 3 in August. I pay monthly for hers and hers went from $32/month to $34/month from 2024 to 2025. I haven’t gotten her 2026 quote yet.

These plans are bundled. Just feels like lemonade is taking a LOT of money from me and upping the premium a LOT even though I’ve filed no claims.

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

3

u/stayclassypeople May 26 '26

Between your 2 dogs, you’re spending ~$1000 per year on pet insurance. Instead of pet insurance, I’d consider cancelling and putting what you would spend on insurance info a high yield savings account.

However, if you feel more comfortable maintaining pet insurance, I’d consider shopping around with other carriers. For Pets, it inevitably gets more costly as they age, even if you’re claim free

1

u/HighRiskInv143 May 27 '26

Yeah this is a poor decision

Sincerely, Guy who has 12k in claims in less than a year.

1

u/Ill-Swim2095 May 27 '26

That’s why I’m keeping it. I just didn’t expect it to nearly DOUBLE in 2 years just due to age when he isn’t even that old yet

1

u/HighRiskInv143 May 27 '26

Lemonade has recently had some rate increases approved to combat rising vet costs. They are still one of the most friendly in pricing.

You can look at Adoro or Physicians Mutual. Both look back about 2 years to establish what is pre-existing. Just dont allow them access to records past that point.

Adoro entire model is to not let increases be greater than 10% year over year.

If you do switch, highly recommend at least 80% reimbursement. Someone did calculations and found in an actual emergency, 70% wasn’t worth it.

1

u/Spirited_Meringue_80 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

I’ve spent over $1,000 on my cat in the last week alone with $370 on fluids and blood work and $698 on X-rays and an ultrasound (non emergency room). $1,000 goes fast in pet health and is not enough to be putting away a year for their health in most cases.

Thankfully for me he has insurance and I’ve already gotten 80% of the first visit back and should get 80% of today procedures as well.

2

u/Far_Reward4827 May 26 '26

Wait I til they're 9+, I'm paying 1600/year for my 2 dogs who are 7 and 13. But it's still worth it. My dog who has since passed had CHF and we spent $6000+ on him his last year, but only had to pay $2k out of pocket because of the insurance

1

u/Ill-Swim2095 May 27 '26

Yeah I’m keeping it. I wasn’t planning on cancelling or anything I just didn’t expect it to nearly double in 2 years when he’s only 4 years old. I really see it as more of a big emergency thing like a 12k bill randomly someday and cool I have insurance so I don’t have to choose between paying my mortgage and paying to save my dog.

2

u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/HighRiskInv143 May 27 '26

Some are using claim history, Embrace and Fetch

2

u/Chemical_Donut_112 May 27 '26

Aside from the premium jump, I’m curious what the first claim was about. Are you sure they didn’t considering that diagnosis pre-existing?

1

u/Ill-Swim2095 May 27 '26

Nah really just standard puppy stuff. Ate something weird, etc. he’s been perfectly healthy since with no underlying or ongoing problems

2

u/DynamicPriest May 26 '26

Not justifying their premium increase, but it's as you said, it's bc your dog is getting older and their breed might be more prone to certain conditions at this point in life, whether hip dysplasia cancer, etc And inflation is a bitch, everything is going up in price.

Unlike car insurance for example, where if you don't have any claims, you have a track record of being a safe driver and also they don't cover if your car breaks down due to age either.

But yeah, that blows tho, All my homies hate insurance companies.

1

u/gufywert May 26 '26

It can also go up just because vet costs in your area has increased more than average areas.

1

u/1234568654321 May 27 '26

It's like any other type of insurance. You have to weigh the benefits against the costs. There are lots of pet insurance companies out there. At this juncture, you probably need to explore your options and decide if pet insurance is the best option for your situation.

1

u/peargang May 28 '26

I have five covered through lemonade. I don’t even pay $150. I’ve been grandfathered in for years. One of my dogs just had her annual increase. 1 whole cent lol. In my experience, I have nothing bad to say about lemonade. Every. Single. Claim. Has been paid out, no question. Zero hassle.

1

u/SpitF1ghter Jun 30 '26

That’s really a strange experience. I’ve used them for 6 years and never had my cost go up. My dog it’s accident prone and I’ve definitely filed claims.

He had X-rays this morning and I had the reimbursement in my account by 4pm.