Embrace Pet Insurance Review 2025

About Embrace pet insurance

Embrace earned 5 stars out of 5 for overall performance.

Embrace offers popular and comprehensive pet insurance for cats and dogs. In fact, big-name insurers Allstate, Geico and USAA use Embrace as a third-party pet insurance provider. So if you're an Allstate customer trying to buy a policy for your dog, for instance, Allstate will provide you with a quote from Embrace.

Embrace pet insurance plans are easy to customize and cover a wide variety of conditions and treatments, such as alternative therapies and dental illnesses. Embrace appears on NerdWallet's list of the Best Pet Insurance Companies.

Embrace pet insurance plans and coverage

Embrace offers several types of coverage to choose from.

Coverage for accidents and illnesses

For most pets, Embrace offers a single policy covering accidents and illnesses. As long as you enroll your pet by the age of 14, the pet can have accident and illness coverage for life.

Embrace’s accident and illness plan covers:

• Treatment, hospitalization and surgery for injuries and illnesses, including cancer.

• Diagnostic tests.

• Hereditary and congenital conditions.

• Dental illnesses, including gingivitis, up to $1,000 a year.

• Complementary treatments such as acupuncture and laser therapy.

• Treatments prescribed by veterinary specialists, such as behavioralists and oncologists.

You can opt to add coverage for accident/injury exam fees and prescription medicine.

Accident-only coverage

Pets who start their policies at age 15 or older are eligible for Embrace’s accident-only coverage. This plan doesn’t pay for treatment of any illnesses, but will cover scenarios like your cat swallowing a toy or your dog getting hit by a car. This policy also covers bloat, an emergency condition in which the stomach twists upon itself.

» MORE: Does pet insurance cover surgery?

Wellness Rewards

In most states, you can add Wellness Rewards, which helps with routine expenses like:

• Vaccinations.

• Spaying or neutering.

• Flea, tick and heartworm preventives.

• Microchipping.

• Wellness exams.

• Grooming and nail clipping.

• Cremation or burial.

• Nutritional supplements and prescription diet food.

• Training.

• Preventive teeth cleaning.

There’s no copayment for Wellness Rewards, and your spending under this plan doesn’t count toward the deductible on your accident and illness policy.

Wellness Rewards isn’t available in Rhode Island.

Note: Coverage options and availability may vary depending on where you live and the age and breed of your pet.

What's not covered

Embrace accident and illness insurance doesn’t cover:

• Pre-existing conditions, except for curable conditions that haven’t recurred in at least a year.

• Expenses associated with breeding or pregnancy.

• Illness or injury due to fighting, racing or mistreatment.

• Cosmetic procedures.

• DNA testing or cloning.

• Wellness care.

• Prescription food or supplements (unless you’ve added Wellness Rewards).

The accident-only plan won’t cover the above or treatment for any illness.

» MORE: Complete guide to pet insurance coverage

Embrace plan options

Deductibles: A pet insurance deductible is the amount of your vet bills you need to pay before your insurer starts reimbursing you. Embrace’s annual deductibles for the accident and illness policy range from $100 to $1,000 per year. For the accident-only policy, an annual deductible of $100 applies.

Reimbursement amounts: For the accident and illness policy, you can choose to be reimbursed for 70%, 80% or 90% of your vet expenses. The accident-only policy pays 90% of your expenses.

Embrace uses a more generous method of calculating claim payouts than many other insurers, subtracting your deductible from your vet bill before applying your reimbursement rate. Here’s how that could work if you had a $2,000 vet bill, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate:

• $2,000 vet bill - $500 deductible = $1,500.

• $1,500 x 0.8 (80% reimbursement rate) = $1,200 reimbursement.

You’d pay the remaining $800 of the vet bill.

Coverage limits: For the accident and illness policy, annual coverage limits range from $2,000 to unlimited. For the accident-only policy, the annual limit is $5,000.

Restrictions and waiting periods

Age restrictions: Pets must be at least 6 weeks old to get a policy. In most states, pets 15 and up at the time of enrollment can’t get accident and illness insurance, only coverage for accidents. In California, pets may be enrolled only up to age 4.

Waiting periods: A pet insurance waiting period is the time between when you buy your policy and when your coverage starts. Embrace waiting periods are two days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses and six months for orthopedic conditions for dogs. You may be able to reduce the latter period to 14 days by taking your dog for an orthopedic exam. There’s no waiting period for routine care with Wellness Rewards. Waiting periods may vary by state.

Embrace pet insurance sample rates

The cost of Embrace pet insurance depends on where you live, the coverage limits you choose, and your pet’s breed and age.

To give you a rough idea of how much you might pay, we gathered quotes for several popular dog breeds at ages 2 and 8. Rates below are sample monthly premiums for dogs living in Katy, Texas. Our sample plan was for accident and illness coverage with a $250 deductible, $5,000 of annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate. Your own price will vary.

We also gathered rates for a variety of cat breeds with the same coverage limits as above. Rates below are sample monthly premiums for cats living in Katy, Texas.

» MORE: The best cheap pet insurance

Embrace pet insurance discounts

Embrace may offer the following ways to save on pet insurance, depending on where you live:

• 10% multiple pet discount.

• 5% military discount.

• 5% to 10% healthy pet discount.

You can avoid a monthly billing fee by paying your annual premium in full, upfront.

» MORE: Is pet insurance worth it?

State availability

Embrace pet insurance is available in Washington, D.C., and all states except Maine.

» MORE: What does pet dental insurance cover?

Digital experience

The Embrace website is easy to navigate, offers quick online quotes and has plenty of coverage information. You can log in to the MyEmbrace portal to file and track claims, update your billing or policy information, add a new pet, or contact customer support.

The highly rated Embrace mobile app lets you file claims, check remaining coverage limits, update your policy or add a new pet.

How to file a claim with Embrace

You can submit a claim online, through the app, or by email, fax or physical mail. It can take 10 to 15 business days for Embrace to process a claim. For faster payment, sign up for direct deposit rather than receiving a check in the mail.

How to contact Embrace customer service

You can call Embrace’s customer service representatives at 855-540-2104, Monday through Saturday. You can also use the online chatbot. The PawSupport telemedicine service offers 24/7 support if you have questions about your pet’s care. You can access PawSupport by logging into your online portal.

» MORE: How much does pet insurance cost?

What Reddit users say about Embrace

Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics, including financial subjects like pet insurance. We used artificial intelligence to browse Reddit forums for posts about insurers, then manually sifted through the results and summed up consumer sentiment about each company. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

Reddit comments about Embrace are mixed. Many posters say they’ve had positive experiences with Embrace, with claims paid as expected. Others comment that the company has solid coverage for dental conditions. But two complaints we saw over and over again in Reddit threads were about claim denials and rate hikes.

Some people report that they had to file appeals or wait a long time before Embrace would pay their claims, while others disagree with Embrace’s denials based on pre-existing conditions. Reports of rate increases are widespread, with some commenters deciding to switch insurance companies in response. But several Redditors note that rate hikes are common throughout the pet insurance industry.

Questions from Reddit: Our experts answer

Embrace denied my claim. How can I appeal it?

If you disagree with Embrace’s claim decision, you have 14 days to file an appeal by email, fax or mail. Your vet must explain why they disagree with the decision and may submit additional information such as medical records or lab results. It may take up to 20 business days for your appeal to be considered.

Why did Embrace raise my pet insurance rate?

Many pet insurance companies, including Embrace, will raise your premium with each yearly renewal. That’s because pets are more likely to have health issues as they get older, and because vet care gets more expensive each year due to inflation. You may be able to lower your premium by switching to a higher deductible or adjusting your coverage limits.

Embrace pet insurance vs. competitors

Here’s how Embrace stacks up against three other popular pet insurance companies.

Embrace vs. Healthy Paws

The Healthy Paws plan has no annual or lifetime limits but offers similar reimbursement options to the Embrace plan. Healthy Paws doesn’t sell wellness coverage, though.

Embrace covers a few things Healthy Paws doesn’t, including behavioral therapies and dental illnesses. However, neither plan pays for prescription diets.

Healthy Paws promises quicker claims processing than Embrace, handling most claims within two business days.

Read our full Healthy Paws pet insurance review.

Embrace vs. Trupanion

One major difference between Embrace and Trupanion is how each company treats deductibles. Like many pet insurers, Embrace uses annual deductibles that apply across all injuries and illnesses and reset every year.

In most states, Trupanion charges lifetime per-condition deductibles instead. Say your pet develops chronic allergies and requires ongoing treatment. Once you’ve met the deductible for that condition, you no longer have to pay it for the life of your pet.

Some treatments that Embrace’s plan covers cost extra from Trupanion, such as acupuncture and behavioral therapies. And unlike Trupanion, Embrace offers optional wellness coverage.

Read our full Trupanion pet insurance review to learn more.

Embrace vs. ASPCA

ASPCA’s accident and illness plan covers most of the same things Embrace’s plan does, including hereditary and congenital conditions, alternative treatments, and behavioral therapies. However, ASPCA also covers prescription food and supplements, while Embrace does so only if you add a wellness plan.

ASPCA’s waiting period is 14 days for all conditions, including cruciate ligament issues. That’s shorter than Embrace’s six-month orthopedic waiting period for dogs, but longer than its two-day period for illnesses.

While Embrace has an accident-only plan for pets who enroll at age 15 or above, ASPCA’s accident-only plan is available for any pet owner who doesn’t want illness coverage, regardless of the animal's age.

Read our ASPCA pet insurance review to learn more.

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