The Best Pet Insurance in California for 2024

MetLife and ASPCA are two of the best pet insurance companies in California.

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Updated · 2 min read
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Written by Sarah Schlichter
Lead Writer
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Assistant Assigning Editor
Fact Checked

Looking for insurance to help with unexpected vet bills? Most major pet insurance companies operate in California, so you’ve got plenty of options to get your furry friend covered. NerdWallet gathered rates and evaluated more than a dozen insurers to help you find the best pet insurance in California.

Best pet insurance in California

  • MetLife: Best overall.

  • Lemonade: Best budget pick for dogs.

  • Spot: Best budget pick for cats.

  • ASPCA: Best for comprehensive coverage.

NerdWallet’s rating system rewards pet insurance companies with broad coverage, a variety of ways to customize your plan, a high financial strength rating and a good customer experience. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale. Here’s the full methodology behind our pet insurance ratings.

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure the content on our website is accurate and fair, so you can make financial decisions with confidence and choose the products that work best for you.

Best overall: MetLife

Best overall
insurance-product-card-logo

MetLife

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
MetLife sells customizable plans for dogs, cats and even other animals in some states.
Compare My Rates
on MetLife's website

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Excellent

Ability to customize plan

Excellent
Best overall
insurance-product-card-logo
Compare My Rates
on MetLife's website

MetLife

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
MetLife sells customizable plans for dogs, cats and even other animals in some states.

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Excellent

Ability to customize plan

Excellent

Why it's the best: We chose MetLife as our best overall insurer in California because it had the highest raw score of all the companies NerdWallet evaluated. It's also available to pets of all ages, with no age restrictions. MetLife’s policies cover things like alternative and complementary medicine, treatment for dental diseases, prescription food and end-of-life expenses. In most states, MetLife also offers free grief counseling sessions with a counselor if you lose your pet.

If your pet stays healthy, your deductible could drop by $25 or $50 for each year you go without receiving a claim reimbursement. (A deductible is the amount you pay in vet bills before your insurer starts reimbursing you.)

Learn more with our MetLife pet insurance review.

Best budget pick for dogs: Lemonade

Budget pick for dogs
insurance-product-card-logo

Lemonade

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
Lemonade boasts a seamless online experience and quick claims, but its default coverage is more limited than some other plans.
Compare My Rates
on Lemonade's website

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Average

Ability to customize plan

Average
Budget pick for dogs
insurance-product-card-logo
Compare My Rates
on Lemonade's website

Lemonade

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
Lemonade boasts a seamless online experience and quick claims, but its default coverage is more limited than some other plans.

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Average

Ability to customize plan

Average

Why it's the best: Lemonade offered some of the cheapest rates for our sample dogs in Los Angeles, and it’s also one of our cheapest pet insurance companies overall. The company’s base accident and illness plan covers the essentials, such as medicine, diagnostic tests, surgeries and hospitalizations. For an extra cost, you can customize your plan to cover things like physical therapy, treatment for dental illness and vet exam fees.

One perk of Lemonade pet insurance is how the company deals with claims. Once you file through the Lemonade app, the company uses artificial intelligence to scan for fraud and then pays some claims almost instantly. Another unique feature is Lemonade’s Giveback program, which donates excess profits to charities chosen by policyholders.

Learn more with our Lemonade pet insurance review.

Best budget pick for cats: Spot

Budget pick for cats
insurance-product-card-logo

Spot

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Spot offers a wide range of coverage choices for pet owners but won’t pay your vet directly.
Compare My Rates
on Spot's website

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Excellent

Ability to customize plan

Excellent
Budget pick for cats
insurance-product-card-logo
Compare My Rates
on Spot's website

Spot

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Spot offers a wide range of coverage choices for pet owners but won’t pay your vet directly.

Pay vet directly

No

Scope of coverage

Excellent

Ability to customize plan

Excellent

Why it's the best: Some of the cheapest rates we found for our sample cats were from Spot, which offers comprehensive, customizable plans. Its accident and illness policy includes vet exam fees, behavioral consults, treatment for dental illnesses and complementary services like acupuncture. Spot will also cover curable pre-existing conditions that have been symptom-free for at least 180 days.

Want to pay even less? The company has an accident-only plan if you’re willing to sacrifice coverage for a more affordable price. Accident-only plans will cover your pet if they break their leg or swallow a sock, but won’t pay to treat illnesses like cancer.

Learn more with our Spot pet insurance review.

Best for comprehensive coverage: ASPCA

Why it's the best: ASPCA’s policies include coverage that some other pet insurers charge extra for (or don’t cover at all), such as prescription food, microchipping, treatment for dental illness and behavioral therapies. You can also add a plan to cover preventive care expenses like vaccinations and annual checkups.

We like that ASPCA has a straightforward 14-day waiting period for all accidents and illnesses, including orthopedic injuries. A waiting period is the time between when you buy your policy and when your coverage begins.

Learn more with our ASPCA pet insurance review.

The best pet insurance in California by age

Looking for more options? Check out all the pet insurers in California that earned a 5-star NerdWallet rating.

Best pet insurance for younger animals

Below are sample rates for 2-year-old mixed-breed dogs and cats in Los Angeles with a $250 deductible, $5,000 in annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rates

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $37

  • Cat: $21

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $60

  • Cat: $25

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $37

  • Cat: $21

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $51

  • Cat: $26

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $48

  • Cat: $34

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $37

  • Cat: $21

*ASPCA policies had a $4,000 annual limit.

Best pet insurance in California for older animals

Older pets tend to cost more to insure, so we also checked rates for 8-year-old dogs and cats in Los Angeles. Here’s how our 5-star companies stack up for 8-year-old mixed-breed dogs and cats with the same coverage limits as above.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rates

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $82

  • Cat: $38

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

Plans not available.

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $83

  • Cat: $38

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $98

  • Cat: $45

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $103

  • Cat: $67

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
  • Dog: $83

  • Cat: $38

*ASPCA policies had a $4,000 annual limit.

Cheap pet insurance in California

Here are the cheapest insurers we found in California for dogs and cats, based on quotes we gathered in Los Angeles. Unless otherwise stated, our sample pets were 2-year-old mixed-breed dogs and cats with a $250 deductible, $5,000 in annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate.

Your own prices may be different depending on where you live, the coverage you choose, and your pet’s age and breed.

Cheap pet insurance in California for young dogs

Below are the lowest monthly rates we found for 2-year-old dogs living in Los Angeles.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rate

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$33

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$35

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$36

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$37

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$37

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$37

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$42

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$42

*The ManyPets plan offered unlimited annual coverage. ASPCA's plan had a $4,000 annual coverage limit.

Cheap pet insurance in California for older dogs

Below are the lowest monthly rates we found for 8-year-old dogs in Los Angeles.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rate

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$77

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$78

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$82

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$83

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$83

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$83

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$84

*The Healthy Paws plan came with 50% reimbursement, a $1,000 deductible and unlimited annual coverage. The ManyPets plan offered a $500 deductible and unlimited annual coverage. ASPCA's plan had a $4,000 annual coverage limit.

Cheap pet insurance in California for young cats

These are the lowest monthly rates we found for 2-year-old domestic shorthair (mixed-breed) cats living in Los Angeles.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rate

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$18

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$21

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$21

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$21

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$21

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$21

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$22

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$23

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$23

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$25

*ASPCA's plan had a $4,000 annual coverage limit. The Healthy Paws plan came with unlimited annual coverage. The ManyPets plan had a $500 deductible and unlimited annual coverage.

Cheap pet insurance in California for older cats

These are the lowest monthly rates we found for 8-year-old domestic shorthair (mixed-breed) cats living in Los Angeles.

Company

NerdWallet star rating

Sample monthly rate

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$30

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$35

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$38

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$38

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$38

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$41

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$44

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

$44

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$45

*The Healthy Paws plan came with a 50% reimbursement rate, a $1,000 deductible and unlimited annual coverage. ASPCA's plan had a $4,000 annual coverage limit. The ManyPets plan offered a $500 deductible and unlimited annual coverage.

Why you can trust NerdWallet

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our coverage so you can choose the insurance company that works best for you. Our ratings are specific to pet insurance; a company's rating for other products may be different on our site. See our criteria for evaluating pet insurance companies.

Methodology

Pet insurance star ratings

NerdWallet’s pet insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, scope of coverage, the ability to customize your plan and more. Our “consumer experience” category looks at factors such as website transparency and mobile app ratings. To calculate each insurer’s star rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale. See our full pet insurance methodology.

These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.

Pet insurance sample rates

To find sample pet insurance rates, NerdWallet gathered quotes for the base level of accident and illness coverage on each insurer’s website. Quotes reflect the monthly cost of a policy and do not include wellness coverage or other optional add-ons.

Each plan had a $250 deductible, $5,000 in annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate. We customized the plans as necessary when those limits weren’t available. Our sample pets were a medium-sized, mixed-breed dog and a domestic shorthair (mixed-breed) cat. We gathered rates for pets aged 2 and 8 years old.

These are sample rates gathered for specific pets in a select ZIP code. Your own rates will be different.

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