Chewy Pet Insurance Review 2024

About Chewy pet insurance

Chewy earned 4.5 stars out of 5 for overall performance.

Chewy is best known as an online retailer of pet supplies, but it also sells pet insurance policies through a couple of partner companies. Chewy's pet insurance, known as CarePlus, comes from either Trupanion or Lemonade.

The plans available to you will depend on a number of factors, including where you live and your pet’s age and breed. In general, you’ll have your pick of three or four accident and illness plans, ranging from affordable options that cover just the basics to more comprehensive packages. You can also add coverage for preventive care or buy a stand-alone wellness plan.

Unlike many pet insurance policies, most of the CarePlus plans include coverage for supplements. You may even get extra reimbursement if you buy those supplements on Chewy’s site.

» MORE: The best pet insurance companies

Chewy pet insurance plans and coverage

Chewy offers a wide range of plans, including coverage for accidents, illnesses and preventive care.

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

Accident and illness plans

Depending on your pet and where you live, you may be able to choose among several accident and illness plans from Lemonade or Trupanion. In general, you can expect all the accident and illness plans to cover:

• Diagnostic tests.

• Surgery and hospitalization.

• Specialty and emergency treatment.

• Medications and supplements.

• Free telehealth consultations with a Chewy vet.

The base-level plans won’t cover much more than that. By upgrading to more comprehensive plans, you can add coverage for things like:

• Vet exam fees.

• Dental disease treatment.

• Behavioral therapies.

• Physical and alternative therapies.

• Prescription food.

More expensive plans also typically come with more generous reimbursement rates and unlimited annual coverage.

Accident-only coverage

For some pets, you’ll have the option to buy an accident-only plan. These plans tend to be significantly cheaper than accident and illness plans, but they cover a limited range of problems, such as broken legs or animal bites. They won’t pay for illnesses like cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Chewy’s accident-only plan comes from Trupanion and covers the following when related to an accident:

• Diagnostic tests.

• Surgery and hospitalization.

• Specialty and emergency treatment.

• Medications and supplements.

• Orthotics and prosthetic devices.

• Access to Chewy’s telehealth service (in most states).

Wellness plans

You can add preventive care coverage to any of the plans listed above or buy a stand-alone wellness plan from Trupanion. However, you can’t mix and match plans from Lemonade and Trupanion. So if you buy your pet an accident and illness policy from one company, the wellness plan must also come from that company.

Wellness plans cover a specific set of services up to a certain annual limit. Depending on which plan you choose, these services may include:

• Annual checkups.

• Vaccinations.

• Fecal, blood and heartworm tests.

• Flea, tick and heartworm medications.

• Free video consultations with a vet.

• Dental cleaning.

• Spay or neuter surgery.

• Microchipping.

» MORE: What does pet insurance cover?

What Chewy doesn’t cover

Each plan has a slightly different list of exclusions. However, Chewy’s accident and illness plans generally won’t cover:

• Pre-existing conditions.

• Routine care, unless you’ve added wellness coverage.

• Elective procedures such as tail docking or dew claw removal.

• Preventable conditions or neglect.

• Breeding or pregnancy.

As noted above, less expensive accident and illness plans may also exclude:

• Sick exam fees.

• Treatment for dental diseases.

• Behavioral therapies.

• Physical therapy and alternative treatments.

• Veterinary diet food.

Accident-only policies won’t cover treatment for any illness. Wellness plans won’t cover services other than the ones listed in your policy.

» MORE: What is pet dental insurance, and what does it cover?

Chewy plan options

Deductibles: A pet insurance deductible is the amount you have to pay before your plan reimburses you for vet expenses. Chewy offers annual deductibles of $250, $500 and $1,000 for its accident and illness plans. There’s no deductible for wellness plans.

Reimbursement amounts: Once you’ve met your deductible, Chewy can reimburse 70%, 80% or 90% of your vet expenses, depending on the plan you choose. (Not all percentages may be available to all pets.)

How your claim payouts are calculated will depend on whether you have a Trupanion or Lemonade plan.

Lemonade applies your reimbursement percentage to your vet bill first, then subtracts your deductible. Let's say you had a $1,000 vet bill, a $250 deductible and an 80% reimbursement rate. Here’s how Lemonade would calculate your payout:

• $1,000 vet bill x 0.8 (80% reimbursement rate) = $800.

• $800 - $250 deductible = $550 reimbursement.

Meanwhile, Trupanion applies the deductible first, then the reimbursement rate, resulting in a higher claim payout for you. Here’s how the math would work for the example above:

• $1,000 vet bill - $250 deductible = $750.

• $750 x 0.8 (80% reimbursement) = $600 reimbursement.

Coverage limits: Accident and illness plans from Lemonade have a $20,000 annual coverage limit. Accident-only and accident and illness plans from Trupanion have unlimited coverage. Wellness plans from both companies have set annual limits depending on the coverage tier you choose. In our quotes, these ranged from $265 to $650 per year.

» MORE: How to get pet insurance quotes

Restrictions and waiting periods

Age restrictions: We were able to get quotes for dogs and cats as young as 0 to 2 months and as old as 15+ years. However, age minimums and maximums may apply in some states.

Waiting periods: A waiting period is the time between when you buy your policy and when your coverage starts. Chewy’s waiting periods vary depending on where you live and the plan you choose. Generally, wellness plans have no waiting periods, while other plans have waiting periods as follows.

• Accident-only: Five days for accidents, 30 days for cruciate knee injuries.

• Base, Value and Value+ plans: Two days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses, six months for cruciate knee injuries.

• Essential, Essential Plus and Complete plans: Five days for accidents, 14 days for illnesses and cruciate knee injuries.

Chewy pet insurance sample rates

The cost of Chewy pet insurance will depend on where you live, how much coverage you choose, and your pet’s age and breed.

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, $20,000 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

Discounts

Plans from Lemonade may include the following discounts:

• 5% multipet discount on the accident and illness part of your policy for each pet.

• 10% discount for each policy if you also have a Lemonade homeowners, renters, life or car insurance policy.

• 5% discount if you pay your premium for the year upfront rather than on a monthly basis.

If you insure more than one pet with Trupanion, you can get a 10% discount on your premium for each animal. This discount applies to both wellness and insurance plans.

State availability

Chewy pet insurance is available in Washington, D.C., and every state except Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont.

Availability may change at any time. Coverage may not be available to all pets in a given state.

» MORE: How much does pet insurance cost?

How to file a claim with Chewy

Your process for filing claims depends on the company that issued your policy.

Trupanion

If your vet has Trupanion’s software, the company may be able to pay your vet directly at the time of service, so you don’t have to file a claim at all. If that’s not possible, you can submit your claim by uploading your vet’s invoice. Chewy says Trupanion typically settles claims within one to three days, though the process may take longer.

Lemonade

You’ll file claims through the Lemonade app. A bot will ask you a few questions about your claim, and you’ll need to submit your vet’s invoice. Nearly 50% of Lemonade’s claims are paid instantly, according to Chewy.

» MORE: Is pet insurance worth it?

Chewy pet insurance vs. competitors

Here’s how Chewy pet insurance stacks up against offerings from other popular insurers.

Digital experience

Chewy’s website offers basic information and frequently asked questions about its pet insurance plans. It takes just a few minutes to get a quote online, although the process is a bit more involved than that of some other pet insurers. (Among other things, Chewy asks for your mailing address, your birthday and your pet’s main vet before showing you any quotes.)

Once you reach the screen with all your quote options, Chewy offers comprehensive information on each plan, including comparison tables and sample policies.

Looking to manage your policy through an app? Although you can see basic information about your policy on the Chewy app, you’ll need to use the Trupanion or Lemonade apps to make changes or file claims.

How to contact Chewy customer service

You can contact Chewy 24/7 by calling 800-672-4399, sending an email through the website or using the live chat feature.

If you have a Trupanion policy, you can reach out to that company directly at 888-733-2685 or [email protected]. Trupanion also has a live chat function and is available 24/7.

Those with a Lemonade policy can call 844-733-8666 or email [email protected].

How we review pet insurance

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines that ensure fairness and accuracy to help you choose the financial products that work best for you. In our pet insurance reviews, we consider coverage, discounts, financial strength ratings from AM Best and more to determine our star ratings.

In our evaluation, we:

• Analyzed 2,100 data points.

• Got 800+ quotes from pet insurers.

• Compared 20+ companies.

Our rating system rewards companies that cover a wide range of potential expenses, offer many ways to customize your plan and have a strong financial rating. Within the consumer experience category, we looked at features such as mobile app ratings and whether the company offers direct vet payments. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.

Methodology