Paw Protect vs Lemonade

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: What do the plans cover?

Pets can come to harm in many different ways, so you want your pet insurance to cover the associated costs of every bump, bug or bite.

Paw Protect’s plan covers a much wider range of pet-health conditions and treatments than Lemonade’s basic option. These include vet examinations, dental illness, complementary therapies, preventative conditions, working pets, international coverage, physical therapy, behavioral treatments, prescription foods, microchipping, and end-of-life costs. 

Paw Protect’s standard plan also has a valuable 24/7 pet health helpline, delivering vital information when you can’t get to see a vet.

The plan also covers:  

• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Cataracts
• Dental disease
• Dermatitis
• Diabetes
• Diarrhea
• Ear infections
• Hip dysplasia
• Gastroenteritis
• Kidney disease
• Ligament injury
• Limping
• Liver disease
• Lymphoma
• Pancreatitis
• Seizures
• Vomiting

Lemonade insurance covers treatments including diagnostics, medical procedures, MRI and CT scans, medication and even cancer. Five optional add-ons are available at extra cost, to fill some of the noticeable gaps in cover.

Do Paw Protect and Lemonade have a wellness plan?

Wellness plans are there to save you money on routine and preventative care. 

Paw Protect’s Wellness Rewards plan helps with things like spaying and neutering, grooming, vaccinations, and a range of preventative treatments, including flea, tick and heartworm treatments. Plus much more. Annual limits are set at $250, $450 and $650. 

Lemonade also offers a Wellness and Preventative Care package as a paid-for add-on. The plan includes parasite and heartworm testing, annual wellness exams, a live-chat helpline facility, routine dental cleaning, plus flea, tick and heartworm medication. It doesn’t cover any grooming or prescription foods.

Unlike Paw Protect, Lemonade has fixed limits in its plan for each treatment (e.g. $50 for heartworm treatment). If you don’t spend it all, you lose out, and anything over those limits has to be covered out of pocket.

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: What are the coverage limits?

Both insurers have a range of annual maximum coverage limits for customers to choose from. 

Lemonade has annual pay-out limits of $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000 or $100,000, while Paw Protect has maximum coverage options of $5,000, $10,000 and Unlimited.

Your veterinarian can advise you on the best choice, given the breed, age and condition of your pet.

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: Deductibles

You can make your monthly payments lower by selecting a larger deductible – the amount you pay the vet before any insurance payout is activated. 

Lemonade and Paw Protect both have deductible options of $100, $250 and $500. 

What are Paw Protect and Lemonade’s reimbursement percentage options?

The reimbursement percentage is the amount of any covered claim that the insurer pays after the deductible has been paid. The lower the reimbursement amount you select, the cheaper your annual premium will be, but the more you’ll have to pay towards any claim.

With Paw Protect you can choose between 70%, 80% and 90% reimbursement options. Lemonade has just two options: 70% and 90%.

Do Paw Protect and Lemonade have any exclusions?

All insurance has exclusions and pet insurance is no different. 

Both exclude pre-existing conditions. However, Paw Protect may cover some curable pre-existing conditions if the pet doesn’t need treatment or experience symptoms for consecutive 12 months.

Neither provider includes cosmetic procedures. Things like microchipping, training or neutering and spaying are covered by wellness plans. 

Importantly, Lemonade doesn’t review your pet’s medical records until you make a claim so, potentially, you won’t know if the treatment is covered until it’s too late. Lemonade doesn’t have a customer-service phone line either.

How expensive are Paw Protect and Lemonade?

These two insurers are at different ends of the scale.

Lemonade is arguably the cheapest (credible) insurer in the sector. It offers a budget-priced basic cover, which can be enhanced with a range of supplementary, paid-for packages. This gives customers great flexibility but, by the time you’ve added enough elements to create a comparable plan to Paw Protect, the prices are likely to be similar. 

Paw Protect is a premium product with a greater number of benefits and wider coverage than most competitors. It’s also the one that allows pet parents to pay vet bills up-front at any vet* in the US, with its $2,000 interest-free line of credit thanks to a virtual Paytient Visa card. 

*$100,000 maximum annual coverage
All quotes are based on a $500 deductible and 90% reimbursement. Prices correct as of May 2023

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: How quickly are claims paid?

Paw Protect takes just five days to settle wellness claims, and 10 to 15 days to sort out those for illness and injury. But by using our bespoke credit facility to pay the veterinarian, the speed of payment is much less of a worry, as that credit is interest-free. 

Lemonade says it’s one of the fastest insurers to settle customer claims, with straightforward claims being paid out “almost instantly”. 

Do Paw Protect and Lemonade offer any discounts?

Lemonade gives a 5% discount when insuring multiple pets, and a further 5% for paying annually, rather than every month. 

Paw Protect offers a generous 10% multi-pet discount and a 5% reduction for military personnel (former and active). 

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: Standard waiting periods

Both Lemonade and Paw Protect offer short waiting periods that trump many competitors. The delay for treatment for injuries is just two days, while for illness it’s 14 days. 

Paw Protect has a six-month delay for orthopedic conditions and hip dysplasia to be treated, but this can be reduced to 14 days via its Waiver Process.

Lemonade has a six-month delay for ligament injuries. 

Do Paw Protect and Lemonade’s plans include behavioral treatments?

We all want calm and happy pets, but some issues like anxiety and aggression are fairly commonplace, so it’s reassuring when treatment and training is included in your insurance plan.

Paw Protect covers behavioral therapy and training, as long as it’s delivered by a veterinarian, and focused on a condition covered by the policy.

Lemonade only delivers behavioral treatment if you sign up to its ‘behavioral conditions’ package, which comes with a supplementary charge.

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: Is there a maximum age for enrollment?

For its accident and illness coverage, Paw Protect has a maximum enrollment age of 14 years. With its accident-only plan, you can enroll your pet at any age.

Lemonade’s maximum age for enrollment varies by breed.

Paw Protect vs Lemonade: Customer reviews

Lemonade offers the cheapest insurance, among all the plans that we reviewed. It scores a whopping 4.5 on Trustpilot, with 83% of reviewers giving it a full five stars (across all of its insurance types).