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Lemonade vs Embrace vs Trupanion

By Bradley Jacobs · Published Aug 31, 2026 · Last checked Oct 26, 2026

This is about who will cover your pet and how the plans differ. There is no winner. Fetch, Pets Best, and Spot are in the second table. We do not make up prices, star ratings, or claim times.

Lemonade, Embrace, Trupanion side by side

LemonadeEmbraceTrupanion
Age to joinPublic pages say you can enroll from two months old. The top age to join depends on breed and state. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.Puppies from 6 weeks. Dogs up to 14 can enroll in accident-and-illness. Dogs 15+ can enroll in accident-only. Already insured pets can continue for life, per Embrace’s dog-insurance page.Trupanion’s quote form states you can enroll pets up to 14 years old. Trupanion’s eligibility FAQ (retrieved via public search Aug 2026; a later direct fetch was blocked by Trupanion’s CDN): cats and dogs under 14 are eligible; pets enrolled before the 14th birthday keep coverage for life. Pets 14 and over cannot newly enroll.
Waiting periodsLemonade’s waiting-period guide (checked Oct 26, 2026): 14 days for illnesses, 30 days for bone and joint problems. Policy effective 12:01 a.m. the day after purchase. Preventative-care packages, if purchased, start when the policy activates. Some states use different waits, Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.Embrace’s waiting-period page: 14-day illness wait; accident coverage starts on the policy effective date. Bone and joint waits vary by state. Embrace help articles and sample terms describe a 180-day (6-month) bone and joint wait for dogs, sometimes reducible with a vet bone and joint exam. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.Trupanion’s US public FAQ pages we successfully fetched do not publish a single nationwide waiting-period number. Waiting periods are state-specific. Do not rely on Australian Trupanion pages for a US policy. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.
Pre-existingNot covered. A pre-existing condition is any issue the pet showed signs of, was diagnosed with, or was treated for before the waiting period ended. Pets with pre-existing conditions can still be insured; related bills are not reimbursed.Not covered. Embrace defines a pre-existing condition as any injury, illness, or irregularity noticed by you or your veterinarian before the end of the waiting period, even if the pet never saw a vet for it.Not covered. Trupanion’s US FAQ: a pre-existing condition is any illness, condition, or injury for which signs or evidence of potential manifestation existed within the 18 months prior to the effective date or applicable waiting periods. Recurrence of a prior injury is also pre-existing. Eligibility for a specific condition cannot be determined until a claim is submitted.
Can a past problem be covered later?In most states Lemonade describes a 12-consecutive-month symptom- and treatment-free path for some temporary conditions. Knee/ligament conditions and long-term conditions (examples Lemonade lists: arthritis, allergies, asthma, cancers, endocrine diseases) cannot be ‘cured’ under that rule.Embrace lists diabetes and allergies as examples of lifelong pre-existing conditions. Ear infections and undiagnosed vomiting or diarrhea are examples of can-clear-up issues that may be eligible after 12 months symptom-free. Both-sides conditions (hip dysplasia, cruciate tears): if one side is pre-existing, the other side is not covered.Trupanion’s US FAQ example: allergies diagnosed as a puppy remain excluded even after years without symptoms. Trupanion does not describe a 12-month ‘cured’ path on the US pre-existing FAQ we fetched. A hip-dysplasia example was covered when Trupanion found a medical disconnect from an old sprain. We do not treat ACL/cruciate as can-clear-up on Trupanion based on that page.
Accident-onlyLemonade’s public pet pages describe accident-and-illness as the base plan, with optional preventative-care packages. We did not find a standalone accident-only product on the pages we fetched. Verify on the quote form.Yes, for pets 15+ (and as a basic option). Embrace’s FAQ: $5,000 annual reimbursement, $100 deductible, 90% reimbursement. Those parameters are not flexible. Covers events such as bloat, foreign-body ingestion, hit-by-car, poisoning, lacerations.Trupanion’s public US pages we reviewed describe a medical insurance product (injury and illness) with no annual limit in marketing copy. We did not verify a separate accident-only plan. Verify on the quote form.
WellnessOptional Preventative Care Packages. Lemonade says those benefits can be used as soon as the policy activates (no wait).Optional Wellness Care / Wellness Rewards. A non-insurance membership plan, not available standalone. No waiting period for routine care with Wellness Rewards, per third-party summaries; confirm on the quote form.Trupanion does not market a wellness/preventive add-on on the pages we compared (Fetch’s public comparison states Trupanion does not offer wellness coverage). Verify on the quote form.
9-year-old Frenchie with a past knee tear

Nine is under many published 10/14 caps, but Lemonade’s upper age is breed- and state-specific. Run the quote form.

A prior ACL/cruciate is a ligament condition. Lemonade says knee/ligament conditions cannot use the 12-month ‘cured’ path.

Nine is under 15, so accident-and-illness enrollment is the product Embrace describes for this age. Still run the quote.

Prior ACL is a both-sides ligament condition. Embrace: if one side is pre-existing, the other side is not covered.

Under 14, so the quote form should accept the age. Run it.

A documented ACL is an injury with signs before the effective date. Trupanion’s own allergy example shows long-quiet long-term issues staying excluded.

Official quoteGet a quote from LemonadeGet a quote from EmbraceGet a quote from Trupanion

What really differs

  • Age to join: Trupanion takes dogs under 14. Embrace gives full plans under 15 and accident-only at 15 and up. Lemonade's top age depends on breed and state, so check the quote form.
  • Wait for joint problems: Lemonade says 30 days. Embrace says 180 days for some dog joint, knee, and back problems. Trupanion's pages do not give one number for the whole country.
  • Looking back at vet notes: Trupanion looks back 18 months. Its own example says puppy allergies stay left out for good. Lemonade and Embrace say some short-term problems can be covered after 12 months with no signs. Not knee or long-term problems.
  • Accident-only plan: Embrace has one. The Lemonade and Trupanion pages we read do not.
  • Routine care add-on: Lemonade sells optional preventative packages. Embrace sells Wellness Rewards, which is not insurance. We did not find one at Trupanion.

Fetch, Pets Best, Spot

CarrierEnrollment ageWaiting periods9-year-old Frenchie, past knee tear
FetchFetch’s coverage page: pets of every age from 6 weeks. No upper-age limit stated on that page. Premiums typically rise with age. Verify on the quote form.Fetch’s public coverage pages: no waiting period for accidents (new injuries on or after the effective date, described as 1 day after you sign up). Illness waiting period of up to 15 days. Optional wellness: no waiting period. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.No upper age on Fetch’s coverage page. A 9-year-old Frenchie can typically start a quote. Fetch lists torn ligament as lifelong. Knee and joint problems that count for both sides: the other knee is typically treated as pre-existing too.Get a quote from Fetch
Pets BestPets Best FAQ: enroll from 7 weeks. No upper age limit. Senior dogs and cats get the same accident-and-illness product types as puppies, subject to pre-existing exclusions.Waiting periods vary by state. A Pets Best sample policy booklet (MN) lists 14 days for illnesses, 3 days for injuries, and 6 months for cruciate ligament events. Pets Best also publishes a Waiting Period Health Assessment form (dated 03/2025) that may waive waits if a qualifying exam is done 3 days before or 7 days after the effective date. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.No upper age. A 9-year-old can typically quote accident-and-illness unless the application routes to Accident Only because of listed long-term conditions. A documented ACL is pre-existing. Cruciate events also have a long waiting period on the sample policy. Both-sides rules often take the other knee with it.Get a quote from Pets Best
SpotSpot’s older-pets page: covers pets from 8 weeks old with no upper age limit. Problems in the vet notes before you join are left out.Spot’s California insurer disclosure (fetched Aug 2026): 14-day accident and illness waiting period on the first policy period; ligament and knee conditions also 14 days. Conditions during a wait are pre-existing. A Waiting Period Health Assessment may modify the wait. Other states may differ. Verify on the quote form and the issued policy. Terms vary by state.No upper age on Spot’s older-pets page. A 9-year-old can typically quote. Ligament and knee problems do not get Spot’s 180-day clear-up path, and they count for both sides.Get a quote from Spot

We are not picking one

If your dog has a knee tear in the vet notes, every carrier here leaves it out on the pages we read.

What to compare instead: the age to join, how long the waits are, and whether some other past problem could be covered later. Run the quote forms.

Sources (fetched 30 August 2026)

Facts below come from official public carrier pages. Waiting periods, age caps, and premiums change by state and over time. Label anything operational as stale-prone: verify on the quote form.