The listings featured on this site are from companies from which this site receives compensation. This influences where, how and in what order such listings appear on this site. Advertising Disclosure

Embrace Pet Insurance Review 2023

Available in all 50 states and D.C., Embrace offers “one size fits all” accident and illness insurance for your pets. Dogs and cats are eligible for all coverage from ages 6 weeks to 14 years. New applicants can apply completely online in just a few minutes, with the option to customize important policy details such as deductibles, annual coverage maximums, and reimbursement rates.

embrace logo Back to Top

Highlights

  • Up to 90% reimbursement on vet bills
  • Access to 24-7 pet telehealth
  • No networks: Visit any licensed vet in the US

Bottom Line

We highly recommend Embrace pet insurance because it covers the most common conditions your pet may face and it's highly customizable. Applicants can tweak their deductible, coverage maximum, and reimbursement rate; it’s easy for applicants to build a pet insurance policy that matches their price point and needs.

About Embrace Pet Insurance

Embrace keeps things straightforward by offering one base coverage policy: accident and illness (with an exception for older pets). This policy covers the most common conditions your pet might encounter: accidents, dental disease, hereditary conditions, preventable illnesses, cancers, orthopedic conditions, and chronic conditions. Policyholders can add on the Embrace’s “Wellness Rewards,” a rider that reimburses policyholders for seeking out preventative treatments such as tests, checkups, and more.

How Does Embrace Pet Insurance Work?

New Embrace applicants start by getting a free quote on Embrace’s website. After entering some basic information about your pet, Embrace responds instantly with a ballpark price for your future premiums.

Next, you can submit your quote as an application. You don't have to answer new questions or visit a vet for a checkup; instead, Embrace will simply ask you for consent to view your pet’s 12-month veterinarian history.

Within a day or two, Embrace will respond, either approving or denying your coverage. If approved, all you have to do is sign, pay your first premium, and then activate your coverage!

Before your coverage can begin, there are two waiting periods: accidents have a 2-day and illnesses have a 14-day waiting period. Any claims made during this time will not meet the requirements for coverage.

After the waiting period is over, you can just about use your insurance like normal. After taking your pet to the vet, ask the doctor for an itemized invoice of the bill: this is what you send directly to Embrace, via app or web portal. If your claim is accepted, Embrace will reimburse you (via direct deposit or check) to the reimbursement rate you have selected, but only once your deductible is paid off.

Embrace Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Generous Accident + Illness coverage, plus preventative care add-on Pets cannot be enrolled in an Accident + Illness plan past 15th birthday
Underwriters only review pet’s past 12 months of medical history, not all-time medical history

Embrace State Availability

Embrace is available in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia.

Embrace Pet Insurance Plans

Embrace offers two pet insurance plans, plus an add-on option for preventative treatment coverage. Accident-only coverage comes with a few exclusions, which we’ll cover below.

Accident and Illness (Base Coverage)

For pets ages 6 weeks to 15 years, Embrace’s Accident and Illness coverage is the default policy.

Designed to reimburse veterinary care for a wide variety of scenarios, Embrace’s Accident and Illness policy covers all of this and more:

Accidents

  • Bloat
  • Foreign body ingestion
  • Getting hit by a car
  • Torn cruciate ligament
  • Poisoning
  • Cuts and lacerations
  • Prescription drugs for covered conditions*

Dental Illness (up to $1,000 a year)

  • Extractions
  • Gingivitis
  • Root canals

Breed-specific, Congenital & Genetic Conditions

  • Hip dysplasia
  • Allergies
  • Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)

Cancers

Chronic Conditions

  • Arthritis
  • Diabetes

Preventable Conditions

  • Lyme disease
  • Parasites
  • Parvo

Orthopedic Conditions (after a 6-month waiting period)

  • Ligament tears
  • Broken bones
  • Osteosarcoma

Accident-Only (Special Case)

Pets that are older than 15 years cannot continue to be enrolled in Embrace's Accident and Illness coverage. If you have an Embrace plan, they switch it from the Accident and Illness coverage to an Accident-Only coverage automatically, and reduce your premium cost.

Embrace accident-only coverage covers veterinary care following accidents or emergencies, such as:

  • Bloat
  • Foreign body ingestion
  • Getting hit by a car
  • Torn cruciate ligament
  • Poisoning
  • Cuts and lacerations
  • Prescription drugs for covered conditions*

Wellness Rewards (Preventative Add-On)

While not “technically” an insurance add-on, Embrace considers its Wellness Rewards add-on as a reimbursement plan designed to cover your pet’s preventative treatments such as checkups and tests.

Applicants can choose one of three reimbursement allowances per year:

  • $250 allowance per policy year
  • $450 allowance per policy year
  • $650 allowance per policy year

The following scenarios are eligible for reimbursement payments:

Routine/Annual Care

  • Wellness exam fees
  • Vaccinations & titers
  • Flea, tick, & heartworm preventatives
  • Fecal & routine blood tests
  • Routine anal gland expression
  • Preventative teeth cleaning

Puppy/Kitten Care

  • Spay/neuter surgery
  • Microchipping
  • Training

Ongoing/Therapeutic Care

  • Nutritional supplements
  • Grooming
  • Medicated shampoos
  • Toenail trimming
  • Prescription diet food
  • Routine chiropractic care
  • Reiki, massage therapy, acupuncture

Other Care Scenarios

  • Wearable pet activity monitors
  • Cremation or burial
  • Gastropexy

What Embrace Pet Insurance Covers

Accident-Only Accident & Illness Wellness Rewards
Accidents X X
Dental Illness X
Hereditary or Congenital Illnesses X
Cancers X
Chronic Conditions X
Preventable Conditions X
Orthopedic Conditions X
Check-ups and Preventative Care X

What’s Not Covered

Like other pet insurance companies, Embrace doesn’t cover every scenario. These include:

  • Pre-Existing Conditions: According to Embrace’s website, a pre-existing condition is “any injury, illness, or irregularity noted by you or your vet before your pet’s waiting period is over, even if your pet never went to see the vet for it.”
    Embrace only looks at the last 12 months of your pet’s medical history, meaning that cured illnesses from long ago will not likely be marked as pre-existing conditions.
  • Breeding, whelping, or pregnancy
  • DNA testing or cloning
  • Deliberate injury by anyone in your household
  • Injury or illness from fighting, racing, cruelty, or neglect
  • Cosmetic procedures: Procedures such as tail docking; ear cropping; and dew claw removal (unless medically necessary)
  • Routine veterinary care (like wellness checkup exam fees) 

Embrace Coverage Options

Embrace customers can alter their policy details to create a perfectly-priced pet insurance plan.

Deductibles

A deductible is the minimum amount a policyholder must pay out-of-pocket for covered veterinary care before their reimbursement percentage kicks in.

Embrace offers several deductible levels, including:

  • $200
  • $300
  • $500
  • $750
  • $1000

Reimbursement Percentage

A reimbursement percentage is how much the pet insurance company will reimburse you for the covered parts of a veterinary bill. Generally speaking, the higher the reimbursement rate, the higher the premium cost for a pet insurance policy.

Embrace policyholders can select from three reimbursement percentages:

  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%

Annual Reimbursement Limit

An annual reimbursement limit (sometimes called a coverage maximum) is the maximum amount of money in a year a policyholder can receive in reimbursements from covered incidents.

Embrace customers have five reimbursement limits to choose from:

  • $5,000
  • $8,000
  • $10,000
  • $15,000
  • $30,000

Restrictions and Waiting Periods

In addition to the coverage exclusions listed above, certain restrictions limit the way your Embrace pet insurance might protect your pet.

Restrictions

  • Infants: Pets cannot be covered before the age of 6 weeks.
  • Old Age: Pets cannot be enrolled under Accident + Illness protection past 14 years of age. Once a pet turns 15, the policyholder has to either opt-in to accident-only coverage or decide to cancel their coverage.

Waiting Periods

Embrace has two different waiting periods:

  • Accidents: Accidents have a waiting period of two days. After the third day after coverage activation begins, a policyholder’s pet can be covered for accidents.
  • Illnesses: Illnesses have a waiting period of 14 days. After the 15th since activation, a policyholder’s pet can be covered for illnesses.

How much does Embrace cost?

Pet insurance underwriters customize their pricing from customer to customer. Underwriters take a variety of a pet’s health information into account when pricing a policy, including a pet’s location, age, gender, and more.

Embrace Dog Insurance

Dog insurance varies greatly by breed. To easily show the change in premium price from breed to breed, we held our fictional sample dog’s age constant (at 1 year) but changed the breed.

Pricing is based on the following assumptions:

  • Lives in Chicago, Illinois (60614)
  • Male
  • 1-year-old
  • $15,000 annual coverage maximum
  • $750 deductible
  • 90% reimbursement percentage

For the Wellness Rewards option, we selected the $450 annual allowance plan.

Small Mix (10–25 lbs.) Medium Mix (35–50 lbs.) Large Mix (51–90 lbs.) Giant Mix (>90 lbs.)
Accident + Illness $42.49/mo $42.28/mo $57.78/mo $85.82/mo
Accident + Illness + Wellness Rewards +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo

Embrace Cat Insurance

Cat insurance varies greatly by age, but less so by breed. To easily show the change in premium price from age group to age group, we held our fictional sample cat’s breed constant (at Domestic Shorthair) but changed the age.

Pricing is based on the following assumptions:

  • Lives in Chicago, Illinois (60614)
  • Male
  • Domestic Shorthair (Breed)
  • $15,000 annual coverage maximum (except accident-only)
  • $750 deductible (except accident-only)
  • 90% reimbursement percentage (except accident-only)

For the Wellness Rewards option, we selected the $450 annual allowance plan.

6 Weeks–11 Months Old 1 Year Old 3 Years Old 6 Years Old 12 Years Old
Accident + Illness $23.76/mo $24.65/mo $29.40/mo $38.01/mo $63.84/mo
Accident + Illness + Wellness Rewards +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo +$35.42/mo

We also estimated the cost of an accident-only policy for a cat over 15 years old. Our sample policy was based on the same assumptions listed above as well as policy choices of: Annual Reimbursement Limit of $5,000; Annual Deductible of $100; Annual Reimbursement Limit of 90%. Our estimated accident-only policy cost $18.16 per month.

Embrace Discounts

  • 10% Multiple Pet Discount: If you have more than one pet on your Embrace insurance policy, Embrace takes 10% off your annual premium pricing.
  • 5% Military Discount: Active and former military members receive 5% off annual premium pricing (not available in New York or Tennessee)

Embrace’s Consumer Experience

Embrace customers have access to a variety of claims and support tools once their policy is activated, including:

Website Portal

Active policyholders can log into “MyEmbrace,” an online portal that gives customers access to online claims submission, policy details, bill history, and more.

App

Embrace’s free companion app does everything as MyEmbrace, but in an easy-to-use, on-the-go format.

Claims

Customers can file a claim via the MyEmbrace Portal or through the Embrace app and receive reimbursement via direct deposit or check.

Customer Service

Customer service representatives are available via phone or email from Monday through Friday from 9 AM–8 PM ET, and on Saturdays from 10 AM–2 PM ET.

FAQ

What does Embrace pet insurance cover?

Embrace pet insurance covers the veterinary costs associated with accidents, illnesses, and hereditary/congenital conditions. Embrace also offers a Wellness plan that reimburses policyholders for a variety of preventative treatments.

Does Embrace pet insurance cover hip dysplasia?

Yes, Embrace covers hip dysplasia for some policyholders.

How much does Embrace pet insurance cost?

Embrace pet insurance pricing will vary from customer to customer. To see what you would pay to insure your pet, we recommend you get a quote directly from Embrace’s website.

Does every vet accept Embrace pet insurance?

Embrace accepts claims from policyholders who visit any licensed vet in the US.

How do I cancel Embrace pet insurance?

Policyholders can call or email Embrace’s customer support team to cancel their coverage.

The Bottom Line

We highly recommend Embrace pet insurance for pet owners who want to customize their coverage and rely on a generous accident and illness policy. Applicants can tweak policy details, making it easy to cut costs or bolster coverage details as needed. With base coverage that protects against cancers, chronic illnesses, accidents, and more, Embrace policyholders can feel confident that their pet will be covered in most scenarios.

*Prescription drug coverage not included in policies based in New York.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Pet insurance typically covers illness, accidents, behavioral issues, genetic conditions, chronic disorders, and alternative therapies recommended by veterinarians. Companies may offer additional offers or bonus packages for preventive care including annual appointments, vaccines, routine testing, de-worming, and more.
There are many different types of pet insurance covering a wide range of health needs. The most common types are comprehensive, accident-only, and preventive. Plans are often divided by animal type and age including dogs/cats, puppies/kittens, and sometimes even small or exotic animals can receive coverage.
An average pet insurance policy starts at roughly $15-25 per month for accident-only and preventative plans. A monthly premium for comprehensive pet insurance plans offering the most extensive coverage will cost an average of $40–$60 per month. Prices will vary based on provider features, plan selection, premium and deductible fees, number of pets, health needs, and more.
On average, pet insurance plans can save you anywhere from 25-85% annually. The amount of money saved will vary but policies should cover a significant portion of veterinary bills depending on the plan and specific treatments needed.