Pet Insurance Reimbursement Rate: 70%, 80% or 90%?

Insurance guide, not financial advice. Prices and policy terms come from public sources and change often, so check the details of your own policy. Last reviewed October 13, 2026. How we research

In this guide

Quick answer
How reimbursement is calculated
Reimbursement options by insurer
What each rate means on real bills
Is 90% worth paying more for than 80%?
Changing your reimbursement rate
How and when you get paid
The bottom line
Frequently asked questions
How we researched this
Sources

Quick answer

The reimbursement rate is the share of a covered vet bill your insurer pays back after your deductible. At 80%, the insurer pays 80% and you pay 20%. Most U.S. insurers let you choose 70%, 80% or 90%. A few go lower, Trupanion only offers 90%, and Figo is one of the rare insurers with a 100% option. A higher rate means a higher premium.

Example: a $2,000 covered bill with a $250 annual deductible.

Reimbursement rate	Insurer pays	You pay
70%	$1,150	$850
80%	$1,350	$650
90%	$1,550	$450
100%	$1,750	$250

Our calculations: the percentage is applied first and the deductible subtracted afterwards, as Healthy Paws and Lemonade do it.

How reimbursement is calculated

Your payout depends on four things: what’s covered, the reimbursement rate, the deductible and the annual limit. Healthy Paws’ own example works like this:

Start with the covered part of the bill. Excluded items, such as exam fees on some plans, are removed first. In a real Healthy Paws claim for a cat’s urinary blockage, $70.08 of the invoice wasn’t covered.
Apply the rate. 80% of a $1,200 covered bill is $960.
Subtract any deductible you haven’t met. $960 minus a $250 deductible leaves $710.
Check the annual limit. With a $5,000 limit, $4,290 is left for the rest of the policy year.

Some insurers subtract the deductible before applying the rate, which pays slightly more. Our guide to how pet insurance works compares both methods.

Your actual bill, or a benefit schedule?

Most modern policies apply the rate to your actual vet invoice; Healthy Paws says so explicitly. Some policies instead pay from a benefit schedule (a fixed price list per treatment) or cap payments at “usual and customary” fees for your area. Then 90% of the schedule can be far less than 90% of your bill. The NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act requires insurers to disclose the basis or formula they use, publish any benefit schedule and explain how they set usual and customary fees. Look for those disclosures before you buy.

Reimbursement options by insurer

Insurer	Reimbursement options
Trupanion	90% only
Figo	70%, 80%, 90% or 100%
Lemonade	60%, 70%, 80% or 90%
Healthy Paws	Options from 50% to 90%
ASPCA	70%, 80% or 90% on most policies
Embrace	70%, 80% or 90% (accident-only: 90%)
Fetch	70%, 80% or 90%
Pumpkin	80% or 90%

Sources: Trupanion and Healthy Paws help pages; NerdWallet’s insurer reviews dated May 2026 for the others. Options vary by state and pet age.

What each rate means on real bills

The gap between rates grows with the size of the bill: each 10 points is worth 10% of the covered cost. Out of pocket with a $250 deductible:

Covered bill	70%	80%	90%	100%
$500 sick visit with tests	$400	$350	$300	$250
$2,000 overnight stay	$850	$650	$450	$250
$5,000 TPLO knee surgery	$1,750	$1,250	$750	$250
$10,000 surgery plus ICU	$3,250	$2,250	$1,250	$250

Our calculations, percentage first, first claim of the year, no annual limit reached. A $5,000 annual limit would cap the payout on the $10,000 bill at $5,000, whatever the rate.

On small bills the rate barely matters; on a big surgery it’s worth hundreds or thousands. For real costs, see TPLO surgery, emergency vet visits and foreign body surgery.

Is 90% worth paying more for than 80%?

Moving from 80% to 90% gets you an extra 10% of every covered dollar. It pays off if the extra yearly premium is less than 10% of what you expect to claim.

Get two quotes identical except for the rate.
Multiply the monthly difference by 12. Say 90% costs $8 a month more: $96 a year.
Multiply by 10 to find your break-even. $96 × 10 = $960. You’d need about $960 of covered bills a year, on average, for 90% to come out ahead.

The $8 is an illustration; use your own quotes.

Averages hide the real reason to pay more: protection in the bad year. If a $5,000 or $10,000 bill would push you onto a credit card, the higher rate limits the damage. If you could absorb that bill, 70% or 80% with the savings in an emergency fund is a reasonable choice. Our guide to whether pet insurance is worth it runs the numbers on real bills.

What about 100% reimbursement?

Figo’s 100% option means you pay nothing beyond the deductible on covered costs. NerdWallet calls it a rare offering. It carries the highest premium, so it makes most sense paired with a higher deductible: you pay a known amount up front each year and nothing more on covered care.

Changing your reimbursement rate

Raising the rate raises the premium, and insurers limit when you can do it. Healthy Paws lets you raise your reimbursement level only while you haven’t submitted any claims. After a claim, you can only lower it, which reduces your premium. So choose the rate you’d want after a diagnosis, not just the cheapest one today.

How and when you get paid

Pet insurance usually reimburses you after you’ve paid the vet, so you still need a way to cover the full bill at checkout.

Insurer	How you’re paid
Trupanion	VetDirect Pay: Trupanion pays its share at checkout at participating hospitals
Healthy Paws	You pay the vet, then claim; approved claims paid on average within 2 business days
Lemonade	You claim in the app; about half of eligible claims are paid instantly, most of the rest within days

Sources: Trupanion; Healthy Paws FAQ; Lemonade FAQ.

If you can’t cover a large bill while waiting for the payout, compare vet financing options, and read about CareCredit’s deferred interest before you use it.

The bottom line

The reimbursement rate decides how much of a big bill stays with you. 90% costs more each month but cuts your share of a $5,000 surgery to $750 with a $250 deductible, versus $1,750 at 70%. Check whether payouts are based on your actual invoice, pick the rate you’d want after a diagnosis, and compare the premium difference with 10% of what you expect to claim.

Frequently asked questions

What does 90% reimbursement mean in pet insurance?

The insurer pays 90% of covered costs and you pay 10%, plus any deductible you haven’t met yet. On a $2,000 covered bill with a $250 deductible, that’s $1,550 back and $450 out of pocket.

Does the reimbursement rate change my premium?

Yes. A higher rate costs more each month and a lower rate costs less. Healthy Paws lists lowering your reimbursement level as one way to cut your premium.

Does pet insurance only reimburse, or can it pay the vet?

Most plans reimburse you after you pay. Trupanion’s VetDirect Pay can pay its share directly at checkout at participating hospitals.

Is the reimbursement based on my actual vet bill?

With most modern policies, including Healthy Paws, yes. Some policies use a benefit schedule or usual-and-customary limits instead; insurers in states that follow the NAIC Model Act must disclose this.

Do exam fees count toward reimbursement?

Only if your plan covers them. Healthy Paws and Trupanion exclude exam fees, while Lemonade and Embrace offer them as an add-on, so on many plans the rate applies to the bill minus the exam fee.

What happens after I reach my annual limit?

The insurer stops paying until the policy renews, whatever your reimbursement rate. Trupanion has no annual or lifetime limit; other insurers let you choose one, often up to unlimited.

How we researched this

We took claim calculations and policy rules from the insurers’ own pages (Healthy Paws, Lemonade, Trupanion), reimbursement options from NerdWallet’s insurer reviews dated May 2026, and disclosure rules from the NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, all checked in October 2026. All payout tables are our own calculations. Terms vary by state and change often, so read your policy’s sample documents before you buy.

Pet Insurance Reimbursement Rates: 70%, 80%, 90% or 100% Explained