Trupanion is filing a new, "more accessible" plan. Is it cheaper?
The short version: Trupanion's insurance companies have filed a new pet insurance plan. It is cheaper than regular Trupanion for a puppy or kitten. But its price goes up as your pet gets older, which regular Trupanion's doesn't, and by the end of a medium-sized dog's life it costs more than four and a half times what it did at the start. At today's rates, the new plan costs substantially more than Trupanion over a pet's lifetime.
Trupanion stands out among pet insurers because your rate doesn't go up just because your pet gets older. The price is based on your pet's age when you sign up, and only goes up due to things like inflation. Because of this, Trupanion's starting price tends to be higher than others.
Recent rate filings reveal a different option, where prices will increase based on your pet's age. This new plan is meant "to make pet insurance more accessible." Here are some highlights of the differences:
- The price follows your pet's age. The pet is re-rated at its current age every year at renewal.
- It can come with a yearly cap. Annual limits run from $2,500 to $20,000, or unlimited. In most states, Trupanion only offers unlimited.
- The deductible is yearly. You pay it once a year, from $0 to $2,500. Trupanion's deductible is paid once for each new condition.
- Prescription food isn't covered.
- Partner discounts. Partner discounts can reach 25%. Trupanion's partner discounts are smaller.
What it costs over a lifetime
We priced a male medium-sized mixed-breed dog from puppyhood through age 14, a total of 15 years, on both plans: 90% of the bill paid, a $250 deductible, no optional extras. The Trupanion price is what its website quotes today, and it stays flat because the puppy price is locked in. The new plan's price is the same for the first three years and then climbs every year.
The same comparison for the dog in every city we priced:
| City | Per year | 15-year total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trupanion | New plan, as a puppy | New plan, at age 14 | Trupanion | New plan, unlimited | New plan, $5,000 limit | |
| Birmingham, AL | $713 | $542 | $2,496 | $10,700 | $18,000 | $12,500 |
| Baltimore, MD | $1,947 | $1,384 | $6,639 | $29,200 | $47,400 | $32,600 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $1,387 | $855 | $4,037 | $20,800 | $29,000 | $20,000 |
| Jackson, MS | $612 | $474 | $2,163 | $9,200 | $15,700 | $10,900 |
| Portland, OR | $2,586 | $1,502 | $7,220 | $38,800 | $51,500 | $35,400 |
| Providence, RI | $1,072 | $876 | $4,140 | $16,100 | $29,700 | $20,500 |
| Sioux Falls, SD | $862 | $608 | $2,821 | $12,900 | $20,300 | $14,100 |
| Nashville, TN | $1,035 | $701 | $3,277 | $15,500 | $23,600 | $16,300 |
| Richmond, VA | $1,223 | $903 | $4,276 | $18,300 | $30,700 | $21,200 |
On the unlimited version, the new plan's yearly price passes Trupanion's somewhere between the dog's fourth and seventh birthday, and the lifetime total ends up 33% to 85% higher. Choosing a $5,000 yearly limit brings the total close to Trupanion's: from 9% less in Portland to 28% more in Providence. That is for coverage that stops paying at $5,000 a year, against a plan that never stops.
Cats follow the same pattern. A domestic shorthair in Nashville costs $554 a year on Trupanion, or about $8,900 over 16 years. On the new plan it starts at $412 and reaches $2,020 by age 15, for about $14,000 in total.
These totals use today's rates. Both plans will also get the general rate increases every pet insurer files, and Trupanion's have been large, so neither total is what you'd actually pay. It'll be interesting to see how the new program's general increases compare to Trupanion's. If they're small, it's possible that the new plan will end up being cheaper over a pet's life.
Where it will show up first
Based on the filings we've seen, we expect the plan to appear first in the 16 states where its rates have been filed: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Policy paperwork, with rates still to come, has also been filed in Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and North Dakota. That is 23 states so far.
What to do with this
The new plan costs less at the start. If you want coverage for a few years, or you're insuring an older pet, it's the better option.
If you want coverage for your pet's whole life, consider what the plan will cost at older ages before you buy. And choose your yearly limit carefully: you can lower it later, but you can only raise it in the first 30 days.
At the time of writing, this program isn't live, and there is little information about it outside of rate filings. Even its name isn't known. Details and options may change over time.