Trupanion: age locked, price still climbs
Trupanion locks your pet’s age into the price at enrollment; its rivals raise the price at every birthday. So for a puppy Trupanion comes out cheaper, but only while its yearly increases beat those of the cheapest rival, Lemonade, by no more than 1.5 to 4 percentage points. For a dog enrolled at seven, Trupanion costs more than Lemonade, Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA in our California data. It would come out cheaper only if its rates rose far more slowly than theirs.
The dog is the one from the California case: a male French Bulldog in Los Angeles, ZIP 90001, on a plan with no limit, a $1,000 deductible and 90% reimbursement. Every price comes from the rate tables each insurer filed in California. Discounts are left out; monthly payment fees are in.
Two ways to price age
- Trupanion. The age factor is fixed on the day you enroll (filing 25-2461): 0.817 under age 1, 2.328 at seven. A puppy pays $195.71 a month; a dog enrolled at seven pays $544.78. Birthdays do not change this price. Only the overall rate level does.
- The others. The price rises with age. Lemonade goes from $85.95 a month under age 1 to $330.17 at fourteen (filing 23-3248). Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA go from $121.66 to $529.00 (filing 25-613). Rate increases come on top.
Everyone raises rates. The difference is what the increase applies to: at Trupanion, a flat price; at the others, a price that already climbs with age.
A puppy: 15 years with one insurer
Premium over 15 years in California: French Bulldog, male, enrolled before age 1, ZIP 90001, unlimited annual limit, $1,000 deductible, 90% reimbursement, monthly payment with its fee, no discounts. Columns add a yearly increase on top of today's filed rates; the cheapest in each column is marked.
| Brand | Filing | Filed rates | +10% a year | +15% a year | +20% a year | +28% a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | 23-3248 | $32,610 (cheapest) | $84,201 | $135,877 | $218,492 | $460,627 |
| Trupanion | 25-2461 | $35,228 | $74,620 (cheapest) | $111,745 (cheapest) | $169,179 (cheapest) | $331,859 (cheapest) |
| ASPCA | 25-613 | $48,134 | $124,201 | $200,632 | $323,133 | $683,436 |
| Pumpkin | 25-613 | $48,134 | $124,201 | $200,632 | $323,133 | $683,436 |
| Spot | 25-613 | $48,134 | $124,201 | $200,632 | $323,133 | $683,436 |
| Embrace | 26-812 proposed | $68,914 | $178,794 | $289,811 | $468,478 | $996,860 |
| Fetch | 25-2417 | $74,274 | $199,008 | $326,015 | $531,293 | $1,141,140 |
| MetLife | 25-2234 | $103,536 | $268,795 | $435,151 | $702,033 | $1,487,740 |
At approved rates Lemonade is cheaper: $32,610 against $35,228 at Trupanion. If every insurer raises rates at the same pace, Trupanion wins from about 3.5% a year. At +10% a year it costs $74,620 against Lemonade’s $84,201; at +20%, $169,179 against $218,492; at +28%, $331,859 against $460,627.
But Trupanion raises its rates faster than the others. So the question that matters is a different one: if a rival raises its price by X% a year, how fast can Trupanion raise its own and still cost less over 15 years?
| Rival’s yearly increase | Trupanion beats Lemonade while its own increase is at most | Trupanion beats Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA while its own increase is at most |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | −1.1% | 4.3% |
| 10% | 11.5% | 16.3% |
| 15% | 17.4% | 22.0% |
| 20% | 23.0% | 27.7% |
| 28% | 31.9% | 36.6% |
Trupanion has 1.5 to 3.9 percentage points a year to spare against Lemonade, and 6.3 to 8.6 points against Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA. The higher the general increase, the bigger the margin.
In California Trupanion’s last four increases were +12.6% (2023), +28.9% (2024), +31.7% (2025) and +19.0% (2026): 22.8% a year on average (filing 25-2461). If that pace continues, Trupanion stays cheaper than Lemonade only if Lemonade raises its price by more than 19.8% a year. For Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA the threshold is 15.7% a year.
A dog enrolled at seven: 8 years, to the 15th birthday
Premium over 8 years in California: French Bulldog, male, enrolled at age 7, ZIP 90001, unlimited annual limit, $1,000 deductible, 90% reimbursement, monthly payment with its fee, no discounts. Columns add a yearly increase on top of today's filed rates; the cheapest in each column is marked.
| Brand | Filing | Filed rates | +10% a year | +15% a year | +20% a year | +28% a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | 23-3248 | $25,181 (cheapest) | $37,906 (cheapest) | $46,492 (cheapest) | $56,951 (cheapest) | $78,481 (cheapest) |
| ASPCA | 25-613 | $36,713 | $55,580 | $68,368 | $83,992 | $116,268 |
| Pumpkin | 25-613 | $36,713 | $55,580 | $68,368 | $83,992 | $116,268 |
| Spot | 25-613 | $36,713 | $55,580 | $68,368 | $83,992 | $116,268 |
| Embrace | 26-812 proposed | $47,078 | $73,890 | $92,361 | $115,153 | $162,787 |
| Trupanion | 25-2461 | $52,299 | $74,761 | $89,738 | $107,861 | $144,892 |
| Fetch | 25-2417 | $58,172 | $89,802 | $111,471 | $138,122 | $193,606 |
| MetLife | 25-2234 | $80,001 | $121,178 | $149,102 | $183,229 | $253,749 |
Here Trupanion costs more than Lemonade, Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA at every shared increase in the table. At +28% a year it costs $144,892 against $78,481 at Lemonade and $116,268 at Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA. The reason is the starting price: $544.78 a month against $148.26 at Lemonade and $213.19 at Pumpkin. In eight years the others’ age curves do not catch up.
| Rival’s yearly increase | Trupanion beats Lemonade while its own increase is at most | Trupanion beats Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA while its own increase is at most |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | −22.6% | −10.4% |
| 10% | −9.5% | 1.7% |
| 15% | −3.4% | 7.5% |
| 20% | 2.4% | 13.2% |
| 28% | 11.3% | 22.0% |
A negative number means Trupanion would have to cut its price every year. At Trupanion’s California average of 22.8% a year, Lemonade would have to raise its price by more than 38.8% a year, and Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA by more than 28.7%.
Why a locked age does not stop the climb
No single Trupanion pet gets more expensive with age, but the customers as a whole get older, and treating them costs more. APIC’s actuary says so in the memorandum to filing 25-2461 (December 2025): because of age-at-enrollment pricing and deductible increases, the average premium per pet falls behind claims. The company sets a “premium trend” of −5.0% a year and assumes claims costs grow 12.7% a year. Both go into the general rate increase. In other words, you still pay for ageing, but through the general rate, not through your own pet’s birthday.
The company warns about this itself. Its 2024 shareholder letter says that in territories where margins were temporarily too low, members were “virtually guaranteed to receive a 20%+ rate increase after their first year”. More on its increases on the Trupanion page.
What the model leaves out
- Nobody knows future increases. The columns are scenarios, not a forecast.
- Lemonade’s California rates are older than the rest: in force since 24 November 2024 (filing 23-3248). That is part of why Lemonade is the cheapest here.
- Trupanion’s price leaves out the Recovery and Complementary Care rider. New policies get it unless you decline, and it multiplies a dog’s premium by 1.211. It also leaves out the Pet Owner Assistance Package ($4.95 a month) and the one-time $35 fee (filing 25-2461).
- The policies do not cover the same things. Trupanion’s deductible is paid once per condition for life; Lemonade’s and Pumpkin’s is annual. Trupanion does not pay exam fees.
- Embrace’s prices come from a filing the regulator has not yet approved (26-812). Fetch is priced for a dog with no paid claims.
What this case shows
For a puppy, Trupanion is a bet that its increases will not run far above everyone else’s. The margin is up to 4 points a year against Lemonade and up to 9 points against Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA. At its 2023–2026 California pace, Trupanion stays ahead of Lemonade only if Lemonade’s rates rise almost as fast, by more than 19.8% a year. For a dog older than a few years, a locked age does little: it locks the age factor at an already high level.
Sources
- California Department of Insurance (CDI) files: 25-2461 (American Pet Insurance Company, Trupanion; effective 19 July 2026; rate history and actuarial memorandum), 25-613 (Independence American, V4: Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCA), 23-3248 (Lemonade), 25-2417 (Fetch), 25-2234 (MetLife), 26-812 (Embrace, not approved).
- Trupanion, Inc., 2024 shareholder letter (SEC, form DEFA14A, 2025).
- Calculation: the site’s pricing engine run on the California rate tables, 14 October 2026.
History
- First published