Pet insurance in California

From Pet Insurance Wiki · last updated 15 Oct 2026 from public rate filings
Prices and ratings forCACaliforniaChange state
Your dogFrench Bulldog · puppy, under 115 years of cover

Prices and ratings on this page are for the French Bulldog, enrolled as a puppy. Turn on JavaScript to choose your dog's breed and age.

The trap the ads don't mention. To exclude a condition from coverage, an insurer needs only one symptom in any vet record from your pet's whole life, not a diagnosis. It reads the whole record, not just the claims you filed. After the first vet entry you can't switch insurers without losing coverage, so you pay whatever increase comes: up to +31% at once in 2026. And Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA in Florida also charge long-time customers a tenure surcharge, about +3% for every year. How the trap works and what to do
This article is built from regulator filings, not from insurers' marketing. Every number is traceable to a filing on WARFF, the California Department of Insurance's filing system. Ratings are opinion based on those facts; the methodology is public and no score is typed in by hand.
Insurer pages for Figo, Healthy Paws and Nationwide are drafts: we have not read their California rate pages yet.[b] Figures may be corrected; see recent changes.

Your premium is built from about a dozen factors that the insurer gets approved by your state's insurance regulator. Most of them rise every year simply because that is how the formula works, and once your pet has a diagnosis, you can no longer switch to another insurer. This wiki reads the rate filings so you can see the price over your pet's whole life, not just the first year.

In 2026, California approved all four rate filings: three slightly below the request, one below the request[1][2][3][4]. The same French Bulldog costs between $32,610 and $103,536 over 15 years depending on the brand[8][a].

Our position [click a thesis for the evidence]

  1. [1][5][2][3][6][4]

    Age tables grow every year until 12–14. Nobody quotes you year 12.
    1.0–5.1×
    age 12 vs age 2
    Evidence from the filings
    At filed rates the French Bulldog costs $75/mo at Lemonade at age 2 and $330 at age 12; ASPCA $122 → $481; Pumpkin $122 → $481; Spot $122 → $481; Fetch $145 → $734; Embrace $158 → $637; Trupanion $196 → $196; MetLife $248 → $1,039. That is before any approved increase is added on top.
    Price-by-age tables, filings 25-2461, 25-613, 25-2417, 25-2234

  2. [1][2][3][4]

    In 2026, California approved all four rate filings: three slightly below the request, one below the request.
    4 of 4
    approved
    Evidence from the filings
    Requested vs approved: Trupanion +28.1% / +19.0%, ASPCA, Pumpkin and Spot +13.9% / +12.0%, Fetch +13.4% / +12.9%, MetLife +40.0% / +36.9%. Budget for 10–35% a year, not inflation.
    WARFF, 2026 pet filings

  3. After the first claim, switching insurers means losing coverage for that condition.
    0
    ways out after a claim
    Evidence from the filings
    Every new policy excludes conditions that showed signs before enrollment. Once your pet has a history, the insurer can raise the price knowing you can't leave without losing that cover. Only ASPCA, Pumpkin, Spot, Fetch and Embrace let curable conditions return to coverage.
    Policy forms, pre-existing condition clauses

  4. [8]

    The same dog, the same coverage, a 3.2× gap in lifetime cost.
    $70,926
    cheapest vs priciest
    Evidence from the filings
    Fifteen-year total at today's filed rates: Lemonade $32,610, Trupanion $35,228, ASPCA $48,134, Pumpkin $48,134, Spot $48,134, Embrace $68,914, Fetch $74,274, MetLife $103,536. Here the cheapest brand in year one is also the cheapest overall, but the gap widens every year.
    Lifetime cost, reference profile, California

Approved rate increases, 2026

4 filings on file for 2026. California approved all four rate filings: three slightly below the request, one below the request.

Renewal estimates below are for $100 a month today.

  • TrupanionFiling 25-2461[1]Effective 19 Jul 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +19.0%
    Requested+28.1%
    Approved+19.0%
    Indicated+21.2%
    Next renewal$119/mo
    If repeated 3 years$169/mo
    Loss ratio 73% actual vs 63% permissible
  • ASPCA · Pumpkin · SpotFiling 25-613[2]Effective 1 Aug 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +12.0%
    Requested+13.9%
    Approved+12.0%
    Indicated+21.4%
    Next renewal$112/mo
    If repeated 3 years$140/mo
    Loss ratio 67% actual
    +9.4 pts owedTheir actuary indicated more than was approved. Expect another increase.
  • FetchFiling 25-2417[3]Effective 7 Jul 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +12.9%
    Requested+13.4%
    Approved+12.9%
    Indicated+12.9%
    Next renewal$113/mo
    If repeated 3 years$144/mo
    Loss ratio 55% actual
  • MetLifeFiling 25-2234[4]Effective 26 Mar 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +36.9%
    Requested+40.0%
    Approved+36.9%
    Indicated+41.4%
    Next renewal$137/mo
    If repeated 3 years$257/mo
    Loss ratio 92% actual vs 66% permissible

Ratings, California [sort by any column · click a brand for the breakdown]

Ratings, California: scores A to F out of 10, weighted total, lifetime cost for the dog chosen above and coverage score. Column headers sort the table; brand buttons open the score breakdown.
19.310.08.15.78.0n/d8.3$35,228n/d
Score breakdown for Trupanion
A. Lifetime cost9.3
B. Age curve10.0
C. Generosity (loss ratio)8.1
D. Rate increases5.7
E. Price structure8.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)no data
Underwriter
American Pet Insurance Company
Last filing
25-2461 · +19.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
1.0× ($196 → $196/mo)

Age factor fixed at enrollment; no tenure or claims-history factor; the only discount is 8.33% off the first year under the exam-day offer, which does not depend on claims; fixed $6.97 monthly expense rate; no multi-pet discount; website quote valid until midnight Pacific time the same day; no website quote was compared with the filed rates

Full Trupanion California review →
210.03.37.97.510.0n/d7.6$32,610n/d
Score breakdown for Lemonade
A. Lifetime cost10.0
B. Age curve3.3
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.9
D. Rate increases7.5
E. Price structure10.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)no data
Underwriter
Lemonade Insurance Company
Last filing
23-3248 · +14.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.4× ($75 → $330/mo)

No tenure factor and no claims-based factor; age re-rated +1 at renewal and flat from 12 for breed group E; $2.00 per monthly installment; discounts stack up to 20%; multi-pet 5% (filing 23-3248)

Full Lemonade California review →
36.82.57.47.210.0n/d6.4$48,1348.8
Score breakdown for ASPCA
A. Lifetime cost6.8
B. Age curve2.5
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.4
D. Rate increases7.2
E. Price structure10.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
25-613 · +12.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.0× ($122 → $481/mo)

Same California rates as Pumpkin and Spot: one base rate for all V4 brands; no tenure factor; no healthy-pet discount; multi-pet 5% on each pet; $2 installment fee

Full ASPCA California review →
46.82.57.47.210.0n/d6.4$48,1348.8
Score breakdown for Pumpkin
A. Lifetime cost6.8
B. Age curve2.5
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.4
D. Rate increases7.2
E. Price structure10.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
25-613 · +12.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.0× ($122 → $481/mo)

One base rate for all V4 brands; no tenure factor; no healthy-pet discount; multi-pet 5% on each pet; $2 installment fee

Full Pumpkin California review →
56.82.57.47.210.0n/d6.4$48,1348.8
Score breakdown for Spot
A. Lifetime cost6.8
B. Age curve2.5
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.4
D. Rate increases7.2
E. Price structure10.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
25-613 · +12.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.0× ($122 → $481/mo)

Same California rates as Pumpkin and ASPCA: one base rate for all V4 brands; no tenure factor; no healthy-pet discount; multi-pet 5% on each pet; $2 installment fee

Full Spot California review →
64.42.06.17.93.0n/d4.8$74,2747.5
Score breakdown for Fetch
A. Lifetime cost4.4
B. Age curve2.0
C. Generosity (loss ratio)6.1
D. Rate increases7.9
E. Price structure3.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)7.5
Underwriter
AXIS Insurance Company
Last filing
25-2417 · +12.9%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
5.1× ($145 → $734/mo)

Breed group x attained age matrix; age-at-inception discount (0.80-0.85 in term 1) wears off to 1.00 by term 6; prior-claims factor 0.85-2.20 at every renewal, each claim counted at no more than $500; $4.50 per card installment (none with Apple Pay or Google Pay); $15 one-time fee for new policies; no multi-pet discount

Full Fetch California review →
74.72.57.74.15.0n/d4.6$68,9148.0
Score breakdown for Embrace
A. Lifetime cost4.7
B. Age curve2.5
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.7
D. Rate increases4.1
E. Price structure5.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.0
Underwriter
American Modern Home Insurance Company
Last filing
24-1315 · +23.5%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.0× ($158 → $637/mo)

Underwriting age x tenure matrix: the factor rises with every year insured, so a dog enrolled as a puppy pays more at 7 than a dog enrolled at 7. Approved manual 24-1315 gives a Healthy Pet discount (5% or 10%) only to pets with paid claims of $300 or less; filed 26-812 replaces it with a Claim History factor from 0.95 to 4.77. One-time $25 admin fee; multi-pet 10%; discounts capped at 25%.

Full Embrace California review →
83.12.410.00.07.0n/d3.8$103,536n/d
Score breakdown for MetLife
A. Lifetime cost3.1
B. Age curve2.4
C. Generosity (loss ratio)10.0
D. Rate increases0.0
E. Price structure7.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)no data
Underwriter
Metropolitan General Insurance Company
Last filing
25-2234 · +36.9%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.2× ($248 → $1,039/mo)

No tenure factor; breed-and-age factor re-rated at every renewal; direct-to-consumer channel factor 1.184 against 1.000 for employer groups; $3 monthly installment fee and a one-time $12 enrollment fee; deductible drops $50 for each claim-free year and resets after a paid claim other than preventive care (2021 sample of form PET21-01-V); renewal increase capped at 80% for one year

Full MetLife California review →

Not ranked yet in California, because we have not read rate pages for them and cannot price the reference pet: Nationwide, Figo, Healthy Paws.

Re-weight the scales yourself · total is a weighted average over scales with data (methodology v1)

F (customer treatment) has no data yet for California, so its weight changes nothing until that data is in. Coverage is scored separately and never counted in the total.

How much insurers actually pay out

The loss ratio is the share of premiums an insurer pays back in claims; we treat 90% as the ideal (scale C of the methodology), because the law requires human health insurers to pay out at least 80–85%.

California: earned premium, incurred losses and the loss ratio from each insurer's latest filing that reports them, against the permissible ratio in that filing and the 90% ideal
InsurerYearEarned premiumLosses incurredLoss ratioPermissibleRatio, permissible, 90%
NationwideVeterinary Pet Insurance CompanyFiling 24-2007, p. 5772023$88.3M$81.9M92.7% actual62.0%
MetLifeMetropolitan General Insurance CompanyFiling 25-2234, p. 157year to 30 Jun 2025$55.3M$51.0M92.3% actual66.0%
TrupanionAmerican Pet Insurance CompanyFiling 25-2461, p. 202year to 30 Sep 2025$131.3M$96.3M73.3% actual63.0%
LemonadeLemonade Insurance CompanyFiling 23-3248, p. 462year to 30 Jun 2023$28.9M$20.5M70.8% actual64.0%
EmbraceAmerican Modern Home Insurance CompanyFiling 26-812, p. 463year to 30 Sep 2025$75.7M$52.4M69.2% actual64.0%
Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCAIndependence American Insurance CompanyFiling 25-613, p. 303year to 30 Sep 2024$95.5M$63.6M66.6% actualnot in the filing
FetchAXIS Insurance CompanyFiling 25-2417, p. 128year to 30 Jun 2025$37.7M$20.8M55.2% actualnot in the filing

Premium and losses are for the year shown, as the filing reports them. Losses include claim-handling costs where the filing gives them, with no allowance for claims not yet reported. A projected ratio is the insurer's own forecast at current rates; scale C uses the latest ratio on file.

Price by age

Monthly premium for the French Bulldog in California at filed rates, before any future increases. Drag the slider to see what you pay at each birthday.

Monthly premium by age for 8 brands in California; every number is in the table below the chart.$0$250$500$750$1,000$1,25002468101214

Filed rates: ASPCA, Pumpkin, Spot 25-613 · Embrace 26-812 · Fetch 25-2417 · Lemonade 23-3248 · MetLife 25-2234 · Trupanion 25-2461. Dashed: proposed, filed but not yet approved (Embrace, effective 1 Feb 2027). No rate pages read yet: Figo, Healthy Paws, Nationwide.

All numbers: monthly premium by age, French Bulldog, none (filed rates)
AgeASPCAEmbraceFetchLemonadeMetLifePumpkinSpotTrupanion
0$122$195$126$86$273$122$122$196
1$122$137$128$77$248$122$122$196
2$122$158$145$75$248$122$122$196
3$122$181$164$75$248$122$122$196
4$127$209$196$85$251$127$127$196
5$157$240$233$102$315$157$157$196
6$181$276$277$120$379$181$181$196
7$213$317$327$148$472$213$213$196
8$268$364$386$179$584$268$268$196
9$305$418$455$217$667$305$305$196
10$364$482$535$258$774$364$364$196
11$417$554$627$306$897$417$417$196
12$481$637$734$330$1,039$481$481$196
13$481$732$857$330$1,091$481$481$196
14$529$842$998$330$1,143$529$529$196

Law and regulator in California

What California law guarantees; "unknown" means our sources do not establish it.
RegulatorCalifornia Department of Insurance
Rate filingsWARFF
Pet insurance lawCal. Ins. Code §12880 et seq. (2024)
Injury waiting period cap0 days
Illness waiting period capunknown
Waiting period waivable by a vet examunknown
Covered conditions protected at renewalyes
Burden of proof on the insurerunknown
Disclosure document requiredyes

California has had its own pet insurance law since 2014 (Insurance Code §12880 and the sections after it). In 2024, Senate Bill 1217 brought it into line with the NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, a template law that state regulators wrote for states to copy. The NAIC’s Summer 2026 state page lists California among the states that adopted the model.

Insurers rewrote their California policy forms for the new law and summed up its requirements in their filings. When the Department of Insurance (CDI) reviews a rate filing, it reviews only the rates. Its decision does not approve the policy forms: it “does not constitute an approval of … the forms themselves”.

What the law requires:

  • Terms such as pre-existing condition (an illness the pet had before the policy), waiting period and renewal have the same definition for everyone.
  • Each new policy comes with an Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions, a short document on the key terms, and the insurer’s website links to it.
  • A condition the policy already covered does not become pre-existing at renewal, and renewal cannot require a vet exam. Veterinary Pet Insurance, Nationwide’s California insurer, confirms this in filing 24-2007.

Independence American removed the 14-day accident waiting period from its California form as a “Model Law revision” (filing 25-613). The California policy forms we have read have no waiting period for accidents and at most 15 days for illness. But there are exceptions:

  • At Fetch (filing 25-2417) the 15-day wait also applies to injuries from normal activity. Only accidents and injuries from an unexpected event are covered from day one.
  • Fetch and Embrace (filing 26-812) exclude some orthopedic conditions that first appear in the first 180 days of the policy.
  • Nationwide’s California plan has no waiting period for accidents, illness or orthopedic conditions. But you can add its optional cruciate ligament cover only at the end of the first policy term (filing 24-2007).

California is a prior-approval state: an insurer cannot use a new rate until CDI approves it. The request is published in a public notice. CDI’s actuaries recheck the calculation and often allow less than the insurer asked for.

Take filing 25-613. Independence American asked for +9.6% overall and +13.9% for accident and illness coverage for its V4 program (Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCA; the filing also covers its Figo and PetPartners books). CDI found +8.3% overall to be the most it could allow and capped accident and illness at 12.0%. On 16 April 2026, 13 months after the filing, CDI approved +7.9% overall: +12.0% for accident and illness, −29.6% for the accident-only plan and −21.8% for preventive care. The new rates were to start on 1 July 2026; at the insurer’s request the date moved to 1 August 2026.

In filing 25-2461 Trupanion asked for +28.1%. CDI first offered +14.9%, then +19.0%. The approved +19.0% applies from 19 July 2026.

CDI also does not allow an automatic yearly rise (a “trend”) built into the rating formula. Fetch’s national “rating trend” rule is marked “Not Allowed in California” (filing 25-2417). An approved rate starts on the same day for new policies and for renewals.

To find a filing, search the WARFF system by the insurer’s name, not the brand: “American Pet Insurance” for Trupanion, “Independence American” for Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA. The “Req. Rate %” column in the results shows the requested change, not the approved one. Click the CDI file number to download the whole filing.

The approved change is near the front of the file, on the disposition (decision) page (“Overall % Rate Impact”). The objection letters come next and show how CDI reached its figure. Further on is the rate manual with every factor table. Read the notes to the filer too: CDI can move the effective date even after its decision, as it did for 25-613.

Rate filings in California

Every California pet filing we have recorded, newest first, with the filing's headline figures. Insurer pages show each brand's own figures where one filing sets different increases for different brands.

BrandsFilingEffectiveStatusRequestedApprovedIndicatedLoss ratioPermissible LRSource
Embrace26-8121 Feb 2027filed+29.7%+29.7%69% actual (2025)64%source [1]
Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCA25-6131 Aug 2026approved+13.9%+12.0%+21.4%67% actual (2024)source [2]
Trupanion25-246119 Jul 2026approved+28.1%+19.0%+21.2%73% actual (2025)63%source [3]
Fetch25-24177 Jul 2026approved+13.4%+12.9%+12.9%55% actual (2025)source [4]
MetLife25-223426 Mar 2026approved+40.0%+36.9%+41.4%92% actual (2025)66%source [5]
Nationwide24-200728 Aug 2025approved+27.8%+26.6%+41.5%93% actual (2023)62%source [6]
Embrace24-131515 May 2025approved+23.5%source [7]
Lemonade23-324824 Nov 2024approved+16.6%+14.0%+16.6%71% actual (2023)64%source [8]
Notes on these filings (8)
  1. 26-812: CDI file 26-812 (SERFF AMMH-134910014), submitted 7 May 2026; the requested effective date for new and renewal business is 1 February 2027. Still pending on 13 October 2026. In its objection of 9 October 2026, CDI gave its final actuarial opinion: the maximum rate increase is +25.3%. CDI uses the latest 12-to-24-month loss development factor (1.078) instead of the company's three-year average (1.089), and only the eight most recent rolling four-quarter points for trend. Requested and indicated: +29.7% overall (Prior Approval Rate Application: accident and illness +29.9%, accident only −6.3%). The SERFF rate summary shows changes for individual pets from −68% to +393%, 76,438 policyholders and $95.25 million of written premium. Loss ratio (CDI Ratemaking Data, PDF page 463, California accident and illness, year ending 30 September 2025): losses of $52,384,680 (no DCCE) over earned premium of $75,724,196 = 69.2%, before loss development (the company's factor is 1.093) and trend (13.0% a year). Developed, trended and brought to the current rate level, the rate template shows 85.5% (LossDCCERatio_Adjusted, page 465). Annual statement, California inland marine line, which the filing reconciles to this program: incurred loss ratio 69.5% in 2022, 78.3% in 2023 and 76.6% in 2024. The CDI efficiency standard for this program is 29.5% of premium. The 64% permissible ratio is the rate template's Max_Denom (page 465), the denominator CDI's formula uses at the maximum allowed profit of 10.9%. The company states no target or permissible loss ratio of its own. The rate pages are PROPOSED, not approved. They come from the company's fourth version of the proposed manual (CA077PET-D, 25 August 2026), and Embrace's California prices on this site will change if CDI approves a different version. Rates in force today come from the manual of 15 May 2025 (filing 24-1315), which has a dog accident and illness base rate of $318.82 (proposed: $472.49), different breed, age and tenure factors, a healthy-pet discount of 5% or 10% and no claim history factor. Previous approved change: 24-1315, filed 3 July 2024, approved 19 December 2024, effective 15 May 2025, +23.5% overall (the SERFF summary rounds it to 24%). Earlier approved changes (rate change history exhibit): 23-1660 +23.1% effective 14 May 2024; 22-2456 +4.0% effective 1 July 2023; 21-1362 +5.7% effective 27 August 2022; 19-1189 +14.9% effective 4 April 2020; 18-1960 +9.4% effective 27 December 2018. Rating algorithm (page RA-1), dog accident and illness: annual premium = base rate × species and gender × breed group × underwriting age and tenure × territory × annual maximum × reimbursement × deductible × claim history. The monthly payment is the annual premium ÷ 12, with no installment fee. Underwriting age is the age at enrollment, and tenure is the number of completed policy terms. The filed table covers enrollment ages 0–14 and tenure 0–15 plus '16+', which is stored here as 16. Claim history is new in this filing and replaces the healthy-pet discount. The factor is 1.00 for a new pet and 0.95 at each renewal if every year on record (up to three) had less than $500 of paid claims. If one of those years had $500 or more of paid claims, the factor is 1.09 at ages 1–4, 1.25 at ages 5–9 and 1.44 at age 10 and over. If two of those years did, it is 1.37 at ages 2–4, 1.84 at ages 5–9 and 2.48 at age 10 and over; if all three did, 1.84 at ages 3–4, 2.99 at ages 5–9 and 4.77 at age 10 and over. These ages are the dog's actual age (pages CH-1 to CH-5). The company puts the premium impact of the claim history factor at +22.5%. Prices here assume a claim-free dog. ZIP 90001 is territory 2 (1.17); the four territory factors are 1.00, 1.17, 1.38 and 1.61. Physical exam and medication coverage are included in the base rate, and excluding them earns a discount (−11.45% and −12.21% in the current manual). A $25 administration fee is charged once, for the first pet on the account. Discounts are not applied: multi-pet 10%, military 5%, affinity group 4%, service dog 5%, employee group 10% and AAA 5%, with a combined cap of 25%.
  2. 25-613: CDI file 25-613 (SERFF IAIC-134454882), Independence American Insurance Company, submitted 13 March 2025 and approved 16 April 2026, after 12 CDI objection letters. The filing covers the V4, Figo and PetPartners programs. The requested, approved and indicated percentages shown are for V4 Pet Medical (accident and illness), the coverage the reference profile buys: the original memorandum of 12 March 2025 asked for +13.9%, CDI allowed at most +12.0% in its objection of 4 March 2026, and the indicated change is +21.4%. For the whole filing, including accident-only and preventive care coverage, the public notice asked for +9.6%, CDI found a maximum permissible +8.3%, and the approved overall change is +7.9% against an overall indication of +16.3%. The final memorandum of 27 March 2026 has accident and illness +12.0%, accident only -29.6% and preventive care -21.8%. CDI approved an effective date of 1 July 2026 for new and renewal business. On 25 June 2026 it granted the company's request to move that date to 1 August 2026. Loss ratio: V4 Pet Medical in California, year ending September 2024: earned premium $95,478,240, losses $63,632,070, or 66.6%. Losses are undeveloped and no DCCE has been incurred. The rate template projects 80.5% at current rates. CDI sets no single permissible loss ratio. Its permitted premium range for V4 Pet Medical is -5.3% to +21.4%; dividing the projected losses ($70,881,384) by the minimum and maximum permitted premiums gives loss ratios of 84.9% and 66.3% (our calculation). Rate pages: manual CA_20260326, approved. California has one base rate for all three brands. Dog accident and illness base rates are monthly and set by territory, which is taken from the first three digits of the ZIP code: T1 $133.18, T2 $121.02, T3 $114.30, T4 $103.40, T5 $96.19. ZIP codes starting 900 are in territory 1. Premium = base × annual limit × deductible × coinsurance × attained age × breed group × warehouse club. The warehouse club factor is 0.85 for validated members of a paid warehouse club and 1.0 for everyone else. Each optional coverage the buyer excludes then takes 1 minus its factor off that premium: exam fees 0.879 (-12.1%), drugs 0.888, dental illness 0.958, prescription food 0.9848 and hereditary conditions 0.964. The price shown here includes all of them. Next come discounts (5% for multiple pets), the optional wellness endorsement and a $2.00 installment fee on each monthly bill. There is no tenure factor and no claims surcharge. The age factor stays at 0.668 up to age 3, is 2.676 at ages 12 and 13 and 2.942 from age 14. There are 10 breed groups with factors from 0.613 to 1.823. French Bulldog and Rottweiler are in group 9; English Bulldog and Bernese Mountain Dog are in group 10. A separate 'Bulldog' entry sits in group 8. For the reference profile (no annual limit, $1,000 deductible, 90% reimbursement) the premium before the fee rises 8.1% from the previous manual, CA_20250205: the territory 1 base went from $115.17 to $133.18 (+15.6%) and the unlimited-limit factor from 2.111 to 1.974. With the fee, the first-year French Bulldog price goes from $112.66 to $121.66 a month. A transition rule caps renewal increases on the base product at 60% for three renewal cycles. The previous change was +15.75% effective 1 June 2025 (CDI 23-2408, when IAIC took over the V4 program).
  3. 25-2461: California Department of Insurance rate filing finder (WARFF), file 25-2461; SERFF APII-134721123, company tracking APIC-TRU-CA20260719-RU. Submitted 5 December 2025, approved 15 April 2026. The company first asked for +28.1% with a base rate of $266.04. CDI countered with a maximum indication of +14.9% (12 February 2026); the company revised its own indication to +21.2%; CDI then set the maximum at +19.0% (11 March 2026), and the company agreed to +19.0% on 17 March 2026. Approved rate application: indicated +21.2%, rate impact +19.0% (CDI rate template range -6.0% to +21.2%), 94,327 policyholders, written premium $171.5 million, individual changes from -5.5% to +53.4%. Loss ratio: CDI ratemaking data for the year ending 30 September 2025, losses $96,268,588 plus defense and cost containment $7,100 over earned premium $131,259,174 = 73.3%, before loss development (no runout); developed and trended at current rate level the rate template shows 77.7%. The 63% permissible ratio is the CDI rate template's Max_Denom (PDF page 203): 1 minus the 29.4% CDI efficiency standard minus the 11.5% maximum profit plus 3.9% investment income. The company states no target loss ratio of its own: the 80% target in its Exhibit Z is a made-up illustration (the exhibit says all its data is made up). Rates are from the approved Rules and Rate Manual effective 19 July 2026 and its Exhibits TS 1 and TS 2. Monthly premium = base rate $246.43 × geography (5-digit ZIP) × breed × age at enrollment × gender × deductible × coinsurance × spay/neuter × working pet × exam fee × Recovery and Complementary Care + Pet Owner Assistance Package + expense rate $6.97. The age factor is fixed at the age when the pet is enrolled (dogs: under 1 year 0.817, 7 years 2.328, 13 years 3.423), so the premium does not rise as the pet ages; it rises only through rate revisions. Dogs and cats must be under 14 years old to enroll. The price shown leaves out two options: Recovery and Complementary Care (rehabilitative therapy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, chiropractic, behavioral modification, homeopathy, naturopathy), which the manual adds to every new policy unless the owner declines it and which multiplies the premium before the expense rate by 1.211 for dogs; and the Pet Owner Assistance Package ($4.95 a month). This plan does not offer exam-fee coverage. Deductibles from $50 to $1,000 follow the filed formula (1 - d^0.19036 / 4.32104) × 2.95904 and from $1,001 to $2,500 0.408 × exp(-0.019 × (d - 1000) / 50); only the deductible factors printed in the manual are listed here. The filing has a coinsurance factor for every whole percent from 50% to 100%; multiples of 5% are listed here. A one-time $35 membership benefit fee is charged when the first pet is enrolled; there is no installment fee. In this filing the base rate rose from $202.81 to $246.43 (+21.5%), the French Bulldog factor from 1.980 to 2.085, and the factor for ZIP 90001 fell from 1.045 to 1.032. Previous revisions (rate change history in this filing): 24-2461, SERFF APII-134256658, +31.7% effective 19 July 2025; 24-32, +28.9% effective 19 July 2024; 22-2947, +12.6% effective 9 August 2023. Factors listed are for dogs; cats have their own age and gender columns.
  4. 25-2417: California Department of Insurance file 25-2417 (SERFF AXSS-G134459223), AXIS Insurance Company, Fetch Pet Health Insurance Program. Submitted 11 November 2025, approved 12 March 2026, effective 7 July 2026 for new and renewal policies. Fetch first asked for +13.4%. After CDI required three years of data in its rate template (objection of 1 December 2025), the template's maximum was +12.9%, and Fetch lowered its rates to that level; +12.9% was approved, with individual changes from -62.0% to +143.6% across 49,076 California policyholders. Loss ratios are California losses plus defense and cost-containment expense (DCCE) over earned premium from the CDI Ratemaking Data page, for twelve-month periods ending 30 June, before development: 65.4% (2023), 63.6% (2024), 55.2% (2025); without DCCE they are 62.3%, 60.6% and 52.6%. Developed and trended to the new rate period, the latest year's projected loss and DCCE ratio at the old rates was 74.5%. The filing states no permissible loss ratio. The CDI rate template allowed changes from -11.8% to +12.9%: $601.80 to $769.75 of premium per exposure against $513.47 of credibility-weighted projected loss and DCCE per exposure, which corresponds to projected loss and DCCE ratios from 85.3% down to 66.7%. Previous rate filings: 22-2210 (effective 14 August 2023, +15% in this filing's Exhibit 2) and 23-2590 (effective 14 August 2024; CDI's WARFF index lists +18.4% requested, while Exhibit 2 shows a 0% rate level for it). Rates are from the approved manual PRM(CA) 2025.1.1 and California exception page CA SEP 2025.1.2. California has its own territory table: ZIP 90001 is territory 3, dog factor 1.726. The countrywide manual's 0.852 for territory 3 does not apply in California; the filing's own rating example for 90001 uses 1.726. Only ZIP 90001 is encoded. The price uses the per-policy-year deductible (x1.136; a per-condition deductible is x1.000) and assumes no paid claims: the prior-claims factor is 1.00 in the first term and 0.95, 0.90, then 0.85 from the fourth term, counting each claim at no more than $500. Total counted claims above $500 over the last three terms raise it to 1.15-2.20. Pets enrolled before age 1 pay the full age-at-inception factor (1.000); pets enrolled at 1-2 or at 7 and older get 0.85 in the first term, and pets enrolled at 3-6 get 0.80. The discount shrinks every renewal and is gone (1.00) from the sixth term. Exam fees, dental, prescriptions and complementary therapy are included at factor 1.000; excluding them lowers the price. The installment fee is $4.50 per card payment and does not apply with Apple Pay or Google Pay. A one-time $15 administrative fee applies to new policies only and is not in lifetime totals. California does not allow the manual's automatic 10% rating trend. Not applied here: discounts of up to 10%, the 1.10 working-dog factor and the $100 minimum premium. Breed groups follow the filing's California breed list: 'English Bulldog' is group 24, while 'Bulldog' is a separate entry in group 27.
  5. 25-2234: California Department of Insurance file 25-2234 (SERFF META-134710068), submitted 20 October 2025, approved 24 March 2026, effective 26 March 2026 for new and renewal policies. MetLife asked for +40.0% on an indication of +41.1% (later +41.4%) using trend and development variances; CDI rejected the trend variance, computed a maximum of +36.9%, and MetLife revised its manual to that level. The actual loss ratio is from the CDI ratemaking data page: California direct earned premium $55,250,747 and paid losses $51,001,165 at 12 months of development (no DCCE reported) for the 12 months 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q2, 92.3% before loss development. Developed to ultimate in the filing's Exhibit 7 (factor 1.134, $57,856,246), the same year's loss ratio is 104.7%. Permissible loss ratio 66%: expenses 32% plus profit 2% (expense exhibit and manual). The previous change, +20%, took effect on 11 July 2025 (SERFF META-134410950). A later MetLife rate filing, CDI 26-1256 (+7.6% requested), appeared on WARFF and was not reviewed. Rates are from the approved manual (revised 26 February 2026). The illness and injury base loss cost rose from $59.41 to $81.26 (+36.8%); the area factor for ZIP prefix 900 rose from 1.002 to 1.132, and the French Bulldog breed and age factors were also revised. The price shown is for a dog bought directly from MetLife Pet (distribution channel factor 1.184). Employees who buy through an employer benefit, owners who adopt from a MetLife shelter partner and other channels get 1.000, and employees may also get a 10% employer group discount. Discounts are left out, including the $1-a-month internet purchase discount. The $3 installment fee is added to each monthly payment. The $12 enrollment fee is charged once, on the first 12-month policy, so lifetime totals leave it out. Unlimited cover is offered only to dogs 0-11 years old at inception; dogs 12 or older get $500-$2,000 limits and at most 80%. The filing does not say whether a dog enrolled young keeps unlimited cover and 90% after it turns 12: the underwriting guidelines tie the limits to the dog's age 'at inception', and the actuarial memorandum says each insured renews at 'the then current approved rates and options available to them on their renewal date'. Prices shown for ages 12 and over assume the original options continue. The manual also says renewal rates are capped for one year at 80% before moving to the full filed rate.
  6. 24-2007: Transferred-program filing (SERFF VPIC-134252410), approved 7 April 2025. It moves Nationwide's employer-sold (voluntary benefit) plans VBW-I and VB-II, 139,178 California policyholders and $113.3 million of written premium, into the new My Pet Protection Plus plan. Overall rate impact +26.6%: the company first asked for +27.8% and lowered it on 27 March 2025 when it corrected its base rates. The indicated change, which is also the CDI maximum permitted, is +41.5%; individual policies change by -91% to +1,482%. CDI ratemaking data for calendar year 2023 (VBW-I and VB-II in California): losses $81.93 million on earned premium $88.34 million, 92.7% (no DCCE, undeveloped); developed and trended to current rates, 104.7%. Permissible loss ratio 62.0% (Supporting Exhibit 11: expenses 33.04%, profit 4.96%). The CDI disposition shows an effective date of 26 August 2025; on 8 April 2025 the CDI acknowledged the company's correction to 28 August 2025. No price curve or lifetime price is shown for Nationwide in California, and the brand is left out of the California price comparison. This filing replaces the VBW-I and VB-II rate manual (on file under SERFF VPIC-134018018) with the My Pet Protection Plus manual (filing pp. 72, 142-153). My Pet Protection Plus prices accident, illness, congenital and hereditary, cruciate and wellness cover separately, each with its own base rate and factors, and multiplies the illness, congenital and hereditary, and cruciate parts by a factor set at each renewal from the pet's paid claims; the price engine here cannot express that. Its limits are $2,500 to $5,000 a year per coverage, so a lifetime price would not be comparable with unlimited plans anyway. For reference, the replaced VBW-I manual is attached to the filing (edition June 2024, pp. 73-91 and 141; Exhibit 2 on p. 399 lists the last VBW-I rate change as CDI 24-531, +25.0% from 11 July 2024). VBW-I annual premium = base $1,894.35 × age × breed × deductible × co-insurance × routine care × territory, with a $7,500 annual limit and no lifetime limit. Its factors for the reference profile: French Bulldog 1.107; $1,000 deductible 0.480; 90% co-insurance 1.000; ZIP 90001 is territory 2, 1.250; age under 1 year 1.693, 2 years 0.913, 12 years 2.037, 14 years and older 2.145; routine care with no limit 1.000, $500 0.954, $300 0.919, $100 0.856. VBW-I charges $2.00 per installment for any payment option other than annual, none under payroll deduction, and gives 5% off to policies enrolled through participating employers. A later VBW-I rate filing, CDI 24-2032, was not reviewed.
  7. 24-1315: CDI file 24-1315 (SERFF AMMH-134161654), American Modern Home Insurance Company, Pet Insurance Program (inland marine), a rate, rule and form filing. The documents of 24-1315 were not obtained; all values come from Embrace's later California filing 26-812 (SERFF AMMH-134910014). Its filing history (PDF page 273) gives filed 3 July 2024, approved 19 December 2024, effective 15 May 2025. It lists one effective date, used here for both new and renewal business. Its rate change history (page 274) gives +23.5% for Full Coverage (accident and illness), +31.6% for Accident Only and +23.5% combined. The stacked rate changes page (page 482) gives an approved impact of 23.5% effective 15 May 2025. The SERFF rate summary of 26-812 (page 134) rounds the last rate revision to 24.000%. In 26-812, CDI's objection of 18 June 2026 also describes 24-1315 as approved for an overall 23.5% increase effective 15 May 2025. The requested and indicated changes of 24-1315 are not given in 26-812, so none is recorded here. This is the approved filing in force for Embrace in California on 13 October 2026: in filing 26-812, CDI calls it the last approved rate filing and the company calls it the current approved filing (PDF pages 19 and 810 of 26-812). Its rate manual, CA077PET(05-15-2025), is included in 26-812 as the current manual, with a dog accident and illness base rate of $318.82 (26-812, PDF page 549). Those rate pages are not encoded here: Embrace's California prices on this site come from the proposed manual in filing 26-812, which is still pending. The company's reply in 26-812 (PDF page 782) says the current policy language, in policy PET00 (edition 02/24), was approved with this filing on 19 December 2024 and took effect on 15 May 2025. Earlier approved changes (26-812 rate change history, combined): 23-1660 +23.1%, filed 8 June 2023, approved 23 February 2024, effective 14 May 2024; 22-2456 +4.0%, filed 5 October 2022, approved 9 March 2023, effective 1 July 2023; 21-1362 +5.7% effective 27 August 2022; 19-1189 +14.9% effective 4 April 2020; 18-1960 +9.4% effective 27 December 2018.
  8. 23-3248: SERFF LEMO-133758875. Submitted 8 November 2023, approved 9 September 2024. Lemonade first asked for +16.6% overall (+21.45% for accident and illness, -10% for preventive care) and on 5 September 2024 lowered the request to +14.0% overall (+18.38% for accident and illness), which CDI approved. The indicated change was +16.6%; the CDI template allowed between -12.4% and +16.7%. The change applied to 57,471 policyholders, from -17.2% to +78.7% per policy. The percentages shown are overall figures. CDI ratemaking data for 2023: earned premium $28,902,141, losses $17,992,481 plus defense and cost containment expense $2,471,481, a loss and DCCE ratio of 70.8% (62.3% without DCCE), not developed. Lemonade describes 64% as the minimum permissible loss ratio in the California template (efficiency standard 26.6%). The previous rate change, filing 22-47, was +22.9% from 29 October 2023. Rates are from the approved May 2024 manual, in force from 24 November 2024 for new and renewing policies. CDI lists no later Lemonade rate filing in California (only form filings 24-152 and 25-21), so this manual is treated as current. Annual premium = base rate 356.64 x ZIP factor x breed factor x age factor x sex factor (1.00 for all dogs) x coinsurance x deductible x annual limit x prescription medication (1.20). The age factor depends on the breed group (A to L) and is re-rated each year, because the underwriting age goes up by one at every renewal; for the French Bulldog (group E) it stops rising at 12 (4.30). Prescription medication is priced as included: the rating order puts it inside the base premium, ahead of the optional visit fees and physical therapy factors, and the underwriting guidelines do not list it among the optional coverages. Not in this price: the optional additional coverages (vet visit fees x1.20, physical therapy x1.065, end-of-life, behavioral and dental illness premiums), discounts (bundle 10%, shelter adoption 5%, multi-pet 5%, at most 20% combined) and the $120 minimum annual premium. Monthly payment adds a $2.00 fee per installment, introduced by this filing; during the review Lemonade disclosed that it had charged an unfiled $1.00 monthly fee. ZIP 90001 is 1.6388; ZIPs missing from the table are rated at 1.3533.

Recently updated

Notes

  1. a.↑Priced for: French Bulldog, male, enrolled before age 1, unlimited annual limit (or the highest the filing offers), $1,000 deductible, 90% reimbursement, monthly payment with its fee, no discounts, ZIP 90001.
  2. b.↑No rate pages read yet in California for Figo, Healthy Paws and Nationwide. Their pages are drafts and they are not rated.

References

  1. 1.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. American Pet Insurance Company, Trupanion Pet Health Insurance, rate filing 25-2461. Effective 19 Jul 2026. Requested +28.1%, approved +19.0%, indicated +21.2%. source
  2. 2.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. Independence American Insurance Company, V4, rate filing 25-613. Effective 1 Aug 2026. Requested +13.9%, approved +12.0%, indicated +21.4%. source
  3. 3.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. AXIS Insurance Company, Pet Health Insurance Program, rate filing 25-2417. Effective 7 Jul 2026. Requested +13.4%, approved +12.9%, indicated +12.9%. source
  4. 4.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. Metropolitan General Insurance Company, Pet Health Insurance Program, rate filing 25-2234. Effective 26 Mar 2026. Requested +40.0%, approved +36.9%, indicated +41.4%. source
  5. 5.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. Lemonade Insurance Company, Pet Insurance, rate filing 23-3248. Effective 24 Nov 2024. Requested +16.6%, approved +14.0%, indicated +16.6%. source
  6. 6.↑California Department of Insurance, WARFF. American Modern Home Insurance Company, Pet Insurance Program, rate filing 26-812. Effective 1 Feb 2027. Requested +29.7%, indicated +29.7%. source
  7. 7.↑California, Cal. Ins. Code §12880 et seq. (2024), pet insurance law: disclosure, waiting periods, pre-existing conditions. Summary on this wiki. law summary
  8. 8.↑Pet Insurance Wiki, Rating methodology, version 1. Scales A–F, weights, reference profile. methodology

History

  1. Added payout table: earned premium, incurred losses and the loss ratio for each insurer, against the permissible ratio and the 90% ideal
  2. The illness waiting-period cap is shown as unknown rather than none, since our sources do not establish one; the Healthy Paws underwriter in California is shown as not identified
  3. Corrected the effective date of filing 25-613 to 1 August 2026 and added its accident and illness figures (+13.9% requested, +12.0% approved); added Fetch's waiting period for injuries from normal activity and Nationwide's cruciate cover from the first renewal
  4. First published