Pets
Making a Pet Insurance Claim: My Experience with Lemonade
When we got our dog Rigby in 2022, a pet insurance policy was one of the first purchases we made. Thankfully, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we actually had to use it. What was the process of filing a pet insurance claim and getting paid out like? Let’s take a look at my experience and what I learned along the way.
My Claim Filing Experience with Lemonade Pet Insurance
My Lemonade policy
When we purchased pet insurance from Lemonade, we went for the “base” plan but added on Vet Visit Fee coverage. Some other adjustments we made were upping the policy co-insurance to 90% while also increasing the deductible to $500 (remember that for later). The annual limit for our policy is $20,000.
As for the cost, when we renewed in 2023, our policy was $254.29. Granted, we did get a discount for paying the full year’s premium upfront.
For more, I detailed Lemonade’s pet insurance plans in general as well as my policy specifically in my full review.
What happened
Early in the morning of July 5th, Rigby woke up and got sick on the carpet. Part of me wondered whether this had been a reaction to the stressful day before (as we learned that our new neighborhood is a lot more chaotic with fireworks than our apartment was). Unfortunately, that afternoon, she was sick twice more, leading me to call our vet for advice. They suggested that I take her in to get checked out — but, since they were booked up, I actually had to find another local vet to take her to.
After running some tests and getting x-rayed, they determined that there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with Rigby but she was very sick to her stomach. So, they sent her home with a week-long regimen of medications that would help and a special food she could eat until she felt better. Honestly, we’re still not really sure what she may have ingested that caused this reaction, but at least she didn’t have any blockage or something like pancreatitis (which is what they initially suspected).
Filing the claim
Admittedly, I was probably a little overzealous in filing my claim — although that’s partially because I knew I’d want to write about it. Basically, as soon as we got home from the vet, I started the process of filing. In hindsight, I would have at least waited until I could say she was better, but it worked out nonetheless.
To file my claim, I started by opening the Lemonade app. Then, on the tab for my pet policy, there was a File a Claim option. This launches a chat bot interface that will walk you through the process.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty, you’ll need to sign stating that everything you’re claiming is true. After that, the chatbot will begin asking questions about your claim, starting with “what happened” and when it occurred.
One interesting step in the process was recording yourself describing what led to you going to the vet. As the chatbot states “We just want to hear what happened in your own words.” With that, you have the option to record either a video or just a voice note. I opted for the latter and pretty much just rambled into my phone about what led me to take Rigby to the vet and what the doctor said.
Next, it was time to share the contact info for the veterinary office where I took Rigby. This included the name, phone number, and email address. It also asked for the total amount of the invoice.
Now for the “fun” part: entering in all of the items you’re claiming. For me, this just meant taking the invoice the vet had given me and punching it in line by line. The good news is that Lemonade has some prepopulated item options — and, while they didn’t always match exactly, I figured they were close enough. I also needed to include a photo of the invoice.
The last question they asked was whether I had any notes taken by the vet during their exam. This was actually something the vet’s receptionist told me they’d likely want and said they’d be happy to send those along if asked. But, rather than do it myself, I just told the Lemonade chatbot I didn’t have them.
With that, there were a few final steps before submission. The obvious one was that I needed to review my claim. After that, I needed to again attest that I wasn’t lying. Then, a step that surprised me a bit was entering my bank account details. I don’t know why I didn’t expect this as it, of course, helps expedite payout, but I guess I was thinking it would happen later in the process.
Once that was squared away, I was provided with a claim number and was given the chance to rate my experience. I also received an email confirmation that my claim was submitted and in review.
Additional info
Not long after submitting my claim, I got another email from Lemonade. This time, it was from the actual claims person (at least I think they were real — it’s hard to tell sometimes). They were again asking if I had any notes about the visit, but stated that they’d reach out to the vet themselves. Although I thought about calling the vet and making sure they sent me or Lemonade the info, I decided to let it play out.
Receiving reimbursement
As you’ll recall, I filed my claim on July 5th. Well, on July 10th, I got an email saying that my claim had been approved! For the record, with the 5th being a Friday, this means that my claim approval arrived in 3 business days. Moreover, the funds were available in my bank account on July 12th (so 2 business days after approval and 5 business days after the claim was filed).
Of course, given my policy, the reimbursement amount didn’t exactly cover our vet visit. In total, the invoice from the vet was for $638.75. So, with the 90% coinsurance, the approved claims amount was $574.88. Sounds great, right? Well, there’s also that $500 deductible — meaning that my total payout was $74.88.
To be clear, this isn’t a complaint. I was well aware of the deductible when I selected this policy and could have lowered it to $250 (and paid a higher premium) if I wanted. Thus, my point in mentioning this is just to illustrate how this all works so you’re not surprised with a lower-than-expected reimbursement.
Good news, bad news
Once Rigby was feeling better and my claim was accepted, I realized that if (God forbid) she were to get sick or injured again, we wouldn’t have to worry about the deductible. Well… that was until I looked at when our policy expired. As it turns out, her current coverage expired this month and we just renewed it now. Since this month marks two years since we got her, I should have been able to piece this timeframe together for myself, but it slipped my mind. Anyway, this means that I will still have to pay the deductible again if something were to happen to her.
So what’s the good news, then? Well, despite filing a claim, our policy price didn’t go up by much. Our 2023 renewal for the policy was $254.29 while this year’s price was $274.62. This increase was also in line with what we saw between 2022 and last year. To me, that’s not too big of a jump (then again, they also didn’t really have to pay out all that much to me), but am I curious what future renewals might cost.
Final Thoughts on My Pet Insurance Claim Experience
On the one hand, when it comes to our pet’s health, we like to think that money is a lesser concern. But, in reality, the cost of veterinary care can have a major impact on pet owners’ finances. That why, when Rigby wasn’t feeling well and I needed to get her checked out, it was reassuring to know that the financial burden would likely be lessened thanks to my pet insurance policy.
Of course, in this specific case, the size of my deductible and the cost of the treatment meant that my reimbursement was relatively nominal. However, had some of the vet’s initial concerns proven correct, then the invoice in question might have been much larger — which certainly would have thrown a wrench into our budget if we didn’t have coverage. For that reason, I’m glad to have a pet insurance policy as it allows me to focus more on my dog and less on the money side of things.
As for my experience with Lemonade specifically, I think the process went quite well. While I’m not always a fan of chatbots, the system worked well here and made it fairly easy to provide the insurer with all of the information. Plus, I was impressed with how quickly my claim was processed and paid. So, if you are looking for a pet insurance policy, Lemonade’s options may be worth checking out.
Author
Other Articles by Kyle Burbank
Quick Tips
Pets
Lemonade Pet Insurance Review (2024): Policy Options & What's Covered
Pets have always been an important part of many American families. Yet, I don’t think I’d ever really considered the idea of purchasing insurance for a dog or cat until I learned that Lemonade was adding such an option. Cut to a mere month after when my wife and I...
Quick Tips