Pet insurance cost by breed: cheapest and most expensive breeds to insure

At the same insurer, the most expensive of our 14 reference breeds costs 2.5 to 4.6 times as much as the cheapest over 15 years. In Florida, a Chihuahua puppy costs $8,373 over 15 years at Pets Best; a Bernese Mountain Dog costs $108,632 at Pumpkin. Below: where the gap comes from, why it grows as the dog ages, and how to price your own dog.

What 14 breeds cost

The table shows the total premium over 15 years for a puppy insured before its first birthday, at the cheapest and at the most expensive brand in the state. The last column shows how many times the price of a small mixed breed the same brand charges. Future rate increases are not included: these are today’s approved rates.

The same calculation for California:

The cheapest breeds to insure are the Chihuahua, the small mixed breed, the Yorkshire Terrier and the Dachshund. The most expensive are the Bernese Mountain Dog, the English and French Bulldogs and the Rottweiler. In Florida, a French Bulldog costs 2.4 to 3.7 times as much as a small mixed breed at the same brand; in California, 2.0 to 3.4 times.

The full breed tables spread even wider. Trupanion’s California filing (25-2461, Exhibit 15, Table 3) lists 362 dog breeds and mixed-breed groups, from 0.616 for the Chihuahua to 3.030 for the Bullmastiff: 4.9 times. The French Bulldog, at 2.085, is 26th from the top. In Lemonade’s California manual (23-3248), a Chihuahua mix is 0.5753, a French Bulldog 2.0630, and a Saint Bernard and a Bullmastiff 2.5130 each.

Why breed changes the price: claims

A breed factor reflects how much the insurer pays out for dogs of that breed. Trupanion shows this directly. Its California filing 25-2461 (Exhibit 15, Table 3) lists claims paid per dog per month in 2022–2024, adjusted for age, deductible and location:

• Great Dane: $247.84
• Bernese Mountain Dog: $212.86
• Rottweiler: $193.19
• French Bulldog: $175.47
• English Bulldog: $150.13
• mixed breed under 20 pounds: $51.83
• Chihuahua: $47.28
• Shih Tzu: $46.65
• Jack Russell Terrier: $44.13

Among the 69 breeds with at least 5,000 dog-months of data, the French Bulldog has the sixth-highest claims. Trupanion has 84,466 dog-months and 18,656 claims for it. It costs the insurer 3.7 times as much as a Chihuahua, while its factor is 3.4 times higher. Insurers move factors toward claims in steps. By Trupanion’s own calculation the French Bulldog should be 2.202; the filing sets 2.085, up from 1.980. The Chihuahua should be 0.597; the filing sets 0.616, down from 0.672.

Why the gap grows with age

At some insurers, breed sets not only the price level but also how fast the price climbs.

• Breed is a fixed multiplier. This is how Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA (underwriter Independence American, IAIC) and Trupanion work. The ratio between breeds stays the same, but the gap in dollars grows with the price. At Pumpkin in Florida, a French Bulldog costs $95 a month more than a small mixed breed in the first year and $373 more at age 10. Trupanion fixes the age factor on the day you enroll, so at approved rates the gap stays at $128 a month.
• Each breed group has its own age curve. Pets Best in Florida (26-026451) sorts breeds by expected life, from EL08 to EL19+. The French Bulldog is EL12, the small mixed breed EL14, the Rottweiler and Bernese Mountain Dog EL09, the English Bulldog EL10. At age 8, the age factor is 3.3319 for EL09 and 1.8040 for EL14. So a French Bulldog costs 3.3 times as much as a small mixed breed in the first year and 4.5 times at age 10. After 12 the bulldog’s curve stops rising, and by 14 the ratio is back to 3.2.
• Groups A to L at Lemonade. In Florida (26-034247), the Rottweiler and Bernese Mountain Dog are in group B: the age factor is 3.41 at age 8 and 4.4154 from age 9. The small mixed breed is in group G: 1.95 at age 8, 4.9396 at 13. A French Bulldog costs 2.25 times as much as a small mixed breed in the first year and 3.05 times at age 10.
• A breed-by-age table at Fetch. In California (25-2417), the factor for group 25, which includes the French Bulldog, rises from 1.975 for a puppy to 13.943 at age 12: 7.1 times. For group 3 (Chihuahua and small mixed breed) it rises from 0.723 to 3.957: 5.5 times.

Large and short-lived breeds get expensive earlier, because they start having serious illnesses earlier. So compare policies by the total over the dog’s life, not by the first year’s price (see how to choose pet insurance).

Breed groups at Independence American

Pumpkin, Spot and ASPCA do not give every breed its own factor. In California (25-613), breeds fall into ten groups with factors from 0.613 to 1.823. The French Bulldog and Rottweiler are in group 9 (1.607); the English Bulldog and Bernese Mountain Dog in group 10. Florida (26-024273) works differently: 14 shared groups, D1 to D14 (0.658 to 2.552), plus 55 groups for single breeds and mixes with a factor of their own. The French Bulldog there is group 1, at 1.771.

Check the name your dog is listed under: the group depends on it. In IAIC’s Florida manual, “English Bulldog” is 2.227 (group 10), while a separate “Bulldog” entry is 1.735 (D11). At Pets Best in Florida the two are 2.4906 and 1.7933. At Fetch in California, English Bulldog is group 24 and Bulldog group 27.

Mixed breeds: each insurer draws its own weight bands

A mixed breed is priced by its adult weight, but insurers set the weight bands differently:

• Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCA in Florida (26-024273): up to 10 pounds, 11–25, 26–50, 51–100, over 100. In California (25-613): up to 12, 13–25, 26–50, 51–100, over 100.
• Pets Best in Florida (26-026451): up to 20 pounds, 20–55, 55–90, over 90.
• Lemonade: up to 20 pounds, over 20 to 55, over 55 (Florida 26-034247, California 23-3248).
• MetLife in California (25-2234): under 20 pounds, 20–70, over 70.
• Fetch in California (25-2417): up to 22 pounds, 23–70, 71 and over.
• Trupanion in California (25-2461): under 20 pounds, 20–55, 55–90, 90 and over.
• Embrace in California (26-812, not yet approved): under 10 pounds, 11–30, 31–50, 51–90, over 90.

A 60-pound dog is a large mix at Pets Best, Lemonade, Trupanion and Pumpkin, but a medium one at MetLife and Fetch. A 22-pound dog is small at Fetch, Pumpkin and Embrace, but medium at Pets Best, Lemonade, MetLife and Trupanion. In the tables above, “small mixed breed” is each insurer’s lowest weight band (11–25 or 13–25 pounds at IAIC). “Large mixed breed” is the band around 55–90 pounds (51–100 at IAIC, over 70 at MetLife and Fetch).

Price your own dog

Each state page has a “Your dog” control. Choose the breed and the age at which you enroll, and every price and score on the page is recalculated. Each breed in the tables above links to it, for example a Chihuahua in Florida or a French Bulldog in California.

Sources

• Florida OIR (IRFS) files 26-024273 (Independence American V4: Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCA), 26-026451 (Pets Best), 26-034247 (Lemonade).
• California Department of Insurance files 25-2461 (Trupanion; claims by breed in Exhibit 15, Table 3, experience from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024), 25-613 (Independence American V4), 23-3248 (Lemonade), 25-2234 (MetLife), 25-2417 (Fetch), 26-812 (Embrace, not approved).
• We computed the 15-year totals from these filings’ rate pages for the reference profile: male, enrolled before age 1, ZIP 33545 in Florida and 90001 in California, no annual limit (or the highest offered where there is no unlimited option), $1,000 deductible, 90% reimbursement, monthly payment.