Trupanion Pet Insurance California Review

Part of the Trupanion review · Pet insurance in California

Trupanion inCACaliforniaChange 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.

Trupanion is administered by Trupanion Managers USA, Inc. and underwritten in California by American Pet Insurance Company. At filed rates the French Bulldog costs $196 a month at age 2 and $196 at age 12; the 15-year total is $35,228.[1] The last approved increase was +19.0%, against +28.1% requested, effective 19 Jul 2026.[1]

Coverage

Rules and Rate Manual effective 19 July 2026 (CDI file 25-2461): dogs and cats under 14 years old are eligible; the youngest age band in the filing's rating samples is '8 weeks to 12 months old' (the samples were prepared for the original request; the manual itself sets no minimum age). Coinsurance 50–100%, deductible $0–$2,500. Exam fee coverage is not offered on the main Trupanion plan. Recovery and Complementary Care (dog factor 1.211) is included in new policies unless declined at enrollment. One-time $35 membership fee for the first pet. The exam-day offer (Veterinary Examination Program: 90%, $250 deductible, enrollment within 24 hours of a vet exam or of taking the pet home from a shelter or breeder) gives 8.33% off the first year's premium and waives the standard waiting periods, but the manual does not state their length, so waiting days and coverage flags are left blank.

Scores in California [sort by any column · click a brand for the breakdown]

Scores in 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 →
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.

Why these scores

D. Rate increases 5.7
Filing 25-2461 raised California rates 19.0% from 19 July 2026 (requested 28.1%, indicated 21.2%). The filing does not give the share of policies at +30% or more for the approved version: its dislocation exhibit kept the policy counts computed for the 28.1% request, and the approved rate information reports individual changes from -5.5% to +53.4%.
E. Price structure 8.0
The rate formula in filing 25-2461 has no tenure or claims-history factor, and its only discount, 8.33% off the first year under the exam-day offer, does not depend on claims; but Trupanion offers no multi-pet discount and its website quote expires at midnight Pacific time on the day it is issued.
F. Customer treatment no data
APIC's California statistical data in filing 25-2461 show 0 policies non-renewed in 2024. The filing's countrywide expense data list fines and penalties of $11,159 (2022), $142,836 (2023) and $17,381 (2024) without naming a regulator or a reason; the regulator documents we have read contain no fine against APIC. Maine docket INS-23-800 (2023) was a disapproval of an APIC policy form, appealed by the company, not a penalty.

How each scale is computed: methodology.[2]

Price by age

From filing 25-2461, effective 19 Jul 2026, priced at the unlimited limit. 15-year total $35,228 at today's filed rates.[1]

All numbers: Trupanion, monthly premium by age
Trupanion: monthly premium by age, french bulldog, male, enrolled at 0, $1,000 deductible, 90%, unlimited limit, filed rates effective 19 Jul 2026
Age$/month$/year
0$196$2,349
1$196$2,349
2$196$2,349
3$196$2,349
4$196$2,349
5$196$2,349
6$196$2,349
7$196$2,349
8$196$2,349
9$196$2,349
10$196$2,349
11$196$2,349
12$196$2,349
13$196$2,349
14$196$2,349
Total over 15 years$35,228

Compared with other brands in California

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

Rate filings

Trupanion's own figures where one filing sets different increases for different brands; the California page lists each filing's headline figures.

FilingEffectiveStatusRequestedApprovedIndicatedLoss ratioPermissible LRSource
25-246119 Jul 2026approved+28.1%+19.0%+21.2%73% actual (2025)63%source [1]
Notes on these filings (1)
  1. 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.

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.↑Pet Insurance Wiki, Rating methodology, version 1. methodology

History

  1. Added how Trupanion sets prices (71% payout target, age locked at enrollment, the actuary's premium trend), the full California rate history since 2017, retention and revenue per pet from the 2025 10-K, the 2024 shareholder letter, and the list of Florida filings; linked the new case on the locked age factor
  2. Corrected the policyholder count to one figure, 94,327 from the summary of filing 25-2461 (its dislocation exhibit totals 94,326); stated that the nine increases since 2017 compound to +294.9%; named the California Department of Insurance as the source of the 19.0% indication
  3. Florida: no longer show Insurify's +12.9% as the approved change in filing 25-043052, since it does not come from the filing and its attribution is uncertain; added APIC filings 24-108678 (informational) and 26-021802 (withdrawn) to the Florida list; added BBB and Trustpilot ratings checked on 13 October 2026
  4. Corrected the 2026 California increase to the approved +19.0% (the company had asked for +28.1%); noted that the filing's customer-dislocation counts were computed for the original request, not the approved change; noted that $195.71 excludes the Recovery and Complementary Care rider and that the manual has an 8.33% first-year discount under the exam-day offer; dated the loss ratio to the year ending 30 September 2025
  5. First published from California filing 25-2461 and the Florida OIR list of APIC filings