How pet insurance pricing really works

From Pet Insurance Wiki · last updated 15 Oct 2026 from public rate filings
Prices and ratings forFLFloridaChange 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 IRFS, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation'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 Embrace, Fetch, Figo, Healthy Paws, MetLife, Nationwide and Trupanion are drafts: we have not read their Florida rate pages yet.[c] 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, Florida approved all three rate filings: one exactly as requested, two slightly below the request[1][2][3][b]. The same French Bulldog costs between $33,190 and $81,645 over 15 years depending on the brand[5][a].

Our position [click a thesis for the evidence]

  1. [1][2][3]

    Age tables grow every year until 12–14. Nobody quotes you year 12.
    4.6–5.4×
    age 12 vs age 2
    Evidence from the filings
    At filed rates the French Bulldog costs $71/mo at Pets Best at age 2 and $346 at age 12; Lemonade $119 → $544; Spot $135 → $724; ASPCA $145 → $782; Pumpkin $155 → $834. That is before any approved increase is added on top.
    Price-by-age tables, filings 26-026451, 26-034247, 26-024273

  2. [1][2][3]

    In 2026, Florida approved all three rate filings: one exactly as requested, two slightly below the request.
    3 of 3
    approved
    Evidence from the filings
    Requested vs approved: Pets Best +27.4% / +24.4%, Lemonade +23.0% / +22.0%, ASPCA +12.8% / +12.8%, Spot +12.5% / +12.5%, Pumpkin +31.3% / +31.3%. Budget for 10–30% a year, not inflation.
    IRFS, 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. Every brand rated here lets curable conditions return to coverage.
    Policy forms, pre-existing condition clauses

  4. Online quotes can run on an old rate manual for weeks.
    38.8%
    Pets Best quote gap
    Evidence from the filings
    Pets Best: The 26-026451 manual has no tenure factor, no claims-based discount, a $2 installment fee and a 5% multi-pet discount, but on 8 October 2026 the website still quoted the December 2025 manual; for 90% reimbursement with no limit the approved rate is 38.8% higher than that quote. You sign at the quoted price and renew at the filed one.
    Website quote checks

  5. [5]

    The same dog, the same coverage, a 2.5× gap in lifetime cost.
    $48,455
    cheapest vs priciest
    Evidence from the filings
    Fifteen-year total at today's filed rates: Pets Best $33,190, Lemonade $52,847, Spot $70,929, ASPCA $76,600, Pumpkin $81,645. Here the cheapest brand in year one is also the cheapest overall, but the gap widens every year.
    Lifetime cost, reference profile, Florida

Approved rate increases, 2026

3 filings on file for 2026. Florida approved all three rate filings: one exactly as requested, two slightly below the request.

Renewal estimates below are for $100 a month today.

  • Pets BestFiling 26-026451[1]Effective 2 Sep 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +24.4%
    Requested+27.4%
    Approved+24.4%
    Indicated+60.5%
    Next renewal$124/mo
    If repeated 3 years$193/mo
    Loss ratio 94% projected vs 59% permissible
    +36.1 pts owedTheir actuary indicated more than was approved. Expect another increase.
  • LemonadeFiling 26-034247[2]Effective 18 Nov 2026
    PARTLY APPROVED
    +22.0%
    Requested+23.0%
    Approved+22.0%
    Indicated+23.7%
    Next renewal$122/mo
    If repeated 3 years$182/mo
    Loss ratio 83% projected vs 65% permissible
  • ASPCAFiling 26-024273[3]Effective 1 Oct 2026
    APPROVED IN FULL
    +12.8%
    Requested+12.8%
    Approved+12.8%
    Indicated+12.8%
    Next renewal$113/mo
    If repeated 3 years$144/mo
    Loss ratio 67% projected vs 60% permissible[b]
  • SpotFiling 26-024273[3]Effective 1 Oct 2026
    APPROVED IN FULL
    +12.5%
    Requested+12.5%
    Approved+12.5%
    Indicated+12.5%
    Next renewal$113/mo
    If repeated 3 years$142/mo
    Loss ratio 67% projected vs 60% permissible[b]
  • PumpkinFiling 26-024273[3]Effective 1 Oct 2026
    APPROVED IN FULL
    +31.3%
    Requested+31.3%
    Approved+31.3%
    Indicated+50.1%
    Next renewal$131/mo
    If repeated 3 years$226/mo
    Loss ratio 90% projected vs 60% permissible[b]
    +18.8 pts owedTheir actuary indicated more than was approved. Expect another increase.

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

Ratings, Florida: 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.
110.03.010.01.88.0n/d6.4$33,1907.5
Score breakdown for Pets Best
A. Lifetime cost10.0
B. Age curve3.0
C. Generosity (loss ratio)10.0
D. Rate increases1.8
E. Price structure8.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)7.5
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
26-026451 · +24.4%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.9× ($71 → $346/mo)

Annual formula with no tenure factor and no claims-based discount; a first-year-only discount of 8.33% or 10% applies only to pets under 8 enrolled within 24 hours of a vet exam. The manual caps each age column at the breed's expected-life age, although the EL09, EL11 and EL14 columns rise one or two years longer; $2 per installment; discounts stack to 12% (26-026451). On 8 October 2026 the website quoted the manual effective 2 December 2025, not the one in force since 2 September 2026.

Full Pets Best Florida review →
26.33.29.24.66.0n/d5.7$52,8476.0
Score breakdown for Lemonade
A. Lifetime cost6.3
B. Age curve3.2
C. Generosity (loss ratio)9.2
D. Rate increases4.6
E. Price structure6.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)6.0
Underwriter
Lemonade Insurance Company
Last filing
26-034247 · +22.0%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
4.6× ($119 → $544/mo)

No factor for years insured and no claims-based factor, but the 16.5% rise in the age factor for dogs aged 9 and older applies to renewals only, so a renewing older dog pays more than a new one; $3 per monthly installment; discounts stack up to 20%; multi-pet 10% per policy (filing 26-034247)

Full Lemonade Florida review →
34.31.97.57.95.0n/d5.2$76,6008.8
Score breakdown for ASPCA
A. Lifetime cost4.3
B. Age curve1.9
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.5
D. Rate increases7.9
E. Price structure5.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
26-024273 · +12.8%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
5.4× ($145 → $782/mo)

Same V4 manual as Pumpkin and Spot (PTZ channel base rate $105.94, approved manual FL_20260724): tenure +3.1% per year; healthy-pet 10% only without paid claims; multi-pet 10%; $2 installment fee; $15 enrollment fee

Full ASPCA Florida review →
44.71.97.58.03.0n/d5.1$70,9298.8
Score breakdown for Spot
A. Lifetime cost4.7
B. Age curve1.9
C. Generosity (loss ratio)7.5
D. Rate increases8.0
E. Price structure3.0
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
26-024273 · +12.5%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
5.4× ($135 → $724/mo)

Same V4 program as Pumpkin: tenure +3% per year; healthy-pet 10% only without claims

Full Spot Florida review →
54.11.910.00.3n/dn/d3.7$81,6458.8
Score breakdown for Pumpkin
A. Lifetime cost4.1
B. Age curve1.9
C. Generosity (loss ratio)10.0
D. Rate increases0.3
E. Price structureno data
F. Customer treatmentno data
Coverage (separate)8.8
Underwriter
Independence American Insurance Company
Last filing
26-024273 · +31.3%
Dog
French Bulldog, 15-year cost
Age 12 vs age 2
5.4× ($155 → $834/mo)

Tenure +3% per year; healthy-pet 10% only without claims

Full Pumpkin Florida review →

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

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

F (customer treatment) has no data yet for Florida, 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%.

Florida: 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%
LemonadeLemonade Insurance CompanyFiling 26-034247, p. 7882025$11.7M$8.0M68.5% actualprojected: 83.1%65.0%
Pumpkin, Spot, ASPCAIndependence American Insurance CompanyFiling 26-024273, p. 9102025$38.4M$22.2M57.7% actualprojected: Pumpkin 89.8%, Spot 67.3%, ASPCA 67.5%60.4%
Pets BestIndependence American Insurance CompanyFiling 26-026451, p. 934year to 30 Sep 2025$7.5M$3.9M52.3% actualprojected: 94.4%58.8%

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 Florida at filed rates, before any future increases. Drag the slider to see what you pay at each birthday.

Monthly premium by age for 5 brands in Florida; every number is in the table below the chart.$0$250$500$750$1,000$1,25002468101214

Filed rates: ASPCA, Pumpkin, Spot 26-024273 · Lemonade 26-034247 · Pets Best 26-026451. No rate pages read yet: Embrace, Fetch, Figo, Healthy Paws, MetLife, Nationwide, Trupanion.

All numbers: monthly premium by age, French Bulldog, none (filed rates)
AgeASPCALemonadePets BestPumpkinSpot
0$154$140$78$164$143
1$146$119$71$155$135
2$145$119$71$155$135
3$159$119$71$170$148
4$179$132$79$191$166
5$218$156$96$233$202
6$263$185$116$280$244
7$318$221$145$339$294
8$407$265$180$433$376
9$501$370$219$534$464
10$601$439$283$640$556
11$678$505$318$723$628
12$782$544$346$834$724
13$888$544$346$947$822
14$944$544$346$1,007$874

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 33545.
  2. b.↑Filing 26-024273 sets different increases for different brands. The cards above show each brand's own figures; the references and the filings table show the filing's headline figures.
  3. c.↑No rate pages read yet in Florida for Embrace, Fetch, Figo, Healthy Paws, MetLife, Nationwide and Trupanion. Their pages are drafts and they are not rated.

References

  1. 1.↑Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, IRFS. Independence American Insurance Company, Pets Best, rate filing 26-026451. Effective 2 Sep 2026. Requested +27.4%, approved +24.4%, indicated +60.5%. source
  2. 2.↑Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, IRFS. Lemonade Insurance Company, Lemonade, rate filing 26-034247. Effective 18 Nov 2026. Requested +23.0%, approved +22.0%, indicated +23.7%. source
  3. 3.↑Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, IRFS. Independence American Insurance Company, V4, rate filing 26-024273. Effective 1 Oct 2026. Requested +31.3%, approved +31.3%, indicated +50.1%. source
  4. 4.↑Florida, Fla. Stat. §627.71545 (2025), pet insurance law: disclosure, waiting periods, pre-existing conditions. Summary on this wiki. law summary
  5. 5.↑Pet Insurance Wiki, Rating methodology, version 1. Scales A–F, weights, reference profile. methodology