French Bulldogs are rapidly rising in popularity, managing to skyrocket to being one of the most popular dogs just in the last few years. Unfortunately, this breed does have some predisposition to health problems due to their flat faces. What makes this even worse is that many irresponsible backyard breeders have started breeding these dogs to make a profit, often breeding for color or body type without any consideration for the health testing of the parents.

This has resulted in dogs with many health conditions, which makes pet insurance extremely important for this breed. Health insurance can help you better afford medical care when your Frenchie needs it. It’s important to pick the right insurance plan to meet your needs, though. Let’s check out reviews from some of the top pet insurance plans to help you make the right choice for your pet.

A Quick Comparison of the Winners for 2024

The 10 Best French Bulldog Pet Insurance Providers

1. Embrace Pet Insurance – Best Overall

The best overall pet insurance plan for French Bulldogs is Embrace Pet Insurance. This insurance provider often comes out on top because they cover a variety of procedures and conditions that most other insurance companies don’t cover. This includes dental care up to $1,000, which is extremely important for brachycephalic breeds like Frenchies, as well as pre-existing conditions. The catch with pre-existing conditions is that the condition must be curable, and your dog cannot have symptoms or treatment for it in the year before the insurance coverage begins.

Embrace offers add-on plan coverage as well, including grooming services, flea and tick medications, and specific types of training, like behavioral training. Unlike many insurance providers, Embrace also offers an add-on plan for coverage of preventative wellness care. You can save money on your plan because Embrace offers a discount of $50 off your deductible for every year the insurance is not needed.

If you want to feel even better about giving Embrace your money, they make a donation of $2 to pet charities for money spent on their policies.

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2. Lemonade Pet Insurance – Best Value

If you’re looking for a pet insurance plan that won’t break the bank, Lemonade is the best value out there. Their coverage extends anywhere in the US, so you can get coverage no matter where you live. With fully customizable deductibles and reimbursements, you can build your Lemonade plan to suit your budget, no matter how tight. If you’re interested in paying an extra fee every month, you will be able to use their veterinary helpline.

Even for the most basic plan offered by Lemonade, you can expect coverage of procedures, diagnostic testing, and prescriptions. If you have the budget for extras, there are add-on plans available for preventative wellness care as well as dental care, which is difficult to find. There are specialized plans available just for puppies to cover things like vaccinations, deworming, and other care that baby pups need.

One downside of using Lemonade, though, is that you only have 14 days after the start of coverage to make changes to your plan. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make changes until your annual renewal.

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3. ASPCA Pet Insurance

Not only does the ASPCA now offer pet insurance, but they also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on their plans, so if you aren’t satisfied with the coverage, you may be able to request your money back. You also have the option to customize your deductible and reimbursement rates to best fit your budget, while multi-pet discounts can help save you money as well. They also offer coverage across the US and Canada.

The Complete Coverage Plan offered by ASPCA is their most popular plan, and for good reason. This plan is comprehensive, covering everything from injuries and illnesses to inherited conditions, which is becoming extremely important for Frenchies.

This plan also offers dental coverage. ASPCA does offer another plan that is less expensive and that covers accidental injuries and the ingestion of toxins and foreign bodies. With either plan, you will be able to add a wellness plan to your coverage.

The reimbursements that ASPCA offers are based on a fee schedule, which is a downside for many. This means that they will reimburse you based on their set value of a service and not necessarily what you spent.

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 4. Fetch Pet Insurance

While Fetch Pet Insurance only offers one pet insurance plan, this plan does cover a variety of types of care. It covers dental care, emergency visits, and breed-specific conditions, which is important for French Bulldogs and all brachycephalic breeds. Their coverage is available in the US and Canada, and they offer up to 90% reimbursement.

Another coverage that Fetch offers that many other companies don’t is their coverage of pets of all ages, including seniors. The cost of your plan will vary based on the age of your pet, though. Fetch does not cover any type of wellness or preventative care at this time. This is because they believe that insurance’s primary purpose should be to cover unexpected expenses, not routine expenses.

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5. Trupanion Pet Insurance

A standout in the pet insurance industry, Trupanion Pet Insurance offers something that nobody else offers, and that is payments sent directly to the vet. This does require the vet to have Trupanion’s software, but as long as they have the software, this can keep you from having to spend the full cost out of pocket at the time of service. You can also expect customizable deductibles and reimbursement rates with Trupanion.

You can choose coverage from multiple plan options, with some base plans covering breed-specific conditions. The variety of add-on plans offered by Trupanion includes coverage of prosthetics, alternative therapies, and hospitalizations.

Make sure to read the list of all covered procedures because some alternative therapies have restricted coverage. Currently, they do not offer any coverage of preventative wellness care or any exam fees, including those associated with other types of coverage, like hospitalizations and emergency care.

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6. MetLife Pet Insurance

If you’re looking for a highly customizable pet insurance, MetLife Pet Insurance is a good option because they offer customizable deductibles, reimbursements, and annual payout maximums. To better help you budget, they also offer the option to pay your plan monthly or make one lump sum payment annually.

Purchasing your plan directly through the MetLife website will provide you with a small discount. Wellness plans are available as an add-on to MetLife’s other plans. Unfortunately, they do not offer coverage of any type of grooming service, even grooming performed for a medical reason and medicated baths.

Make sure to check with your employer to see if they offer pet insurance coverage because they may be partnered with MetLife, which frequently partners with businesses, and provide a discount. MetLife also offers discounts to military personnel and veterans and animal care workers, including vets and shelter employees.

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7. Progressive Pet Insurance

A great feature offered by Progressive Pet Insurance’s plans is the option to choose your annual coverage limit, from as low as $5,000 to an unlimited coverage limit.  You can also customize your deductible and reimbursement rates. Currently, Progressive offers three different plans you can choose from.

Each of Progressive’s plans is designed to suit a variety of budgets, and they also offer wellness add-on plans with multiple options to choose from. However, the wellness add-ons do have an annual coverage limit, even if your primary plan is an unlimited coverage plan.

A nice benefit offered by Progressive is partnering with employers to provide discounted pet insurance. In some cases, they will even let you pay via payroll deduction.

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8. USAA Pet Insurance

If you’re a USAA member, you can expect a discount through USAA Pet Insurance. If you aren’t a USAA member, you can still get coverage through them, but it may not be discounted. With USAA, you can expect coverage of multiple things, including alternative therapies, emergency visits, prescriptions, surgical procedures, and breed-specific conditions.

With USAA, you can select wellness add-on options if needed, and they will give you a $50 deductible discount for every year your dog doesn’t require the use of the insurance coverage. You can also get your dog aged 14 and above pet insurance coverage, but this coverage is restricted to accident-only care coverage. Younger dogs have the benefit of the full availability of all plans. It’s also important to know that USAA will not cover injuries that occurred intentionally from people or other animals in the home, so fights with pets in the home are typically not covered.

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9. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance is a good option for Frenchie owners because their base plans cover genetic conditions, as well as alternative therapies. They offer an unlimited care payout limit, so you don’t have to worry about spending too much on your pup’s care. They also offer an annual deductible, while most companies only offer a per-spend deductible.

At this time, Healthy Paws does not offer any preventative care coverage. They will cover injuries to cruciate ligaments, but they will not cover any cruciate ligament injuries if your dog has had a cruciate ligament injury in the past or anytime in the 15-day waiting period between when your plan is set up and the coverage begins.

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10. Nationwide Pet Insurance

Nationwide Pet Insurance is a good option if you’re not looking for a lot of things to pick through since they only offer two base plans. Their Major Medical plan offers accident and illness coverage, and the Whole Pet plan covers the same things as the Major Medical plan, as well as prescriptions, procedures, and diagnostic testing. This plan also offers reimbursement as a percentage of your spending, while the Major Medical plan and two wellness add-on plans only offer reimbursements on a fee schedule.

The Whole Pet plan’s reimbursement rate is customizable based on your budget. There is also the option of paying an additional fee for access to a vet helpline. All of the Nationwide plans offer coverage for dogs up to age 10. After that, the service will not be discontinued for dogs already on the plan, but dogs over 10 cannot be signed up for a Nationwide plan.

At this time, Nationwide only offers reimbursements via mailed check with no digital payment option available.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Pet Insurance Provider for Your French Bulldog

What to Look for in Pet Insurance for French Bulldogs

When it comes to insurance coverage for your French Bulldog, you’ll want to find something that offers coverage of everything that Frenchies are prone to, like problems with their airway and nostrils, dental disease, skin infections, allergies, and mobility problems.

This is especially important if your pup came from a backyard breeder, someone breeding for color or looks, or a breeder who didn’t perform all recommended health testing on their dogs before breeding them.

Policy Coverage

There are a ton of different combinations of coverage between different companies and each of their plans. It’s important to find coverage, at minimum, for things like genetic or breed-specific problems. Dental care coverage is a great addition to a plan, and while coverage of things like alternative therapies and prosthetics is uncommon, they are available if you foresee any potential chance of your dog needing these types of coverage.

Customer Service & Reputation

You want to feel like you can trust your pet insurance company, especially when your dog is sick or you’re having reimbursement issues and you’re having to reach out to them for assistance. A company that doesn’t make you feel like your concerns are being heard isn’t likely to be a company you will feel like you can trust in the long term.

If it makes you feel more comfortable, it might be a good idea to reach out to the customer service representatives for each of the companies you’re interested in to get a feel for how they treat their customers.

Claim Repayment

The whole purpose of having pet insurance is to have financial help with covering your dog’s medical care. If you’re dealing with a company that isn’t prompt in processing claims or returning repayments, then that company isn’t fulfilling their end of the bargain to cover your dog’s healthcare needs.

However, it’s also important for you to thoroughly read through your dog’s policy coverage and understand what types of care and services will and won’t be covered.

Price Of Policy

Everything is going up in price with no end in sight, making it difficult to afford even basic necessities sometimes. This makes the price of your dog’s insurance policy of great importance for two reasons.

The first is that you need to be able to afford the premiums for the policy. The second is that you need to be able to pay for any care that your dog needs that your policy doesn’t cover, along with the percentage you’ll be required to pay for the deductible.

There is a fine balance between choosing a plan that will cost you more up front but save you more when your dog needs care or a plan that costs less up front but offers less comprehensive coverage.

Plan Customization

Customization of different parts of your dog’s insurance policy is a great way to make the policy the right price for your needs. Many companies will allow you to customize your deductible, annual payout limits, and premiums, with some allowing full customization of all three.

It’s also a good idea to choose a plan that allows you customization of the care that will be covered. While you won’t be able to pick and choose specific coverage, you will be able to select base and add-on plans that provide coverage of the things that you feel are most important for your dog.

FAQ

Will my dog’s pet insurance cover international travel?

Some policies do offer international coverage if your dog travels with you. Not all of them offer this, though, so it’s essential that you check your policy thoroughly before assuming that your policy will cover care in countries outside of the US.

Do I have to pay my full vet bill upfront?

In most situations, you’ll be responsible for paying the bill directly to your vet. You will then submit paperwork for the claim to your insurance company. They will process the claim and repay you for their portion of the coverage. Trupanion is the exception to this since they do offer direct-to-vet payments in some circumstances.

Will my dog’s pre-existing conditions be covered?

It’s extremely unlikely that your dog’s pre-existing conditions and all care related to them will be covered. Most companies will not cover any type of pre-existing condition, but some, like Embrace, do offer coverage of pre-existing conditions as long as they are curable conditions that your dog has not had symptoms of or received treatment for within the year before coverage starts.

Are genetic conditions covered?

Genetic conditions and birth defects can be hit or miss with coverage. Some companies may consider these things to be pre-existing conditions, which likely won’t be covered. However, some companies do place genetic conditions, birth defects, and breed-specific conditions into a separate category from pre-existing conditions, allowing coverage of them.

What the Users Say

Sometimes, knowing what other people are saying about different pet insurance companies can help you choose the right company and coverage for your Frenchie. For example, Embrace has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, which is a testament to their high-quality coverage and customer service.

Lemonade is a great company for people needing pet insurance on a tight budget, and many people report loving how easy Lemonade makes it for laypeople to understand the basic ins and outs of insurance coverage.

People who have MetLife Pet Insurance coverage regularly report their love of how customizable their plans are, as well as the fact that they offer two different payment options.

Which Pet Insurance Provider Is Best for You?

There is no right or wrong answer when choosing an insurance company and policy for your French Bulldog. You should be looking for the companies that are most likely to cover medical conditions that Frenchies, as a whole, are prone to developing.

You should also choose a company with coverage that is specific to your dog’s needs and your area. For example, if you live somewhere with poor air quality, then you’ll know that your dog is more likely to have respiratory issues than a dog in an area with better air quality. This lets you know that finding a policy that covers a variety of respiratory problems and procedures is likely something your dog will benefit from.

Conclusion

While there are many great pet insurance companies for your French Bulldog on the market, Embrace is top dog, thanks to its great coverage and customer service. Lemonade is a wonderful company that offers budget-friendly pet insurance resources to people, while MetLife is a great company for having payment options, as well as potentially receiving discounts through your employer.

As the pet insurance industry has grown, many people have begun to see the value in this type of service. For people who own French Bulldogs, pet insurance can be a lifesaver for their dog and their bank account. Pet care can be pricey, but pet insurance policies will help you get your furry friend the best care available.

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Featured Image Credit: Hryshchyshen Serhii, Shutterstock