Trupanion vs. Nationwide Pet Insurance Comparison 2024: Pros, Cons & Verdict

If you’re looking to insure your pets, it’s good practice to shop around. Two policies that you’re bound to find are Trupanion and Nationwide. These two companies insure pets completely differently, making it important that you understand those differences before picking a policy.

Here, we highlight what each pet insurance company offers, explain how each of their plans works, and help you decide which option is right for you.

Trupanion is a pet insurance company that prioritizes creating an easy-to-use and understandable pet insurance policy. You get to pick your own vet, and it has extremely customizable deductibles that enable you to have control over your plan without compromising on coverage.

Trupanion also has a wellness plan that you can use to cover routine expenses, and it has other unique add-ons to give you even more coverage for different events.

The company doesn’t rope you in with low rates and terrible coverage, making it a great choice if you want a simple pet insurance policy with high reimbursement rates.

While Nationwide has some of the best pet insurance rates in the industry and decent coverage, it does pet insurance in its own unique way. It has two different health insurance plans and a wellness plan, which means plenty of options for you. However, the plans themselves are a bit complicated when it comes to understanding exactly what you’re getting, and in many ways, they’re not as comprehensive as other insurance plans out there.

Still, it’s one of the largest names in the insurance industry and the only company that covers birds and other exotic pets in addition to dogs and cats.

Other Top Rated Pet Insurance Companies

Trupanion vs. Nationwide: Plans Available

Trupanion

The Trupanion pet insurance plan is a standard pet insurance policy. It covers just about any condition besides pre-existing ones, and you can pick your own vet and get the coverage that you need. Whether it’s an accident or an illness, Trupanion covers it.

Nationwide

Nationwide has two different pet insurance plans available: “Major Medical” and “Whole Pet.” The “Major Medical” plan covers accidents, illnesses, cancer, and a few hereditary conditions. The “Whole Pet” plan covers all those things and all hereditary conditions.

Trupanion vs. Nationwide: Reimbursements and Deductibles

Trupanion

Trupanion makes its insurance policy simple. It offers 90% reimbursements with all of its plans, and you get to pick your deductible down to the dollar, between $0 and $1,000. It also doesn’t have any maximum lifetime or annual payouts, so you’ll never hit a cap if the worst happens to your pet.

Nationwide

It depends on the exact plan that you pick. With the “Major Medical” plan, there’s a $250 deductible and preset coverage amounts for each condition, making it hard to keep track of. However, the “Whole Pet” plan provides either a 50% or a 70% reimbursement level, and the annual payout tops out at $10,000.

Trupanion vs. Nationwide: Additional Perks

Trupanion

Trupanion has a few different optional add-ons that you can get with your pet insurance. First, there’s a wellness plan covering routine expenses like vet visits and vaccines. Trupanion also offers plans like recovery and complementary care and pet owner assistance.

Those add-ons cover things like boarding fees in case you’re in the hospital, liability coverage for third-party damage, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and more.

Nationwide

The most notable perk that Nationwide offers is its pet wellness package, which covers routine expenses. Its plans cover set limits for routine expenses like vet visits and vaccines. It’s also the only pet insurance company to cover birds and other exotic pets.

Company Verdict: Which One Has the Edge?

Customer Service📞

Edge: Trupanion

Neither Nationwide nor Trupanion has subpar customer service, but without preset coverage limits, it’s easier to use a Trupanion insurance plan. You get to pick your vet, and then you just submit the bill and the company does the rest. With Nationwide, things get more complicated because of its preset coverage limit for specific events.

Price of Plans💲

Edge: Nationwide

If all you’re looking at is the monthly premium, there’s no question that Nationwide has the edge. Their plans cost far less but you’re getting far less coverage. Still, if you don’t have enough money to cover the monthly premium of a Trupanion plan, a Nationwide insurance plan is better than nothing.

Areas of Coverage🌐

Edge: Trupanion

Trupanion covers more conditions and is easier to use; the only exception is that it does not cover exotic pets and birds. However, for dogs and cats, it covers hereditary conditions, alternative treatments, illnesses, accidents, and just about everything else that you can think of. Nationwide doesn’t always cover every hereditary condition that your pet might have.

Perks📱

Edge: Trupanion

Both Trupanion and Nationwide offer a wellness plan covering routine events like vaccines and routine checkups, but Trupanion has better coverage. It also has policy add-ons that can cover events like boarding while you’re in the hospital, acupuncture, physical therapy, and even liability coverage, so it’s clear that it has the edge when it comes to policy perks.

Conclusion

	Trupanion	Nationwide
Our Rating	Our Rating:	Our Rating:
Dental Options	Dental Options:	Dental Options:
Spaying/Neutering	Spaying/Neutering:	Spaying/Neutering:
Multi-Pet Discount	Multi-Pet Discount:	Multi-Pet Discount:
Chronic Conditions	Chronic Conditions:	Chronic Conditions:
	Compare Quotes	Compare Quotes

Unless you’re trying to insure a bird or an exotic pet, Trupanion is the company that you want to go with. Nationwide has lower-priced plans but the coverage is subpar. Not only will it leave you on the hook for half of the bills in many situations, but it also caps your annual coverage limits. Trupanion charges you more for the premium, but once you pay the deductible, it will cover everything and reimburses 90% of the bill. Trupanion is the way to go for pet insurance.