The pet insurance reimbursement rate is the percentage of your covered vet bill that your insurer pays back after you meet your annual deductible. Most U.S. carriers offer three choices: 70%, 80%, or 90%. Each step up costs roughly 10–15% more in monthly premium. Each step up also reduces what you pay out of pocket when a claim arrives. Choosing the right tier is less about finding the «best» rate in the abstract and more about running the math for your specific budget and your pet’s risk profile.
This guide explains exactly how the pet insurance reimbursement rate calculation works, shows the real dollar difference at each tier across common claim sizes, and gives a clear framework for choosing between 70%, 80%, and 90%.
How the reimbursement calculation actually works
The math behind reimbursement is straightforward. After you meet your annual deductible, the insurer pays your chosen reimbursement percentage of every eligible bill for the rest of the policy year.
The formula: (vet bill − annual deductible) × reimbursement rate = amount reimbursed
Using a $500 annual deductible and a $3,500 CCL surgery bill as an example:
- $3,500 − $500 deductible = $3,000 eligible
- At 70%: $3,000 × 0.70 = $2,100 reimbursed, $900 you pay (plus the $500 deductible already met)
- At 80%: $3,000 × 0.80 = $2,400 reimbursed, $600 you pay
- At 90%: $3,000 × 0.90 = $2,700 reimbursed, $300 you pay
Importantly, because the deductible resets annually rather than per claim, a second covered claim in the same policy year has no deductible applied. The full bill is reimbursed at your chosen rate immediately — making years with multiple incidents more valuable than single-claim years.
One terminology clarification that trips up most owners
Pet insurance reimbursement is not the same as a co-pay. In human health insurance, a co-pay is a fixed dollar amount paid per visit (e.g., «$30 per office visit»). In pet insurance, you pay the full bill upfront and receive a percentage back afterward. According to Wrisor’s 2026 reimbursement analysis, the portion you keep paying — 30%, 20%, or 10% of each eligible bill — is technically called «co-insurance,» not a co-pay. However, most owners and carriers use the terms interchangeably. The key distinction is that your out-of-pocket exposure scales with the size of the bill, not as a fixed flat fee per visit.
The real cost difference between 70%, 80%, and 90%
Premium impact
According to Smart Pet Insure’s 2026 pricing data, the premium difference between reimbursement tiers is consistent across carriers:
- 90% vs. 80%: approximately 12–15% higher premium for 90%
- 80% vs. 70%: approximately 12–15% higher premium for 80%
- 90% vs. 70%: approximately 25–30% higher premium overall
In dollar terms, for a typical adult mixed-breed dog policy at $45/month for 80% reimbursement:
- Moving to 70% saves roughly $5–$7/month ($60–$84/year)
- Moving to 90% costs roughly $6–$8/month more ($72–$96/year)
Claim impact: the real math across different bill sizes
The following table shows out-of-pocket costs at each reimbursement tier, using a $500 annual deductible (already met) for clarity:
| Vet bill | At 70% (you pay 30%) | At 80% (you pay 20%) | At 90% (you pay 10%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 (ear infection, minor illness) | $150 | $100 | $50 |
| $1,500 (urinary blockage) | $450 | $300 | $150 |
| $3,500 (CCL surgery) | $1,050 | $700 | $350 |
| $6,000 (bloat/GDV surgery) | $1,800 | $1,200 | $600 |
| $10,000 (cancer treatment) | $3,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 |
The dollar gap between 80% and 90% grows with the bill size. On a $500 claim, the difference is just $50. On a $10,000 cancer claim, the difference is $1,000. Consequently, owners whose main concern is catastrophic protection benefit most from the 90% tier — while owners whose pets are unlikely to generate large individual claims can reasonably choose 80% or even 70%.
Which reimbursement rate is right for your situation
Choose 80% if:
This is the right choice for most pet owners. As Wrisor’s 2026 analysis concludes, for most pet profiles 80% is the optimal balance — the premium savings of dropping to 70% are meaningful (~12%), but every claim costs noticeably more out of pocket. Meanwhile, 90% costs another 12–15% in premium for what amounts to incremental improvement on most individual claims.
At 80%, the monthly savings over 90% ($6–$8/month) compound over a year to $72–$96 — enough to cover the co-insurance gap on a modest claim. For healthy pets with low expected claim frequency, 80% consistently outperforms 90% when measured across a multi-year premium horizon.
Choose 90% if:
A $200–$300 out-of-pocket co-pay on a mid-sized claim would genuinely strain your monthly budget. For owners with limited financial cushion, the predictability of a 10% co-pay is worth the premium cost. Additionally, 90% makes the most sense for breeds with elevated lifetime healthcare costs — Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bernese Mountain Dogs — where the probability of multiple large claims over a decade is high enough that the premium cost is repaid in reduced co-insurance.
Furthermore, Pumpkin and Trupanion only offer 90% — they don’t give you a choice. If you’re selecting either of those carriers, this decision is already made for you.
Choose 70% if:
You have $3,000–$5,000 in a dedicated, accessible pet emergency fund and want to minimize monthly cash outflow. At 70%, the premium savings ($60–$84/year over 80%) can be redirected to that fund. However, as Insure-Your-Pet’s 2025 reimbursement analysis notes, 70% works financially only when you genuinely have the cash reserves to cover the 30% co-insurance on a large claim — $1,800 on a $6,500 bloat surgery is a meaningful out-of-pocket commitment.
The 70% tier also makes more sense for accident-only plans, where the expected bill size per incident (lacerations, minor fractures) tends to be lower than illness-related claims like cancer or chronic disease management.
The interaction between reimbursement rate and deductible — which lever matters more
This is the most underappreciated point in pet insurance configuration. According to Wrisor’s analysis, owners tend to obsess over 80% vs. 90% while ignoring the deductible decision — which typically has a larger impact on lifetime cost.
Consider the comparison: moving from a $250 deductible to a $500 deductible saves 10–15% on the premium (according to Smart Pet Insure’s 2026 data). Moving from 90% to 80% reimbursement also saves 12–15%. In dollar terms, both changes save a similar amount on premium. However, the deductible saving is more predictable — you pay the deductible once per year regardless of claim size, whereas the reimbursement rate affects every dollar of every claim above that threshold.
In practice, the configuration that delivers the best financial outcome for most owners is: $500 deductible + 80% reimbursement + $10,000–unlimited annual limit. This combination minimizes the premium (vs. $250 deductible + 90%) while maintaining meaningful protection against the large claims that represent the real financial risk.
What carriers offer at each tier
Not every carrier offers all three reimbursement options. The table below summarizes what’s available in 2026:
| Carrier | Reimbursement options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% | Most flexibility; 60% available for maximum budget savings |
| Embrace | 70%, 80%, 90% | Standard three-tier options |
| Spot | 70%, 80%, 90% | Standard three-tier |
| ASPCA | 70%, 80%, 90% | Standard three-tier |
| Pets Best | 70%, 80%, 90% | Standard three-tier; direct pay option on Elite |
| Figo | 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% | Only carrier offering 100% reimbursement option |
| Pumpkin | 90% only | No lower tier available |
| Trupanion | 90% only | No lower tier available |
| Healthy Paws | 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% | Widest range; 50% for maximum premium reduction |
| MetLife | 70%, 80%, 90% | Standard three-tier |
Figo is notable for offering 100% reimbursement — meaning you receive the full eligible amount after the deductible with no co-insurance. This comes with the highest premium at that tier and is worth evaluating for owners who want zero out-of-pocket exposure on covered claims.
The one thing reimbursement rate doesn’t control
It’s worth clarifying what the reimbursement rate does not affect: the annual limit. These are independent variables. Your annual limit caps total reimbursement per year regardless of your reimbursement percentage. A 90% reimbursement rate on a $5,000 annual limit plan still stops paying after $5,000 in reimbursements — the 90% applies within that cap, not above it.
For owners whose primary concern is catastrophic protection (cancer, chronic disease, multi-surgery years), increasing the annual limit from $10,000 to unlimited typically provides more financial security than moving from 80% to 90% reimbursement. At $10,000 of total annual claims, the difference between 80% and 90% reimbursement is $1,000. An unlimited limit, by contrast, removes the ceiling entirely for conditions that can generate $20,000–$60,000 in multi-year treatment costs.
For a full comparison of carriers including their reimbursement options, deductible ranges, and annual limits, see our best pet insurance guide for 2026. For a breakdown of what those reimbursements actually pay back on real claims, see our real claim examples article.
Sources cited in this article: Wrisor — Pet Insurance Reimbursement: 70% vs 80% vs 90% (June 2026); Smart Pet Insure — Pet Insurance Costs 2026; Insure-Your-Pet — Pet Insurance Reimbursement Rates 70% vs 80% vs 90%; Pet Insurance Quotes — Reimbursement 101; U.S. News — How Much Is Pet Insurance?; PetCostIQ — Pet Insurance Reimbursement Calculator; Bankrate — Best Pet Insurance Companies 2026.