Fetch Pet Insurance Review

Fetch earns bottom-tier ratings in our pet insurance analysis, ranking 15th out of 18 providers overall. Our ratings are based on a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate. The company is worth looking into if your main priority is having a smooth customer experience from buying to managing your policy, but there are better alternatives if you want affordable rates or coverage flexibility.

Below, I'll summarize Fetch's performance at a high-level across coverage, affordability and customer experience.

• Coverage (13th overall): While Fetch has specialized coverages for boarding fees, advertising and reward, vacation cancellation and more in its base plan, it offers limited deductibles, annual limits and reimbursement rates for adjusting your policy to your pet's health needs.
• Affordability (14th overall): Fetch is among the most expensive pet insurers in my evaluation, with an average monthly rate that exceeds the national benchmark by 13%.
• Customer experience (4th overall): Fetch provides simple and convenient processes that push its customer experience rank to the top five. It excels in account servicing and admin support, though its claim submission ease and billing and renewals have issues around additional vet records and unclear communications.

Fetch may be a good option for pet owners who value excellent customer service or want specialized coverages at no extra cost. The insurer may not be worth it for those looking to save on costs or have granular control when customizing their coverage.

• Pet owners looking for top-tier customer service: Ranking fourth for customer experience overall, Fetch offers simple, self-service tools that allow pet owners to buy pet insurance in minutes and manage their policies without major issues.
• Owners who want specialized coverages in the base plan: Fetch offers specialized coverages at no extra cost, with a $1,000 annual sublimit that isn't subject to deductibles or co-insurance, so you get full reimbursement for boarding fees, vacation cancellation, telehealth consultation fees and more.
• Those who need immediate accident coverage: Fetch doesn't impose a waiting period for accidents like falling from a height or stepping on broken glass, which allows energetic breeds and those with active lifestyle to have coverage in place immediately, without waiting for weeks.

• Budget-conscious pet owners: Fetch finishes 14th overall for affordability, with an average rate that lands 13% above the national benchmark, which can make it harder to fit pet insurance into your budget without compromising on coverage.
• Those who want coverage flexibility: Fetch offers limited options for deductibles, reimbursement rates and annual limits, so you won't be able to customize your policy as much according to your pet's risk profile and your budget.

Find out how Fetch compares against other major pet insurance providers to decide which option is right for your particular needs.

Fetch finishes in 15th place for pet insurance coverage due to its limited flexibility for customizing policies. It only offers three deductibles from $300 to $700, reimbursement rates between 70% and 90%, and annual limits up to $15,000, making it harder for owners of purebred pets, which are predisposed to costly hereditary and chronic conditions, to tailor coverage to their expected health needs.

That said, Fetch has a broad base plan that includes specialized coverages for behavioral fees and disorders, telehealth consultation fees, advertising and reward, boarding fees, loss due to theft or straying, vacation cancellation and death from an accident, injury or illness. These coverages have a $1,000 annual sublimit and aren’t subject to deductible and co-insurance, providing financial protection for situations that extend beyond veterinary treatment and that other insurers exclude or charge extra for.

Based on my analysis of Fetch's sample policy, here are some coverage terms worth understanding:

• Prescription medications: Fetch covers veterinarian-prescribed medications used to treat covered accidents and illnesses, including prescriptions for up to a 90-day supply. If you fill your pet's prescription through Fetch's preferred pharmacy, the policy waives your co-pay, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs for pets that need long-term medication, although the deductible still applies.
• Prescription food: Fetch doesn't cover prescription food, even if it's recommended by your veterinarian to treat a covered condition. This exclusion can affect ongoing costs for owners of breeds like Bulldogs, Labrador Retrievers and Persian and Siamese cats, which are predisposed to conditions like kidney disease, urinary issues, diabetes or severe food allergies that often require therapeutic diets for life.
• Waiting period for accidents: Fetch's waiting period language can be difficult to interpret because it distinguishes between accidents, which are covered immediately, and injuries resulting from normal activity, which are subject to a 15-day waiting period, without clearly defining the boundary between the two.
• Waiting period for orthopedic conditions: Fetch imposes a six-month waiting period for orthopedic conditions, though it can be waived if your pet gets a physical examination from a licensed veterinarian within 180 days of enrollment to determine that it doesn’t have any relevant pre-existing conditions.
• Pre-existing conditions: Fetch excludes conditions that showed clinical signs, received treatment or were diagnosed before your policy began or during the waiting period. However, curable pre-existing conditions can become eligible for coverage after one year of being symptom-free.
• Adoption support: Fetch waives the waiting period for several common illnesses affecting newly adopted pets, including kennel cough, upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitis and ringworm, provided the pet was adopted within 30 days before enrollment and the condition is documented during its first veterinary exam. This unique benefit can be valuable for pets adopted from shelters or rescues, where these illnesses are more common.

The table below further breaks down Fetch's coverage options and terms:

*Coverage varies by state and policy terms. Review your policy documents and contact your insurance provider to understand coverage terms, exclusions, limitations and waiting periods before enrollment.

Fetch only offers one optional add-on for routine and preventive care, including vaccinations, dental cleanings and blood tests. Its wellness add-on is more comprehensive than many competitors because it comes in multiple tiers and covers a wider range of preventive services. That said, the reimbursement caps for individual benefits are relatively modest, so they may not cover the full cost of veterinary care.

Learn more about Fetch's coverage add-on below.

Knowing how to reach Fetch's customer service, submit claims, adjust coverage or cancel a policy matters before you enroll, since these processes determine how easy the insurer is to work with once your pet needs care.

Fetch policyholders have an average pet insurance cost of $70 per month, with the company ranking 12th for affordability out of 18 insurers. This rate is based on a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever with a $500 deductible, $5,000 annual limit and 80% reimbursement. As a mid-priced insurer, Fetch costs 13% more than the national dog insurance costs, which is something to keep in mind if you're focused on cost savings.

Fetch offers three pet insurance discounts that allow those with a military background, members of participating organizations and employees joining participating group plans to save 10% on costs.

Fetch provides customer experience that ranks among the top five in my analysis. It has straightforward and streamlined processes, particularly for buying and policy management, so pet owners can easily buy coverage or maintain their accounts. That said, the company performs less competitively in claim submission ease and billing and renewals, where policyholders may encounter issues or unclear communications.

Learn where Fetch's service performs best and where it falls short for pet owners in the table below.

To build our Fetch rankings, my team and I analyzed more than 67,000 pet profiles across breeds, ages and states, collecting quotes, testing the buying and claims experience firsthand and reviewing policy documents line by line. Our national scores are based on a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever and a 7-year-old Ragdoll, each with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate. This profile reflects the most common pet owner scenario but won't apply equally to every pet, so we encourage you to use the breed, state and age breakdowns in this review to find where Fetch lands for your specific situation.

We applied the same framework to Fetch as every other provider in our study. For a full breakdown of how we score each category, visit our methodology page.

Get back to the main review:

• Ratings
• Competition vs. Fetch
• Coverage
• Affordability
• Customer Experience