Fetch Pet Insurance Review

Fetch is worth a look if a smooth customer experience is your top priority, from buying through policy management, but better alternatives exist if you want affordable rates or coverage flexibility.

But Fetch lands in the bottom tier of my pet insurance analysis, ranking 15th out of 18 providers overall. Ratings are based on a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate. 

Here's how Fetch performs at a high level across coverage, affordability and customer experience:

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

Fetch may be a good option if you value excellent customer service or want specialized coverages at no extra cost. It may not be worth it if you're looking to save on costs or want granular control customizing your coverage.

• Pet owners looking for great customer service: Fetch has simple, self-service tools that let you buy pet insurance in minutes and manage your policy without major issues. It ranks fourth overall for customer experience.
• Owners who want specialized coverages in the base plan: Fetch's specialized coverages come at no extra cost, with a $1,000 annual sublimit not subject to deductibles or co-insurance, so you get full reimbursement for boarding fees, vacation cancellation, telehealth consultation fees and more.
• People who need immediate accident coverage: Fetch imposes no waiting period for accidents like falling from a height or stepping on broken glass, so energetic breeds or active pets have coverage in place immediately, with no weeks-long wait.

• Budget-conscious pet owners: Fetch ranks 14th overall for affordability, with an average rate 13% above the national benchmark, making it harder to fit pet insurance into your budget without compromising on coverage.
• People who want coverage flexibility: Fetch's limited deductibles, reimbursement rates and annual limits mean less room to customize your policy to your pet's risk profile and your budget.

Here's how Fetch compares against other major pet insurance providers:

Fetch has limited flexibility for customizing policies. It offers only three deductibles ($300 to $700), reimbursement rates between 70% and 90%, and annual limits up to $15,000, making it harder for a purebred pet predisposed to costly hereditary and chronic conditions to get coverage tailored to its expected health needs. It ranks 15th for pet insurance coverage. 

But Fetch's base plan is broad in other ways: it 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 carry a $1,000 annual sublimit and aren't subject to deductible or co-insurance, protecting you financially for situations beyond veterinary treatment that other insurers exclude or charge extra for.

I review Fetch's coverage terms based on my analysis of its sample policy:

• Prescription medications: Fetch covers veterinarian-prescribed medications for covered accidents and illnesses, including prescriptions for up to a 90-day supply. Fill your pet's prescription through Fetch's preferred pharmacy, and the policy waives your co-pay, which can lower out-of-pocket costs for pets on long-term medication. The deductible still applies either way.
• Prescription food: Fetch doesn't cover prescription food, even when your vet recommends it to treat a covered condition. This exclusion can add up for owners of breeds like Bulldogs, Labrador Retrievers and Persian and Siamese cats, since these breeds are predisposed to conditions like kidney disease, urinary issues, diabetes or severe food allergies that commonly need a therapeutic diet for life.
• Waiting period for accidents: Fetch's waiting period language gets confusing fast. Accidents are covered immediately, but injuries from normal activity fall under a 15-day waiting period, and the policy never clearly draws the line between the two.
• Waiting period for orthopedic conditions: Fetch imposes a six-month waiting period for orthopedic conditions. A physical exam from a licensed vet within 180 days of enrollment, confirming there's no relevant pre-existing condition, can waive that wait entirely.
• Pre-existing conditions: Fetch excludes any condition that showed clinical signs, got treatment or was diagnosed before your policy began or during the waiting period. Curable pre-existing conditions can still become eligible for coverage once your pet goes a full year symptom-free.
• Adoption support: Fetch waives the waiting period for several illnesses common in newly adopted pets, including kennel cough, upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitis and ringworm. The pet has to be adopted within 30 days of enrollment, and the condition needs documentation at the first vet exam. Pets from shelters or rescues, where these illnesses show up more often, stand to benefit most from this one.

The table discuses Fetch's coverage options and terms in more detail:

*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 has just one optional add-on, for routine and preventive care like vaccinations, dental cleanings and blood tests. Its wellness add-on covers more ground than many competitors, since it comes in multiple tiers spanning a wider range of preventive services.

But the reimbursement caps for individual benefits run modest, so they may not cover the full cost of veterinary care.

Fetch works on a reimbursement model: you pay the vet first, then submit a claim through the app or your online account within 90 days, with most claims processing in 15 days. Support is available by chat, phone, email or mail, policy changes go through a licensed agent by phone, and you can cancel anytime by phone or (in Massachusetts) by email.

Fetch policyholders pay an average pet insurance cost of $70 a month, with the company ranking 14th 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-to-higher-priced insurer, Fetch costs 13% more than the national dog insurance costs.

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's customer experience ranks in the top five of my analysis, with straightforward, streamlined processes, especially for buying and policy management, so buying coverage or maintaining your account stays easy. But claim submission ease and billing and renewals are weaker spots, with policyholders sometimes running into issues or unclear communication.

To make 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