Embrace and Nationwide pet insurance companies are great options if you are looking for coverage for your pet. Both companies offer coverage for accidents, illnesses, and emergencies. While they are similar in many ways, they differ in coverage plans, deductibles, and reimbursement percentages. Once you pay your pet’s medical bills, you file a claim with your company. When that claim is approved, you will be reimbursed the percentage of the bill that your policy indicates.
In this article, we examine Embrace and Nationwide and the differences between each so you can choose the right option for your pet. If you are unsure if pet insurance is right for you, read on for more information about how it works.
| Company Name | Embrace | Nationwide |
| Pets Covered | Dogs and cats | Dogs, cats, birds, and exotic pets |
| Types of Plans | Accident, illness/injury, wellness | Wellness, illness, accident, emergency |
| Deductibles | $200–$1,000 | $250 per year |
| Reimbursement | 70%–90% | 50%–90% |
| Additional Perks | · Covers medical waste fees
· Covers a broad range of conditions · Deductible decreases each year if a claim isn’t filed · 10% discount for insuring multiple pets |
· Whole Pet option includes the Wellness plan
· 5% discount if you bundle renter’s or homeowner’s insurance with pet insurance through Nationwide · Access to Pet Rx Express to receive preferred pricing on pet prescriptions at Walmart or Sam’s Club pharmacies |
Brief Overview of Embrace
- Deductible reduces each year that a claim isn’t filed
- Five deductible and three reimbursement options
- Customizable plans
- Broad coverage
- Offers accident-only plans
- Excellent customer service
- Additional fees
- Wellness plan is expensive
- Plans don’t cover elderly animals
- Age restrictions for pets over 14
Embrace Pet Insurance is available in every state of the U.S. The company was founded in 2003 and uses American Modern Insurance Group, Inc. to underwrite its policies. It offers coverage for dogs and cats and will reimburse 70% to 90% of your vet expenses for a wide range of conditions, treatments, and procedures. Plans are customizable, so you can choose the one that’s right for your pet.
Embrace donates $2 per policy to charity. Healthy animals will receive the company’s unique perk: For every year that you don’t have to file a claim, your deductible goes down by $50.
The company is primarily used for accidents and illnesses. You can choose an accident-only policy to give you peace of mind in case of an emergency. This can save costs but there are additional fees. It costs $25 to enroll, and if you choose to pay monthly instead of annually, there is a monthly fee. You can choose to enroll online or by phone.
Embrace has won the International Service Excellence Award and the NorthCoast 99 Award since 2003. Before it even sold its first policy, it won the Wharton Business Plan Competition.
Brief Overview of Nationwide
- Offers bird and exotic pet coverage
- Optional Wellness plan can be added
- Offers coverage for prescription-necessary food
- 24/7 vet helpline
- Preferred pricing on prescriptions with Pet Rx Express
- Three reimbursement options
- Age restrictions for pets over 10
- Plans are less customizable
- Only one deductible
Nationwide started as an auto insurer over 90 years ago. It’s one of the oldest insurance companies in the United States. In 2009, Nationwide acquired the first pet insurance company in the U.S., Veterinary Pet Insurance. This company had insured the dog that played Lassie on television. Veterinary Pet Insurance is now Nationwide Pet Insurance, with policies underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance, Co.
What makes Nationwide Pet Insurance unique is the range of pets that it covers. While dogs and cats are included, the company expands coverage to birds and even pets like goats, hamsters, turtles, snakes, and chinchillas. Nationwide is the only pet insurance in America to insure exotic pets and birds.
Existing Nationwide customers can save 5% if they bundle pet insurance with their current insurance. You can also save 5% by insuring multiple pets, and Nationwide employees receive a discount on pet policies.
Nationwide has two plans for accidents and injuries. One reimburses a percentage of your bill, like many other pet insurance companies. The other reimburses a set amount per condition no matter the cost of your bill. The reason for this is to enable customers in areas of low-cost veterinary care to receive larger reimbursements.
The company does offer a Wellness plan, but it’s not available in every state.
Other Top-Rated Pet Insurance Companies
Embrace vs. Nationwide: Plans Available
The plans available from Embrace and Nationwide each cover various illnesses, conditions, treatments, and accidents. Neither company covers any pre-existing conditions. Any illness or condition that your pet has at the time of the policy purchase will not be covered.
| Company | Sample Monthly Cost For Dogs | Sample Monthly Cost For Cats | Learn More |
| Embrace | $44.09 | $25.92 | Click to Get Quote |
| Nationwide | $34.34 | $14.98 | Click to Get Quote |
Embrace
- Accident-Only: This plan covers virtual vet visits, exam fees, diagnostic testing, surgery, rehabilitation, prescription medications, poisoning, and bloat.
- Illness/Injury: This plan covers virtual vet visits, exam fees, genetic and orthopedic conditions, diagnostic testing, surgery, rehabilitation, prescription medication and diets, poisoning, bloat, behavioral issues, and non-routine dental issues. It’s a more comprehensive plan. Both the accident and injury/illness plans can have a wellness plan added to them called Wellness Rewards.
- Wellness Rewards: This plan is more like a budgeting tool to help you save for routine care. Annual coverage limits of $250, $450, and $650 are available. This covers things like exam fees, vaccinations, parasite prevention, spay or neuter surgery, and microchipping.
Nationwide
- Whole Pet: This is a comprehensive plan that covers a broad range of unlimited illnesses and injuries. Exams and tests for accidents and illnesses are covered. It does not offer coverage for annual exams, heartworm prevention, or routine care.
- Major Medical: This is the plan that offers a benefit schedule for reimbursements instead of reimbursing a percentage of what you paid. It covers accidents and illnesses only.
- Wellness: The Wellness plan can be added to the Whole Pet and Major Medical plans if desired. There are two options: Wellness Basic, with an annual limit of $400, and Wellness Plus, with an annual limit of $500. This plan covers vaccines, heartworm tests, and other basic veterinary services, excluding spay or neuter surgeries.
Embrace vs. Nationwide: Reimbursements and Deductibles
Once you choose your plan, you can choose how much you spend. Different reimbursements and deductibles are available, so you can choose the plan that works best for your pet’s needs. These differences affect the monthly premium price.
Embrace
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- $200
- $300
- $500
- $750
- $1,000
- $5,000
- $8,000
- $10,000
- $15,000
- $30,000
Embrace offers annual deductible options of $200, $300, $500, $750, and $1,000, so you can customize your plan to fit your budget. Each year that you do not file a claim, your deductible goes down by $50 until it reaches $0. Once you do file a claim, you pay the reduced deductible, and it resets the following year.
Reimbursement annual limit options are $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, $15,000, or $30,000. You can choose reimbursement percentages of 70%, 80%, or 90%. With so many options available, you should easily be able to choose the plan that fits your needs.
Nationwide
- 50%
- 70%
- 90%
- $250
- $10,000
Nationwide offers only one deductible option of $250 per year. You can select a reimbursement option of 50%, 70%, or 90%. The maximum reimbursement amount per year for the Whole Pet plan is $10,000. Wellness plans have limits of $400 or $500, depending on the plan that you select. Major Medical uses a per-condition basis to determine its maximum reimbursement amount.
Embrace vs. Nationwide: Additional Perks
In addition to reimbursements, each pet care company offers certain perks to its customers. These help offset some of the costs and reward customers in various ways.
Embrace
Each year that a claim is not filed with Embrace, the deductible is reduced by $50 until it reaches $0. The company offers a 10% multi-pet discount. If you pay your premium in full annually instead of monthly, you will avoid a monthly fee. Employees of companies that offer Embrace pet insurance as a benefit will receive 10% off. Military discounts of 5% are also available.
Nationwide
Nationwide offers a 5% multi-pet discount. If you are an existing Nationwide customer, you also receive a 5% discount on pet insurance. Discounts are also available for Nationwide employees.
Company Verdict: Which One Has the Edge?
Customer Service
Edge: Embrace
Nationwide has more complaints about their customer service than Embrace. Embrace has supportive, quality customer service and you can reach a representative Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
Nationwide representatives are available Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.
Price of Plans
Edge: Embrace
Embrace has more plan, deductible, and reimbursement options, so you can easily customize your plan to fit your budget.
Nationwide has one deductible option and fewer customizable plans.
Areas of Coverage
Edge: Embrace
Nationwide does not cover end-of-life expenses as many other companies do. While Embrace and Nationwide cover many of the same conditions and illnesses, Embrace covers more, with a shorter waiting period for coverage to begin.
Perks
Edge: Embrace
Both companies offer a muti-pet discount. However, Embrace offers a larger one at 10% compared to Nationwide’s 5%. Embrace also offers a military discount.
In Conclusion
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Embrace | Nationwide | |
| Our Rating |
Our Rating:
|
Our Rating:
|
| Preventative Care Options |
Preventative Care Options:
 |
Preventative Care Options:
|
| Wellness Options |
Wellness Options:
|
Wellness Options:
|
| Multi-Pet Discount |
Multi-Pet Discount:
|
Multi-Pet Discount:
|
| Covers Vaccines |
Covers Vaccines:
 |
Covers Vaccines:
|
While Embrace appears to be our clear winner, Nationwide is not without its benefits. Embrace is more customizable and covers a wide range of conditions, treatments, and emergencies. However, the plans are more expensive than those of some other companies. Embrace is best for pets with chronic conditions so you can get the most out of your insurance.
Nationwide offers only one option for a deductible, but the plans are less expensive. This company is best for those with exotic pets or those who would like to be covered in case of an emergency with their dog or cat.
We hope that this article was informative and helped you decide which pet insurance company would be best for you and your pet.
