Why should you avoid Lemonade pet insurance according to customer reviews?

General Forum
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Why do some people advise avoiding Lemonade pet insurance based on customer feedback? :paw_prints:

While Lemonade is okay for some, many find it much more difficult than necessary because everything is handled digitally.

One of my dogs, who’s been covered since he was a puppy, has had no issues. But with the dog I adopted, I keep running into endless problems. I have to ask my vet to break up the bills into two: one for what’s covered and another for things I know won’t be. On top of that, I can’t pay bills early, which messes with my monthly budgeting. I’ve asked several times if I could pay ahead, but no luck. Esurance also operates digitally but allows early payments—so it’s clearly a choice Lemonade is making. Another downside is that you can’t actually call anyone, which I think leads to a lot of miscommunication and misinformation. This has caused some of my claims to get denied, even when they should have been covered. Unless I have my vet break the bills down, claims take 1-3 months to process.

It’s not a terrible company, but dealing with them has been exhausting these last few months. I do recommend their preventative coverage (which I max out every year), and I’m considering adding dental insurance. The dental add-on won’t cover pre-existing issues like dental neglect (which is understandable), but I’m thinking it might still be worth it.

For context, I pay for 90% coverage on both of my dogs. The younger one has a $250 deductible, while the older/adopted one has a $500 deductible. I used to have ASPCA insurance for the younger dog, and they covered everything since there was an overlap in policies. I don’t think they do that anymore, though. ASPCA was more expensive, but their service was excellent, and claims were processed quickly. Now, with Lemonade, I’m paying less (thanks to preventative coverage) than I did with ASPCA.

Edit: I found their phone number, and, surprise, getting answers was 10x easier after that. FYI, they don’t cover microchipping if your dog is over two years old.

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From what I’ve heard, Lemonade works fine if your claims are straightforward, but it gets pretty frustrating if you run into anything more complicated. I tried to get in touch with a real person last March when I was shopping for a policy, but no luck. I couldn’t get anyone on the phone. :woman_facepalming:

They’ve built their system around chatbots, so if your question doesn’t fit into the bot’s categories, you’re out of luck. It’s honestly maddening.

I get that everything is digital these days, but sometimes you just need to talk to a real person. And making vets separate invoices? That’s just another layer of hassle that shouldn’t be necessary. I feel your pain.

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I totally get where you’re coming from. I’m all for doing things digitally, I’m a millennial after all, but even I need to hop on a call sometimes. They make everything digital in the name of “ease,” but it’s not always easier :expressionless:

My vet is awesome, but even they’re having to work harder because Lemonade assumes every new issue is related to a pre-existing condition. It’s frustrating. Lemonade’s cheaper, sure, but I can see why now. No way am I adding home or car insurance to my bundle after this. Hopefully, this post helps others avoid the same headaches. :upside_down_face:

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Your vet sounds amazing, and props to you for taking in that Aussie! :dog2: I’ve heard of similar horror stories from people switching companies with pre-existing exclusions. It’s such a headache to separate everything out on invoices like, who wants to keep track of what’s pre-existing and what’s not? And even when you do everything right, you still get denials just because they trace things back to old issues. :roll_eyes:

Glad you found a phone number for them though, even if it took a lot of digging! Shouldn’t be that hard, right? :joy:

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I have Lemonade too, and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend them either. I feel like they totally conned me. :unamused:

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You mentioned the dental add-on doesn’t cover pre-existing neglect, but what do you mean by “neglect”? I have their dental coverage, but I don’t use any special dental products for my cats. Is that considered neglect?

Also, if my cat needs her annual shots and has a cough, should I ask the vet to bill me separately? I don’t have any pre-existing conditions, but I want to avoid any hassle.

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Oh no, you’re good. My Aussie had a lot of dental issues because her previous owner didn’t take care of her teeth plaque build-up and all that. That’s what they’re referring to as pre-existing dental neglect. For cats, most dental treats don’t even work because they just swallow their food. :cat: So, not using special dental products isn’t neglect.

If your cat doesn’t have pre-existing conditions, you only need to separate bills for things like preventatives if you don’t have coverage for them. For example, if your vet notices your cat’s cough and also gives her an overdue shot, just make sure the shots go on a second bill. It’s helped me get claims through faster.

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Man, I didn’t even think about the fact that Lemonade doesn’t have a phone line. Everything being digital can be such a pain :triumph:

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Yeah, I was surprised too! It took some digging, but I finally found a number. Totally worth it! :telephone_receiver::sweat_smile:

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Wait, what do you mean by “having the vet break the bills out”? Lemonade won’t just take the whole bill?

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They will, but it takes forever to process. I’ve even had claims denied because the vet’s notes mentioned a pre-existing condition that had nothing to do with the visit. :roll_eyes:

For example, my Aussie had a bald spot after I pulled a tick off her. It wasn’t related to her old hot spot, but since the vet mentioned that in the notes, the whole claim was denied. I had to have them split the bill, and suddenly the claim went through just fine.

My advice: if there’s any mention of old vs. new conditions, have the vet break the bill up. It’ll save you a lot of headaches. :weary:

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Are you sticking with Lemonade after all that? I’m thinking about getting them, but now I’m not so sure…