Nationwide pet insurance alternatives: where to land after the shake-up
Nationwide non-renewed roughly 100,000 pet policies across 2024 and 2025, and its current retail plans top out at 80% reimbursement and $10,000 a year. Whether you're holding one of those letters or just reading a quote's fine print, most of the market is an upgrade for dogs and cats, with one big exception covered below.
Why people are leaving Nationwide
Some didn't choose to. Nationwide non-renewed about 100,000 legacy Whole Pet with Wellness policies in 2024 and 2025, and a class action over the practice is pending. Owners who'd held uncapped 90% coverage for years were offered replacements that look nothing like what they lost.
The current retail lineup is the other reason. Reimbursement runs 50% to 80%, with no 90% option anywhere. The restructured plans cap out at $10,000 a year, the deductible is a flat $250 with no choice in the matter, cruciate ligament coverage is a rider you can only add after 12 months on the policy, and illness plans won't enroll a pet older than 8. Against that spec sheet, most of our top eight reads like a promotion.
Nationwide vs the alternatives at a glance
Typical accident and illness configurations. Details vary by state and plan tier, so treat this as a map and confirm terms on the insurer's current policy documents.
| Dimension | Nationwide | Trupanion | Pets Best | Healthy Paws | Lemonade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost range | Dogs ~$43 to $94, cats $19 to $41 | Dogs $60 to $110, cats $25 to $55 | Dogs ~$32 to $48, cats $20 to $29 | Dogs $57 to $101 at age 2, rising steeply with age | Dogs ~$30 to $55, cats $14 to $33 |
| Payout caps | $2,500 to $10,000 by category or plan | None, no annual or lifetime limits | $5,000 or unlimited, by tier | None, no annual or lifetime limits | $5,000 to $100,000 annual, by tier |
| Deductible | Annual, $250 flat on retail plans | $0 to $1,000 per condition, once for life | Annual, $50 to $1,000 | Annual, resets every year | Annual, resets every year |
| Reimbursement | 50% to 80%, no 90% option | 90%, one plan | 70% to 90% | 70/80/90% enrolled at 5 or under; lower tiers at 6+ | 70% to 90% |
| Exam fees | Plan dependent | Not covered | Included on most plans | Not covered, no add-on exists | Optional add-on |
| Direct pay / claims | Reimbursement only | Paid at checkout at equipped hospitals | Optional direct pay to your vet | Reimbursement, often ~2 days | App claims, simple ones in minutes; no direct pay |
| Waiting periods | ~14 days illness; cruciate is a rider only after 12 months | About 5 days injury / 30 days illness, varies by state | 3 days accidents, 14 illness, 6 months cruciate (waivable) | 15 days most states; 12-month hip dysplasia under age 6 | Accidents ~none, 14 days illness, 6 months cruciate |
The four alternatives, and who each one is for
1. Trupanion: what Whole Pet used to be
Former Whole Pet holders describe that plan as 90% with no caps. That's Trupanion's only product, plus two things Nationwide never had: a deductible paid once per condition for life, and direct pay that settles the insurer's share at the hospital counter. Premiums for dogs run $60 to $110 and don't rise because your pet aged or claimed. It tops our rankings at 9.8; the full review covers the exam-fee gap and the rest of the fine print.
2. Pets Best: better coverage for less money
This is the strange one: Pets Best's unlimited 90% configurations frequently quote below Nationwide's capped 70% plans. Exam fees are included on most plans, direct pay to the vet is available on request, and there's no upper age limit for enrollment, which matters if Nationwide's age-8 illness cutoff just locked you out. We score it 8.9, and the head-to-head comparison walks through the exact rows.
3. Healthy Paws: the simple uncapped plan
One plan, no payout caps, claims often processed in about two days. The age rules are the constraint: enroll at 5 or under to get the full 70/80/90% menu, because the tiers shrink at 6 and shrink again at 8, and hip dysplasia is never covered for pets enrolled at 6 or older. For a young pet whose owner wants uncapped coverage without Trupanion's premium, it's the right quote to run.
4. Lemonade: the cheap exit for young pets
If Nationwide's pricing was the problem rather than its coverage, Lemonade's $30 to $55 dog premiums undercut everyone in this table. You'd be trading down on structure: annual caps, add-on exam fees, a six month cruciate wait. For a young cat at $14 to $33 a month, that trade can still be rational.
If you lost uncapped 90% coverage, only a couple of insurers still sell it. See what Trupanion's version costs for your pet before the next vet visit adds to the record.
Get your Trupanion quote →The exotic pet exception
Nationwide is the only major US insurer covering birds, reptiles, rabbits, and other exotics, with plans starting around $5 a month. Every alternative on this page insures dogs and cats only. If your household includes an exotic pet, keep its Nationwide policy regardless of what you do for the dog; there is no comparable replacement to switch to.
The switching catch to check first
Every insurer on this page excludes pre-existing conditions, and "pre-existing" starts at symptoms, not diagnosis. Anything your pet showed signs of while insured here, an ear infection, a limp, an odd lab value, becomes uncovered history at the next company. Waiting periods also restart from zero on the new policy. So never cancel the old plan until the new one is past its waiting periods, and read our pre-existing condition guide before you file the cancellation, not after.
This matters double for non-renewed members: conditions diagnosed under your old Nationwide policy are pre-existing everywhere you apply next. Enroll the new policy the day you decide, not the week the old one lapses.
Bottom line
For dogs and cats, Nationwide's current retail plans are outgunned on reimbursement, caps, and price by most of the market, and the non-renewal episode is a fair reason to want a carrier that structurally can't reprice you for getting sick. Exotics stay. Everyone else should be holding at least two fresh quotes by the end of the week.
Is Nationwide getting out of pet insurance?
No. It non-renewed roughly 100,000 legacy Whole Pet with Wellness policies in 2024 and 2025, a move now the subject of a pending class action, but it actively sells new coverage through its Modular plans. Those plans cap at $10,000 a year and reimburse 50% to 80%.
What is the best replacement for a non-renewed Nationwide policy?
If you had Whole Pet's uncapped 90% coverage, Trupanion is the closest match still on sale: 90% reimbursement, no caps, plus a per-condition lifetime deductible. Pets Best is the value pick, offering 90% and unlimited tiers at prices often below Nationwide's capped retail plans.
Does anyone else insure birds, reptiles, or exotic pets?
Not at scale. Nationwide is the only major US carrier with exotic pet coverage, from roughly $5 a month. If you own an exotic pet, keep that policy even if you move your dog or cat elsewhere.
More matchups: Trupanion vs Nationwide · Pets Best vs Nationwide · Trupanion vs Lemonade · Healthy Paws vs Lemonade · All comparisons
Keep reading: 8 insurers ranked · Trupanion review · Full cost guide