Embrace Review

What is Embrace?

Embrace Pet Insurance is a Cleveland-based provider that has sold accident-and-illness coverage for dogs and cats since 2003, with its first policy issued in 2006 — roughly two decades of operating history, which is on the longer end for this category. Like most pet insurers, Embrace is the brand you sign up with, but not the company that carries the insurance risk. Its policies are underwritten by American Modern Insurance Group, a carrier in business since 1965 that holds an AM Best rating of A+ (Superior) — the entity legally on the hook to pay your claims, and a more meaningful signal of claims-paying ability than any app-store rating.

Embrace sells a single, customizable accident-and-illness policy rather than a menu of good/better/best tiers, and it is licensed and available in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Its calling cards are a diminishing deductible that rewards claim-free years, dental illness coverage included at no extra charge, and a more generous-than-average approach to curable pre-existing conditions. It also offers an optional Wellness Rewards add-on for routine care, which is a budgeting product rather than insurance. This review covers how the coverage works, where Embrace is strong, and the trade-offs to weigh before you buy.

Embrace's pet insurance coverage

Embrace's core product is an accident-and-illness plan that covers unexpected injuries, illnesses, diagnostics, surgery, hospitalization, prescription medication, and — notably — hereditary and congenital conditions and cancer. You customize three levers when you buy: an annual deductible of $100, $250, $500, $750, or $1,000; a reimbursement percentage of 70%, 80%, or 90%; and an annual payout limit that runs from a modest floor up to an unlimited option depending on what you select. Unlike several competitors that exclude them, Embrace covers the vet exam or office-visit fee for a covered accident or illness as part of the standard plan, which removes one of the more common surprise gaps in a claim.

Two coverage features stand out. First, dental illness — periodontal disease, extractions, and root canals — is covered up to $1,000 per year as part of the standard accident-and-illness policy, not as a paid rider, provided your pet had a dental exam within the prior 12 months. Most competitors either exclude dental illness or charge for it. Second, Embrace draws a distinction between curable and incurable pre-existing conditions: if your pet is symptom-free and treatment-free from a curable condition (Embrace cites examples such as urinary tract infections or respiratory infections) for 12 consecutive months, that condition can become eligible for coverage again. Incurable and chronic pre-existing conditions remain permanently excluded, as they are across the industry.

Waiting periods follow the category pattern with one important exception. Accidents have a 2-day waiting period and illnesses a 14-day waiting period, both standard. Orthopedic conditions, however, carry a waiting period of up to 6 months. Embrace lets you shorten that orthopedic waiting period to as little as 14 days by completing a veterinary exam near your enrollment date, but the availability and exact terms of that waiver vary by state, so you should not assume it applies where you live. As with all pet insurance, pre-existing conditions and routine or preventive care are not covered by the base insurance policy.

For routine care, Embrace offers Wellness Rewards, an optional add-on that is explicitly not insurance. It is a no-deductible budgeting tool that reimburses routine and preventive expenses — wellness exams, vaccinations, grooming, training — up to an annual allowance you choose of $300, $500, or $700, with funds available from day one. Treat it as a spending account, not as coverage against a large unexpected bill.

Strengths

The diminishing deductible is Embrace's signature perk. For every policy year you go without a claim reimbursement, Embrace automatically cuts your annual deductible by $50, down to $0 — steadily lowering what you cover out of pocket before reimbursement kicks in, a structural reward for loyalty that few competitors match.

Included dental illness coverage and standard exam-fee coverage are two value levers shoppers underrate. Dental disease is common and expensive, so up to $1,000 a year covered without paying for a rider is a meaningful head start, and covering the exam fee on a covered visit closes a gap that trips up owners of plans that reimburse the treatment but not the office visit that diagnosed it.

Embrace's treatment of curable pre-existing conditions is more forgiving than the permanent-exclusion approach many insurers take, which matters if your pet has a resolved issue in its history. Add roughly two decades of operating history, an A+ (Superior) rated underwriter in American Modern, and BBB A+ accreditation, and Embrace presents as an established, financially backed option rather than a newcomer.

Watch-outs

Embrace does not offer direct vet pay. Every claim runs on a reimbursement model: you pay the full vet bill upfront, submit the itemized invoice, and wait to be paid back. For a large emergency bill, that means fronting the cash yourself, which a growing number of competitors now let you avoid by paying the clinic directly. If cash flow at the moment of a big bill is a concern, this is a genuine limitation.

Claims turnaround is also slower than the fastest players in the category. Embrace reviews claims over a period of business days before issuing payment by check or direct deposit after approval, and independent reviews describe the experience as reliable rather than fast — so if speed of reimbursement matters, compare its timelines against competitors that advertise same-week or near-instant payouts.

The orthopedic waiting period of up to 6 months is the coverage detail most likely to catch owners off guard, particularly for large-breed dogs prone to cruciate and hip issues. The waiver that shortens it depends on completing a vet exam and on your state's rules, so treat the short version as conditional, not guaranteed. Finally, note that maximum enrollment age for full accident-and-illness coverage is capped (reported around 14 to 15 years old, with older pets limited to accident-only coverage), so confirm the current age cutoff for your pet directly with Embrace before assuming an older animal qualifies for a full policy.

Who Embrace fits

Embrace fits owners enrolling a young, healthy dog or cat who plan to keep the policy for the long haul — the diminishing deductible, included dental illness coverage, and covered exam fees compound in your favor the longer you hold the plan and the fewer claims you file early on. It also fits owners whose pet has a resolved, curable condition in its history, because Embrace's 12-month symptom-free rule can bring that condition back into coverage rather than excluding it forever.

Embrace is a weaker fit if paying a large vet bill upfront would be a hardship, since there is no direct-vet-pay option and reimbursement takes time — owners in that situation should weigh a competitor that pays the clinic directly. It is also less ideal for an older pet near the enrollment-age ceiling, or if you need the fastest possible payouts. As with every insurer, buy early, buy for the worst-case bill, and verify the current deductible, annual-limit, orthopedic-waiver, and enrollment-age terms on Embrace's own site for your state before you commit.