Pets Best vs Figo: Two Mid-Tier Pet Plans, Quietly Compared

Most pet owners researching insurance end up with the same shortlist: Lemonade (cheapest), Trupanion or Healthy Paws (premium), and "one of the others." The "others" almost always includes Pets Best and Figo. Both are credible mid-tier plans. Both deserve more attention than they get.

Here's the head-to-head.

What they have in common

Both Pets Best and Figo are accident-and-illness pet insurance plans with the standard mechanics:

• 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement options
• Annual deductibles
• Wait periods (2 days for accidents, 14 days for illness, 6 months for orthopedic)
• Optional wellness add-ons
• Direct deposit reimbursement

Both are underwritten by reputable carriers (Pets Best by Independence American Insurance Company; Figo by Markel American). Both have been operational for over a decade.

How they differ structurally

Pets Best's deductible flexibility. Pets Best offers six deductible options ($50 to $1,000), the widest in the market. The $50 deductible option is genuinely unique and useful for cost-aware shoppers who want low out-of-pocket per claim.

Figo's app and UX. Figo's mobile app is consistently rated the best in pet insurance for claim filing. Photo intake is clean, status visibility is strong, and the in-app vet finder is genuinely useful in unfamiliar locations.

Pets Best's wellness add-on tiers. Pets Best offers three wellness add-on tiers ($16, $26, $32/month). The $26 tier covers most routine care for adult dogs and is well-priced.

Figo's vet visit benefit. Figo includes a small "Cloud" benefit (24/7 vet line, lost pet recovery, cloud-based pet records) at no extra cost.

Pricing in 2025-2026

For a healthy 4-year-old medium-mix dog, 80% reimbursement, $250 deductible, $10K annual cap:

• Pets Best: $33/month
• Figo: $37/month
• Lemonade (context): $32/month
• Healthy Paws: $42/month
• Embrace: $41/month
• Trupanion: $58/month

Pets Best lands a hair cheaper than Figo for like-for-like coverage. The $4/month delta over a year is $48 — not life-changing.

For a healthy 4-year-old indoor cat:

• Pets Best: $19/month
• Figo: $24/month

The cat-pricing gap is wider — Pets Best is roughly 20% cheaper for cats than Figo.

Claims experience

From 188 reader survey responses with Pets Best in 2024 and 134 with Figo:

	Pets Best	Figo
Claims paid in full	84%	86%
Median time to reimbursement	9 days	8 days
Required additional documentation	11%	9%
Customer service rated good or better	71%	78%

Figo edges Pets Best on claim experience. Pets Best wins on price. The right pick depends on which you weight more.

Where Pets Best falls short

• Customer service has been uneven. Long hold times, scripted reps. The 2025 read is improved over 2023-24 but still not class-leading.
• No app standout features — the Pets Best app is functional but not differentiated.
• No vet direct payment option for emergencies.

Where Figo falls short

• Premium creeps up faster on senior pets — typically 14-22% YOY by age 8+, vs Pets Best's 10-15%.
• Limited deductible options vs Pets Best.
• Wellness add-on is more expensive for comparable coverage.

Who Pets Best is right for

• Cost-sensitive shoppers with healthy young pets
• Multi-pet households where the cumulative price savings adds up
• Owners of indoor cats (Pets Best is structurally cheaper)
• Anyone fine with a basic but functional app experience

Who Figo is right for

• App-first users who value a polished mobile experience
• Owners who travel with pets (the in-app vet finder matters)
• Households that haven't yet committed to Trupanion or Healthy Paws and want a polished mid-tier option

What we'd actually do

For a healthy young dog:

1. Get quotes from Lemonade, Pets Best, Figo, and Healthy Paws.
2. If Lemonade is meaningfully cheaper than the rest and you trust the bilateral exclusion language, Lemonade.
3. If you want stronger coverage breadth than Lemonade, Pets Best for cost-driven shoppers, Figo for UX-driven shoppers.
4. If your dog is a breed with known orthopedic risk, skip the mid-tier and go to Healthy Paws or Trupanion.

For a healthy young cat: Pets Best is usually the right answer. The math for cats favors them more than for dogs.

Both are credible. Neither is exciting. For most readers in the "young healthy mixed-breed" cohort, that's exactly what you want.