Key Takeaway
- If you hold a Trupanion or Figo policy in California, your rate increase takes effect at your next renewal after July 19. Check your renewal notice for the actual dollar change, because the approved average of 28.1% for Trupanion masks individual increases that can run as high as 70%.
California’s Pet Insurance Regulators Just Signed Off on Rate Increases That Take Effect This Week
More than 291,000 California pet owners will pay more for pet insurance starting with renewals after July 19. The California Department of Insurance approved a 28.1% rate increase for American Pet Insurance Company, the underwriter behind Trupanion policies in California, affecting 94,326 policyholders. Independence American Insurance Company, which underwrites the Figo and PetPartners programs in the state, received approval for an overall increase of 7.9%, affecting another 197,543 policyholders.
The Trupanion number is the one to watch. The 28.1% approved average obscures the actual spread: depending on policy type and other rating factors, some American Pet Insurance Company policyholders could see their premiums climb by more than 70%. The approval average and the individual renewal letter are two different numbers, and the renewal letter is the one that matters for your budget.
For California dog owners comparing options, our roundup of the best pet insurance for dogs includes current pricing from carriers active in the state.
What’s Behind the Increases, and Why California Approves Them
Pet insurance rate filings work differently than most consumers expect. A carrier files its actuarial data with the CDI: claims paid, loss ratios, projected cost trends. The CDI reviews whether the requested increase is justified, then approves, modifies, or rejects it. That the CDI approved both requests doesn’t mean the increases are unreasonable. This means the carriers make the case that their loss experience supports the higher rates.
The underlying math isn’t hard to follow. Veterinary practices raised service prices by an average of 6.57% between 2024 and 2025, according to a Vetsource white paper, even as patient visit volume fell roughly 3% nationally, per AVMA and Brakke Consulting data presented at the January 2026 VMX conference. Revenue is growing on price, not volume. Claims costs are tracking upward with those service prices. If insurers are paying more per claim, they have to charge more in premiums, or accept worse loss ratios, both of which regulators and underwriters resist.
The average vet bill per claim hit $392 in 2025, up 32% since 2020, according to claims data published by Healthy Paws. That’s the number that drives rate filings. Trupanion, which is vertically integrated and acts as its own underwriter in most states (underwriting through American Pet Insurance Company in California), has been explicit about cost pressures in its earnings disclosures. The CDI increase is the regulatory formalization of what the claims data has been showing for two years.
California isn’t the only state where this pattern is playing out. Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation cleared 12 pet insurance rate hikes for Florida residents averaging 9.25% in late 2025, with one carrier receiving approval for a 26% overall increase, according to Insurance Business magazine. The Florida and California actions together suggest systemic rate pressures, not carrier-specific ones.
Most pet insurance brands aren’t insurance carriers. They’re distribution-layer products on top of about a dozen actual underwriters. Pumpkin and Spot are both underwritten by United States Fire Insurance, a Fairfax subsidiary. ASPCA Pet Insurance is administered by Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group, also of Fairfax. Figo and PetPartners are both independent American Insurance Companies, which means the same underwriter absorbed the same claims data and filed the same rate action that affects both customer-facing brands. If you hold a Figo policy and a neighbor holds a PetPartners policy in California, you’re both renewing into the same 7.9% overall approved increase, underwritten by the same company.
PetPartners is also the administrator behind AKC Pet Insurance. California policyholders who bought coverage through the AKC brand should check to see if their underwriting paperwork shows Independence American on the declarations page. If it does, this filing applies to them.
What Existing Policyholders Should Do Before Their Renewal Date
The increase takes effect at your next renewal after July 19, not immediately. If your policy renews in October, your current rate holds through September. When the renewal arrives, the new premium will be on the first page. Most renewal letters bury the actual rate change: the headline number on page one is the new annual premium, not the percentage increase, and that is intentional. Divide the new annual premium by the old annual premium, subtract 1, and you have your actual percentage change, which may be well above or below the CDI-approved average, depending on your pet’s age, breed, and coverage tier.
For Trupanion holders specifically: Trupanion prices on a per-pet basis using a lifetime deductible structure, and it adjusts rates as pets age. The 28.1% CDI-approved is layered on top of any age-based adjustment your policy was already going to receive. The compounding effect matters. Check the renewal rate, not the CDI-approved average.
If the renewed rate doesn’t work for your budget, you have options, but they come with a significant catch. Switching carriers after your current pet has had any treatment history means those conditions will be pre-existing under any new policy. Trupanion uses a lifetime pre-existing condition exclusion for anything documented before the policy effective date. Moving to a carrier with a curable-condition policy like Embrace (now Multiplan-owned) could eventually restore coverage for a treated ear infection after 12 symptom-free months, but structural conditions, joint issues, and chronic allergies are likely locked out at any new carrier. Rate escalation as pets age is the math most articles miss. Most carriers raise rates 10-30% annually as the pet ages, separate from any inflation or regulatory adjustments. A Trupanion policyholder with a dog that’s accumulated several years of medical history is often better off staying, absorbing the rate increase, and comparing the net cost against the value of maintaining continuity of coverage.
For those still in the early stages of choosing coverage, our guide to the best pet insurance covers how to evaluate carriers before your pet accumulates conditions that limit your options.
The broader signal from these CDI approvals: the pet insurance pricing environment is tightening nationally. NAHIA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report showed gross written premiums climbed 20.8% to $5.2 billion, while the number of insured pets in the US grew only 9%. Premium growth outpacing policy count is the clearest sign that average rates are rising, not just enrollment. California and Florida are just the most visible regulatory layer on a trend that is showing up in every renewal cycle across the country. If your policy is up for renewal in the next 90 days, in any state, expect the number on page one to be higher than the number you’ve been paying.
