Our Verdict: The Short Answer
Kanguro is a legitimate, state-regulated pet insurance option, and a genuinely different one: the first fully bilingual English-Spanish pet insurance experience in the U.S., with free 24/7 Televet in every plan and up to 90% reimbursement. Policies are underwritten by Cimarron Insurance Company and administered by Kanguro Insurance LLC in Miami. The catch comes in three parts: coverage is sold in 28 states plus Washington D.C. rather than nationwide, claims can only be filed through the Kanguro app, and the company is young enough that its claims track record is measured in a few years and a few hundred public reviews.
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Key Takeaways
- Kanguro is the administrator and customer-facing brand; Cimarron Insurance Company is the underwriter that holds the risk and pays claims. Kanguro Insurance LLC is headquartered in Miami, holds BBB accreditation with an A+ rating, and is a NAPHIA member.
- The product is competitive on paper: reimbursement of 70%, 80%, or 90%, deductibles from $100 to $1,000, annual limits from $5,000 up to $30,000 depending on plan, hereditary and genetic conditions covered (hip and elbow dysplasia, blood disorders), and free 24/7 Televet consultations in every plan.
- Waiting periods run 14 days for accidents and illnesses and six months for orthopedic conditions, reducible to 14 days by providing adequate medical history at enrollment. The wellness add-on starts after 24 hours. Pre-existing conditions, anything present before sign-up or during a waiting period, are excluded.
- The two structural catches: availability is 28 states plus D.C. rather than nationwide, and claims are filed only through the Kanguro app. If either is a dealbreaker, this isn’t your carrier regardless of price.
- Compare pet insurance options
Is Kanguro Pet Insurance Legit? Who’s Behind It
Kanguro is legitimate and structurally conventional under the hood: a Miami-based insurtech, founded by insurance-industry veterans and led by CEO Andres Mishaan, that launched its pet product in 2023 as the first fully bilingual English-Spanish pet insurance experience in the U.S. Every agent is bilingual, the app and policy documents run in both languages, and the company built its brand serving Spanish-speaking pet owners that the rest of the industry treats as an afterthought.
The insurance behind the brand follows the standard split. Kanguro Insurance LLC is the administrator, the company you buy from, talk to, and file with. Cimarron Insurance Company is the underwriter, the entity that holds the reserves and is financially responsible for your claim. Kanguro is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating, belongs to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, and sells in 28 states plus Washington, D.C., expanding regularly. If your state isn’t on the list yet, no discount or feature matters; check availability first.
Nine years of quoting policies taught me that a young MGA lives or dies on two things: its underwriter’s paper and its service desk. Cimarron is a smaller carrier than the Munich Re and Chubb subsidiaries backing the biggest brands, which is worth knowing rather than worrying about; pull its current AM Best listing if financial-strength ratings drive your decision, the same way I’d tell any customer across the desk. On the service side, the public record is early but decent: a few hundred Trustpilot reviews with the recurring positives being fast reimbursement and responsive bilingual agents, and the recurring complaint being app and billing friction. A track record this young proves less in both directions than a decade of data would. Weigh it accordingly.
What Kanguro Covers
Kanguro sells two plans plus a youth bundle. Essential is the base accident and illness policy. Essential Plus adds wellness and preventive care. A separate accident-illness-wellness package is built for puppies and kittens up to 2 years old. Pets are eligible from 2 months of age, coverage works at any licensed vet in the U.S. with no network, and your pet stays covered while traveling with you in the U.S. or Canada.
Covered in the Accident and Illness Plan
Accidents and illnesses including surgery, cancer treatment, emergency care, X-rays and diagnostics, and prescription medications. Hereditary and genetic conditions are covered, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and blood disorders, which some competitors exclude or surcharge. Kanguro also offers pre-approval of estimates before a procedure, so you can know what a treatment will reimburse before you authorize it, a feature surprisingly few carriers match.
What’s Not Covered
Pre-existing conditions are excluded, defined as any condition present before you sign up or during a waiting period. Kanguro does not publish a curable-condition pathway the way Embrace (12 months symptom-free) or the ASPCA program (180 days) do, so if your pet had a treatable issue before enrollment, ask in writing whether it can regain eligibility and read the sample policy’s answer before you buy. Wellness and routine care sit outside the base plan unless you add Essential Plus.
Policy Dials and Waiting Periods
Reimbursement options are 70%, 80%, or 90%. Deductibles run from $100 to $1,000. Annual limits range from $5,000 up to $30,000 depending on the plan you select. Waiting periods are 14 days for accidents and illnesses and six months for orthopedic conditions, and the orthopedic window can be reduced to 14 days by providing adequate medical history for your pet at enrollment, effectively a waiver by records. Take that option if your pet’s joints are clean; it converts the single worst clause in the policy into a routine one. Wellness coverage starts after 24 hours. Waiting periods can vary by state and condition, and in states that adopted the NAIC’s Pet Insurance Model Act, illness and orthopedic waits cap at 30 days regardless.
How the App-First Model Works
Kanguro’s operating model is built around its app, and that cuts both ways. Claims are filed exclusively through the app: answer a few questions, upload the itemized invoice and any records, and track progress in real time. Claims typically process in under five days, with reimbursement by direct deposit or check. Your first claim includes a review of your pet’s medical history, the same pre-existing screen every carrier runs, so authorize a records release with your vet at enrollment rather than at claim time; the vet’s office is the usual bottleneck, not the insurer.
Every plan includes free 24/7 Televet consultations by video or chat with a licensed vet, which can spare you an emergency-clinic trip at 2 a.m. for a question a screen can answer. Kanguro also donates a portion of unused premium to a cause you pick at enrollment. The flip side of the app-first design: if you or the family member managing the pet’s care won’t live in an app, this is the wrong carrier, because there is no mail-in or phone claims path.
Kanguro Phone Number and How to Cancel
- Phone, WhatsApp, and SMS: 888-546-5264
- Email: customerservice@kanguroseguro.com
- Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, in English and Spanish
- Policy management: the Kanguro app handles claims, documents, coverage changes, and Televet for every pet on the policy
You can cancel through the app or by contacting customer support, and there is no cancellation fee. Get written confirmation of the cancellation and check your next card statement, since billing friction after cancellation is among the complaints that appear in public reviews. Before you cancel, remember what leaves with you: every condition your pet was treated for or showed symptoms of while insured becomes pre-existing at the next carrier, and a new policy restarts every waiting period. For a pet with any medical history, run the comparison before you make the call.
Who Kanguro Fits
Kanguro earns a real place on a shortlist for three kinds of households. Spanish-speaking and bilingual families get something no major competitor offers: the entire experience, from quote to claim dispute, in Spanish with agents who aren’t reading from a translation. App-comfortable owners get one of the smoother filing experiences in the category, plus Televet and pre-approvals built in. And multi-pet households can put up to five dogs and cats on a single policy with a 10% multi-pet discount, managed from one account.
Look elsewhere if you’re outside the 28-state footprint, if you want phone or paper claims, or if you’d rather pay for a carrier with decades of claims data behind it. The product is competitive; the company is young. Both of those things are true at once, and which one weighs more depends on the household doing the choosing.
