3.1 HelloPets rating

Costco pet insurance: review, prices and coverage in 2026

Not an insurer but a member deal: Figo's contract with 15 percent off for Costco members

July 23, 2026 9 min
  • Coverage3.5
  • Value2.5
  • Service2.3
  • Trust4.5

My honest review of Costco pet insurance

3.1 / 5 3.1

The cheapest way to buy Figo, with Figo's weaknesses included

Costco pet insurance is a good deal wearing someone else's contract: the identical Figo product, <strong>15 percent</strong> cheaper where available, with Executive extras and a diminishing deductible. What keeps our rating at <strong>3.1</strong> is the product underneath: a 3.4 Trustpilot score on the underlying Figo brand, pre-existing disputes as the top complaint, renewal increases set by the insurer, plus mandatory membership and no new policies in Washington. If you hold the card and the contract fits your pet, buy it here; if not, compare the market before joining a warehouse to buy insurance.

The member discount changes your premium. It changes nothing about how a claim is read.

Is buying pet insurance through Costco actually cheaper than going to the source? That is the only question that matters here, because Costco does not make insurance at all. Members buy the Figo contract at a 15 percent discount through the Costco Insurance Agency, underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company. The coverage is Figo's, line for line: nothing added, nothing removed. What changes is the bill, and the catches that come with it: membership is mandatory, the discount applies only where available, and the Costco channel currently writes no new policies in Washington state. I read the file to see whether the member deal beats Figo direct.

Louise Smith · Lead pet insurance analyst at HelloPets

Pros

  • 15 percent member discount on the identical Figo contract (Gold Star and Business, where available)
  • Executive members add the 24PetWatch lost pet recovery service at no cost
  • Diminishing deductible: 50 dollars off for every claim-free year
  • Reimbursement ladder up to a 100 percent option, with an uncapped tier
  • Pet Cloud app and free 24/7 vet chat included, same as direct customers

Cons

  • Costco membership is mandatory and the discount is not guaranteed in every state
  • No new pet policies on the Costco channel in Washington state
  • The underlying product carries a 3.4 Trustpilot score and pre-existing claim disputes
  • No direct payment to the vet; reimbursement only

Who carries the risk?

Risk carrier Independence American Insurance Company
Regulator NAIC · State Departments of Insurance (coordination NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
Licensed Yes

What does Costco pet insurance cover?

CoverageFigo EssentialFigo PreferredFigo Ultimate
Annual payout limit $10,000 (2025 wording) $14,000 (2025 wording) None (uncapped)
Reimbursement rate 70 % 80 % 100 %
Annual deductible $250 $200 $100
Accidents Covered Covered Covered
Illnesses Covered Covered Covered
Hereditary and chronic conditions Covered Covered Covered
Dental illness Excluded Excluded Excluded
Preventive care Wellness Powerup Wellness Powerup Wellness Powerup

Waiting periods

Accidents 1 days
Illnesses 14 days

The waits are the Figo waits: one day for accidents under the 2025 wording, 14 days for illnesses. Reviewers describe an extended orthopedic wait for dogs that can be waived when the veterinarian completes an exam form, and the periods vary by state. Get yours in writing at quote stage rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

What does Costco not cover?

Because the contract is Figo's, the exclusion list is Figo's too, with the same gap on dental illness and the same add-on logic for routine care.

ExclusionDetail
Pre-existing conditions Excluded, standard across the US market
Dental illness Excluded, only dental damage from accidents is covered
Preventive and routine care Excluded unless you add the Wellness Powerup
Exam fees Excluded unless you add the Exam Fee Powerup
Elective and cosmetic procedures Excluded
Breeding and pregnancy Excluded

The Powerups are available through the member funnel exactly as they are direct: a wellness option for routine care (visits, vaccines, sterilization, cleaning, chip) and an exam fee option carrying up to 250 dollars a year of prescription food when it is the sole treatment. Hospitalization, surgery, cancer, chronic and hereditary conditions sit in the base plan.

The pre-existing exclusion deserves the same warning as on the direct channel. The claims desk is Figo's, and its most disputed topic in recent reviews is what counts as pre-existing. A note in your pet's file from before enrollment can resurface at claim time. The Costco discount changes your premium; it changes nothing about how a claim is read.

Costco prices and reimbursement in 2026

Price is the entire point. NerdWallet's sample quotes, member discount included, run from 25 to 122 dollars a month for dogs and 12 to 35 for cats, with a diminishing deductible that drops 50 dollars for every claim-free year.

Here is the thing about the 15 percent: it does not protect you from renewal increases, which are set by the insurer, not the warehouse, and it remains "where available" by state. On the NerdWallet example, the discount saves 3.31 dollars a month, about 40 dollars a year. Several pets or a large-breed premium change the math quickly; one small cat premium does not.

No direct payment to the vet. Like the direct channel, the program works on reimbursement: you pay the clinic and file through the Pet Cloud app. Figo's figure relayed by Bankrate puts average processing at 2.6 days; member reviews describe longer waits when veterinary notes are requested. There is no separate Costco claims desk: nothing is slower through the member channel either.

Reimbursement simulator

Drag the slider: we compute the estimated reimbursement per plan, from the actual policy terms.

1,500 $

Figo Essential (70 %)

800 $

reimbursed

your share : 700 $

Best plan

Figo Preferred (80 %)

1,000 $

reimbursed

your share : 500 $

Indicative estimate for a single claim in a clean policy year (rate applied up to the annual limit, minus the annual deductible). The policy wording prevails.

Reimbursement scenarios

Teddy, Golden Retriever, 3 years - gastric emergency

Teddy eats something he should not and needs emergency surgery billed at 4,800 dollars. His owner enrolled through Costco on the Preferred configuration: 80 percent rate, 200 dollar annual deductible.

  • Eligible costs: 4,800 dollars, minus the 200 dollar annual deductible
  • Reimbursement basis: 4,600 dollars at 80 % = 3,680 dollars back
  • Owner's share: 200 + 920 = 1,120 dollars, plus exam fees

Pixie, domestic shorthair, 2 years - the membership math

Pixie's quote comes out at 38.52 dollars a month before the member discount and 35.21 after, the NerdWallet example. Her owner is a Gold Star member wondering what the deal is really worth.

  • Monthly saving: 3.31 dollars, about 40 dollars over a year
  • One-time extras per the press: a 25 dollar shop card after enrollment
  • Executive tier would add the 24PetWatch service and the waived 15 dollar enrollment fee

Bear, mixed breed, 6 years - the diminishing deductible

Bear starts with a 250 dollar deductible and drops it 50 dollars each claim-free year, to 100 after three years. Year four, a torn ligament brings a 2,000 dollar bill at his 80 percent rate.

  • Deductible after three claim-free years: 250 - 150 = 100 dollars
  • Reimbursement basis: 1,900 dollars at 80 % = 1,520 dollars back
  • With the original 250 dollar deductible the payout would have been 1,400 dollars

Costco against the other insurers we compare

The HelloPets ranking
  1. #1 Trupanion 3.5
  2. #2 Healthy Paws 3.5
  3. #3 MetLife 3.4
  4. #4 Fetch 3.2
  5. #5 Lemonade 3.2

Against the other insurers we compare

Accident waiting period

Costco 1 days
the market average 2.1 days

Illness waiting period

Costco 14 days
the market average 15.3 days

Max annual limit

Costco $14,000
the market average $13,500

What services and support does Costco offer?

ServiceAvailability
Pet Cloud app (claims, records) Included, same app as Figo direct
Live vet chat 24/7 Included
24PetWatch lost pet recovery Included for Executive members only
Direct payment to the vet Not available, reimbursement model
Washington state No new policies on the Costco channel
Enrollment Dedicated member quote funnel or phone

Service is delivered by Figo end to end: the app, the 24/7 vet chat and the claims desk are the same ones direct customers use. Costco's own contribution is the funnel, the discount and the Executive extras. That cuts both ways. Members get a proven digital package, and they also get the same document requests and processing delays that Figo's reviewers describe when a claim needs veterinary notes.

What do customers say about Costco?

Data collection in progress.

There is no dedicated review profile for Costco pet insurance, which is logical for a distribution deal. The Costco Wholesale profile on Trustpilot, at 2.0 across 2,959 reviews, is unclaimed, retail-focused and says nothing about this product. The relevant signal is the underlying product's profile: Figo holds 3.4 out of 5 across 2,306 reviews on the same-day snapshot, with 67 percent five-star against 16 percent one-star.

Member-specific feedback is warmer than the average. A March 2026 Trustpilot review describes enrolling "through our Costco benefit" and recommending it. On Reddit, a long-time member reports a plan under 20 dollars a month whose five years of radiographs and prescriptions paid back more than it cost. The complaints, where they appear, are the product's: pre-existing denials, delays while veterinary notes are gathered, renewal increases.

My reading: the member channel selects price-sensitive buyers, and most of them get exactly what they came for, the same contract cheaper. The disappointed ones discovered the product's claims desk, not a Costco problem.

How to contact and cancel Costco

ChannelDetails
Official page The pet insurance page on costco.com
Phone 1-844-200-2607
Quote funnel Dedicated Costco quote path on the Figo quote site
Distributor Costco Insurance Agency
Risk carrier Independence American Insurance Company (IAIC)
Product manufacturer Figo Pet Insurance (founded 2013, Chicago)

One practical detail from our collection: the address figopetinsurance.com/costco returns an error page. The working entry points are the pet insurance page on costco.com, the dedicated quote subdomain and the phone line above. Membership is verified during the quote.

SituationTerms
Cancellation terms State-regulated, check your policy schedule
Membership lapse The program is a member benefit; keep your membership status in mind
Renewal Annual, premium recalculated by the insurer, discount where available

Remember who does what: cancellation and claims questions go to the insurer's desk, membership questions to Costco. The discount depends on your state's availability and your membership tier at renewal, and the underlying premium moves with age and location like any Figo policy.

The best alternatives to Costco in 2026

Against the other US policies in our pet insurance comparison, the alternatives depend on which half of the deal attracted you.

Partner alternatives

Healthy Paws
3.5

One uncapped accident and illness plan with two day claims, owned and underwritten by Chubb.

Read review
Trupanion
3.5

The only US plan with no payout caps and a lifetime per-condition deductible

Read review
MetLife
3.4

The most granular plan builder on the US market, with a rare zero deductible option and no upper age limit.

Read review
Fetch
3.2

Broad everyday cover with sick-visit exam fees, full adult dental and telehealth in the standard plan.

Read review
Lemonade
3.2

Digital-first insurer with the market's lowest entry prices and AI claims paid in minutes.

Read review

If it was the product, Figo direct sells the identical contract without the membership requirement, at full price. If it was the reassurance of a big brand, Trupanion answers with no payout caps and direct vet payment where clinics are equipped, at a higher price. If it was customer satisfaction, Pumpkin carries the strongest reputation of the panel. None of them discounts 15 percent for a warehouse card: that trick belongs to this program alone.

Your questions about Costco

Is Costco pet insurance actually Figo?
Yes. The official Costco page states that members buy Figo Pet Insurance, underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company, through the Costco Insurance Agency. Costco distributes and discounts; the product, app and claims desk are Figo's.
Do I need a Costco membership to enroll?
Yes, the program is a member benefit reserved for Gold Star, Business and Executive members. Membership is verified during the quote, and the 15 percent discount applies where available in your state.
What do Executive members get extra?
On top of the 15 percent discount, Executive members get the 24PetWatch lost pet recovery service at no cost. The specialist press also reports a 25 dollar shop card after enrollment and a waived 15 dollar enrollment fee at that tier.
Is the coverage different from Figo direct?
No. The coverage is strictly identical line for line: same plans, same reimbursement options up to 100 percent, same exclusions, same Powerup add-ons, same Pet Cloud app. Only the price and the member extras change.
Is Costco pet insurance available in every state?
Not currently. The official page states that the Costco Insurance Agency is not writing new pet policies in Washington state, and the 15 percent discount is offered where available, which varies by state. The underlying insurer is licensed in all 50 states and DC.
Is it worth joining Costco just for the pet insurance?
Usually not. On a sample quote the discount saves about 3.31 dollars a month, roughly 40 dollars a year, which rarely clears a membership fee on its own. With several pets or a high large-breed premium, the arithmetic can flip. Existing members lose nothing by quoting.
How are claims handled on the Costco channel?
Through Figo's Pet Cloud app, like any Figo policy: you pay the clinic, file in the app, and get reimbursed. Figo's average processing figure relayed by Bankrate is 2.6 days, and member reviews report longer waits when veterinary notes are requested. There is no separate Costco claims desk.
From what age can I insure my pet through Costco?
From 8 weeks of age, with no upper age limit on enrollment according to the 2026 collection. Older pets pay higher premiums, and pre-existing conditions noted in the veterinary file before enrollment remain excluded, so earlier is cheaper and safer.

Sources

  • Official policy documents - figures verified on May 18, 2026
  • NAIC : register · State Departments of Insurance (coordination NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners)