VetDirect Pay™ vs PumpkinNow

When your pet needs urgent medical care, the last thing you want to worry about is how you'll handle the bill.

Trupanion's VetDirect Pay™ and Pumpkin Pet Insurance's PumpkinNow both offer alternatives to the traditional reimbursement model—but they work very differently. VetDirect Pay is our proprietary, fully-integrated payment system, while PumpkinNow operates as a separate process with distinct limitations. Understanding these differences is crucial when selecting the right insurance partner for your pet's healthcare journey.

How we stack up

Plan features	Trupanion VetDirect Pay™	PumpkinNow
Real-time payment process	Pays veterinary hospitals directly at checkout No reimbursement delays Pet parents leave the clinic without opening their wallet for covered expenses Payment occurs within the natural checkout process	Requires manual intervention and approval steps Involves reimbursement delays from 15 minutes to up to 3 business days Requires pet parents to initiate the process
System integration	Built directly into veterinary practice management software at thousands of hospitals nationwide Pet parent does not need any additional technology or apps Pays out portion of the bill in seconds	Operates outside the veterinary software ecosystem Requires separate apps or platforms to file claim Creates extra steps in the checkout process to account for manual claims
Simplicity	True "no out-of-pocket" experience for covered expenses No need to front costs or wait for reimbursement No manual claims or waiting on approvals outside of business hours Helps eliminate financial barriers to care decisions	Cannot pay vet directly Pet parent must file claim manually while in the vet office Reimbursement can be anywhere from 15 minutes to up to 3 business days
Claims processing	Automated decisions within seconds Integrated with medical records for faster processing No paperwork for pet parents to complete Transparent coverage decisions at point of service	More manual review steps required Much slower turnaround on approval May require additional documentation

Trupanion didn't just create a payment solution — we pioneered it. With more than a decade of experience with direct payments, Trupanion has:

Processed millions of claims through VetDirect Pay™
Paid over $3 billion in claims
Built relationships with thousands of veterinary practices nationwide
Designed the system with veterinary workflow in mind

"Trupanion's Vet Direct Pay integrates seamlessly with our practice management software. There's no comparison to solutions that require extra steps or separate applications." - Dr. Sarah Miller, DVM

Real-world scenarios

Ready for truly seamless veterinary payments?

Don't settle for almost-direct payments when you can have the real thing. Trupanion's VetDirect Pay has set the gold standard in the industry with true integration, immediate payment, and widespread veterinary acceptance.

See how affordable true peace of mind can be

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