Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Review

About Healthy Paws pet insurance

Healthy Paws earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. If you find it overwhelming to have too many choices, the simplicity of Healthy Paws pet insurance might appeal to you. The company offers a single plan that covers accidents and illnesses with no annual or lifetime limit.

You can customize the amount you pay your vet upfront and how much the company will reimburse you, but otherwise, you’ll get a decent plan without having to make too many decisions.

However, Healthy Paws doesn’t cover certain things other companies do or let you add wellness coverage to your plan.

Healthy Paws plans and coverage

Healthy Paws offers a single plan that covers accidents and illnesses for cats and dogs. There are no per-condition, annual or lifetime payout caps. The plan covers:

• Treatment, hospitalization and surgery for injuries and illnesses, including cancer.

• Diagnostic tests.

• Hereditary and congenital conditions.

• Prescription medications.

• Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic.

• Some dental conditions.

Healthy Paws doesn’t offer accident-only or wellness plans.

Note: Coverage options and availability may vary depending on where you live and the age and breed of your pet.

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What Healthy Paws doesn't cover

Your Healthy Paws plan won’t pay for:

• Exam fees for accidents or illnesses.

• Hip dysplasia treatment if your pet’s coverage started at age 6 or older.

• Routine dental care, or extractions or reconstructions due to dental disease.

• Prescription diets.

• Burial or cremation expenses.

• Wellness or preventive care, including spay and neuter surgery.

• Pre-existing conditions, including those that arise during the waiting period after you purchase your policy.

• Behavioral therapies.

• Experimental treatments.

• Breeding or pregnancy.

• Cruciate injuries to one leg if the other has previously had a similar injury. (This is known as a bilateral exclusion.)

» MORE: Complete guide to pet insurance coverage

Healthy Paws pet insurance plan options

Deductibles: Depending on where you live and your pet’s age and breed, you might have annual deductible choices anywhere between $100 and $1,000. A pet insurance deductible is the amount of your vet bills you’ll need to pay before your insurer starts reimbursing you.

Reimbursement amounts: There’s similar variation among reimbursement amounts, with 70% and 80% being the most common options we saw in our sample quotes. However, you may be offered an amount as low as 50% or as high as 90%, depending on your pet and location.

Unlike some pet insurers, Healthy Paws applies your reimbursement rate to your vet bill before it subtracts your deductible when calculating your claim payout. That results in less reimbursement than you might get from other insurers. Here’s how that could play out if you had a $2,000 vet bill, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate:

• $2,000 x 0.8 (80% reimbursement rate) = $1,600.

• $1,600 - $500 deductible = $1,100.

Coverage limits: There are no coverage limits on Healthy Paws plans.

Restrictions and waiting periods

Age restrictions: Pets must be at least 8 weeks old to be covered, and may be enrolled up until their 14th birthday.

Waiting periods: A waiting period is the time between when you buy your policy and when your coverage takes effect. In most states, Healthy Paws has a waiting period of 15 days for any accident or illness. If your pet is younger than 6 when the policy starts, there’s also a 12-month waiting period for hip dysplasia in most states. (Healthy Paws generally doesn't cover pets for hip dysplasia if they enroll after age 5.)

» MORE: Does pet insurance cover surgery?

Healthy Paws sample rates

The cost of Healthy Paws pet insurance depends on where you live, the coverage limits you choose, and your pet’s breed and age.

To give you a rough idea of how much you might pay, we gathered quotes for several popular dog breeds at ages 2 and 8. Rates below are sample monthly premiums for dogs living in Katy, Texas.

Our sample plan for most younger dogs was for accident and illness coverage with a $250 deductible, unlimited annual coverage and an 80% reimbursement rate. Other than the unlimited annual coverage, these options weren’t available to the 2-year-old French bulldog, whose quote came with a $500 deductible and 70% reimbursement rate. Meanwhile, the older dogs got quotes with a $1,000 deductible and only 50% reimbursement. Your own price will vary.

We also gathered rates for a variety of cat breeds with the same coverage limits as above. As with older dogs, the 8-year-old cats were offered a $1,000 deductible and 50% reimbursement rate. Rates below are sample monthly premiums for cats living in Katy, Texas.

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Healthy Paws discounts

Healthy Paws doesn’t offer any discounts.

State availability

Healthy Paws is licensed to sell pet insurance in all U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

Digital experience

You can get a quick quote and buy a policy on the Healthy Paws website. Once you’re a policyholder, you can use the online portal to file and track claims, make policy changes, and update your billing information.

Healthy Paws’ mobile app has similar features to the website, including the ability to submit claims, view policy details and change billing information. However, middling ratings on Google Play suggest that the app may not work well for all Android users.

How to file a claim with Healthy Paws

You can file claims online, through the mobile app or by email. The company says it processes most claims within two days, though it may take up to 10 days to receive your payout after approval. You can choose reimbursement by check or direct deposit. If your vet permits it, Healthy Paws may be able to pay them directly.

How to contact Healthy Paws customer service

You can reach Healthy Paws customer support via a contact form on the website or by calling 855-898-8991, Monday through Saturday.

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Healthy Paws pet insurance vs. competitors

Here’s how Healthy Paws pet insurance stacks up against other popular plans.

Healthy Paws vs. Trupanion

Like Healthy Paws, Trupanion offers a single accident and illness plan with unlimited coverage. Trupanion’s plan also comes with a standard 90% reimbursement rate in most states, while Healthy Paws offers a range of reimbursement options between 50% and 90%, depending on your pet and where you live.

The primary difference between the two companies is how they handle deductibles. Healthy Paws charges its deductible annually, while Trupanion offers lifetime per-condition deductibles in most states. If your pet develops a chronic condition that needs treatment year after year, you’d pay the Trupanion deductible only once.

When it comes to coverage, there are a few minor differences. Healthy Paws covers alternative therapies in its standard plan but doesn’t cover behavioral therapies at all, while Trupanion offers coverage for both at an extra cost in most states. Neither company covers exam fees or offers an option to pay for wellness care.

Healthy Paws has a 15-day waiting period for illnesses and injuries. Trupanion has a shorter period for injuries (five days) and a longer one for illnesses (30 days). Both companies offer quick claims processing with the option to pay your vet directly.

Healthy Paws vs. Pets Best

Healthy Paws keeps things simple with a single accident and illness policy, but Pets Best offers multiple plans and riders. With Pets Best, you can opt for an accident and illness plan or cover accidents only. You can also pick and choose whether your plan pays for exam fees or preventive care, neither of which Healthy Paws covers.

Standard Pets Best accident and illness policies cover behavioral consults with a vet, while Healthy Paws doesn’t. However, acupuncture and chiropractic care cost extra with Pets Best but are included with Healthy Paws policies.

Pets Best offers shorter waiting periods than Healthy Paws in most states: three days for injury and 14 days for illness.

If you’re enrolling an older animal, Pets Best may be a better bet. It has no upper age limit, while pets must be enrolled by their 14th birthday to get Healthy Paws coverage.

Healthy Paws vs. Nationwide

Healthy paws touts the simplicity of its accident and illness plan, while Nationwide has a variety of policies. Nationwide's Whole Pet offering is similar to the Healthy Paws plan, reimbursing a percentage of your vet bill and covering a wide range of illnesses. Unlike the Healthy Paws plan, it pays for exam fees when you visit the vet for an accident or illness. It also covers prescription diets and behavioral consults, which Healthy Paws doesn’t pay for.

Nationwide’s Modular plan is more customizable, so you can pick and choose coverage for things like congenital and hereditary conditions, behavioral treatments, and wellness care. But it still reimburses you for a percentage of your vet expenses.

Nationwide’s Major Medical plan works differently, with claim payouts based on a set benefit schedule per condition. Major Medical doesn’t cover as many scenarios as Healthy Paws’ plan, but it does offer wellness coverage as an optional add-on. Healthy Paws doesn’t cover any wellness expenses.

Healthy Paws’ two-day processing for most claims is a bit faster than Nationwide’s five-day turnaround time.

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How we review pet insurance

Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines that ensure fairness and accuracy to help you choose the financial products that work best for you. In our pet insurance reviews, we consider coverage, discounts, financial strength ratings from AM Best and more to determine our star ratings.

In our evaluation, we:

• Analyzed 2,100 data points.

• Got 800+ quotes from pet insurers.

• Compared 20+ companies.

Our rating system rewards companies that cover a wide range of potential expenses, offer many ways to customize your plan and have a strong financial rating. Within the consumer experience category, we looked at features such as mobile app ratings and whether the company offers direct vet payments. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.

Dive deeper with our criteria for evaluating pet insurance companies.

Methodology