Pros, Cons, & Coverage Explained

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Healthy Paws Pet Insurance offers unlimited coverage and high reimbursement options. Business Insider’s personal finance team compared Healthy Paws pet insurance to the best pet insurance companies and found it to be an industry leader for its comprehensive coverage. However, you should be wary of eligibility restrictions and high annual premium increases.

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Summary

Founded in 2009 and acquired by insurance company Chubb in April 2024, Healthy Paws is among the most popular pet insurance companies in the United States. It provides unlimited coverage and a long list of covered incidents and treatments.

Healthy Paws is also known for its charitable donations, supporting shelters and rescues to the tune of $2.3 million. With its recent acquisition, the exact nature of Healthy Paws’ charity initiatives remains unclear, though its website says that it’s still committed to “the promotion of animal welfare” through the establishment of The Healthy Paws Pet Foundation at Chubb.

One downside to Healthy Paws is its spotty eligibility. As we gathered quotes for our review, we found that options varied widely based on location, breed, and your pet’s age. Some pets were only eligible for 50% reimbursements and on quite a few occasions, Healthy Paws simply stated it couldn’t offer coverage and directed us to some of its partners.

Additionally, Healthy Paws lacks certain features that many of its competitors offer. For one, it lacks any wellness or preventive packages, including coverage for spaying or neutering. It also doesn’t cover fees for office visits or examinations, just the treatments themselves.

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Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Plans & Coverage

Healthy Paws offers unlimited annual or lifetime reimbursements for insured animals with eligible claims. This means whether your veterinary bill is $100 or $10,000, Healthy Paws will pay based on the terms of your policy. Remember, while you can use any vet, Healthy Paws reimburses you afterward. Currently, it offers insurance for cats and dogs, but not exotic pets.

Healthy Paws offers comprehensive pet health coverage, including things you might expect, like:

Illness and accidents
Cancer coverage
Chronic conditions (excluding pre-existing conditions)
Emergency and specialty hospitals (including emergency pet surgery and other major surgeries)

It also offers less common coverages, including:

Hereditary and congenital conditions (excluding preexisting conditions)
Alternative care, such as chiropractic care and acupuncture
Hip dysplasia for qualifying pets

Healthy Paws also allows pet parents to customize two areas of coverage: annual deductibles and coinsurance.

Annual deductible: $100, $250, $500, $750, or $1,000
Coinsurance of 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of eligible expenses (how much the pet insurance company covers)

Additional Coverage Options

Healthy Paws does not offer pet wellness or maintenance coverage for routine veterinary care such as dental cleanings, annual exams, spaying or neutering, and vaccinations.

The company’s stance is that wellness plans often raise monthly premiums without adding value. However, most wellness plans aren’t actually attached to insurance premiums. They’re usually added to a policy at a fixed cost.

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Cost

Like other pet insurance companies, Healthy Paws is only suitable for some pet families. It’s also more expensive than some pet insurance companies known to focus on the lowest possible pricing. It lacks any multi-pet discounts and reserves the right to increase your premiums based on your pet’s age, known as “birthday pricing.”

To get a better idea of how much Healthy Paws costs, we’ll look at how much a pet owner with a Washington D.C. ZIP code would pay in pet insurance premiums. We normally use a New York City ZIP code for our quotes because it is one of the most expensive places to receive vet care, which insurance premiums will reflect. However, Healthy Paws’ availability is fickle in New York, so we chose Washington D.C. since its one of the most expensive city for pet care.

Depending on where you live, your quotes likely won’t be as high as ours. However, they may be on the lower side compared to quotes from our other pet insurance reviews.

We acquired the following quotes for Healthy Paws’ base plan, no add-ons included, with a $500 deductible and 70% reimbursement.

Healthy Paws’ quote system is highly finicky, so your premiums and options may not line up with our quotes.

Let’s go over premiums for a Washington D.C. cat covered under Healthy Paws’ base plan with a $500 deductible and 70% reimbursement.

How to Purchase and Manage Your Healthy Paws Policy

Pet owners can obtain a Healthy Paws Pet Insurance quote on its website. You’ll need to be prepared to provide the following information about you and your pet:

Pet name
Breed/Species
Gender
Month and year of pet’s birth (best guesses are okay)
ZIP code

Once you obtain your quote, you may be able to customize your annual deductible and reimbursement amount.

Note that your pet will have to take a complete clinical examination to complete enrollment in a Healthy Paws policy. If your pet is 5 or under, the exam can take place 12 months prior to the effective date of your policy or 15 days following the effective date of the policy. If your pet is 6 or older, the exam must take place within 30 days prior or 15 days following the effective date of your policy. Healthy Paws will void and refund your policy if you fail to fulfill the exam requirements.

Additionally, pet owners who purchase Healthy Paws have 30 days to cancel their policy and receive a full refund as long as they haven’t filed a claim yet.

Note: Healthy Paws has a 15-day waiting period for accidents and illnesses.

How to File a Claim With Healthy Paws

Healthy Paws pet parents can submit claims through the company’s mobile app or online via their customer account. Policyholders can also submit claims via fax, email, or snail mail with a paper form.

You can contact Healthy Paws through the following channels:

Email: claims@healthypawspetinsurance.com

Fax: (888) 228-4129

Mail:

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
PO Box 50034
Bellevue, WA 98015

Policyholders must submit claims within 90 days of your vet’s invoice date. If appropriately submitted, Healthy Paws’ site states most claims are processed within two business days.

You’ll need the following information to file your claim:

The invoice number for your vet bill
The total amount of your invoice
The name of your veterinary hospital
The first date of your pet’s illness or injury symptoms

You’ll also need to sign a statement of truthfulness and accuracy and date your claim form before sending it to the company.

Healthy Paws Customer Service and Claims Experience

Healthy Paws is very highly rated by customers, averaging 4.4 stars out of five on Trustpilot. Customers reported that Healthy Paws has a straightforward claims process and fast reimbursement times.

On the other hand, 12% of Healthy Paws reviewers gave the product one star. These reviewers expressed frustration with excluded conditions, sudden policy cancellations, and annual premium adjustments. One customer reported that their premium nearly doubled from year to year.

Healthy Paws regularly responds to negative customer reviews within a few days. Responses usually clarify a reviewer’s policy, and why coverage was denied.

Compare Healthy Paws

See how Healthy Paws compares to two other options for pet insurance coverage: Lemonade and Pumpkin.

Healthy Paws vs. Lemonade Pet Insurance

Lemonade Pet Insurance is a relatively new competitor, but still gives Healthy Paws a run for its money.

Lemonade is structured very differently to Healthy Paws, offering a very simple base plan with a wide variety of add-ons, like dental illness coverage and physical therapy. While the same coverage is offered by Healthy Paws without any additional fees, the option to go without these protections can be important for someone looking for cheaper pet insurance.

The same principle applies to Lemonade’s coverage limits. While Healthy Paws locks customers into unlimited coverage, Lemonade allows owners to choose their annual maximum, between $5,000 and $100,000. Users can also customize their annual deductibles and coinsurance.

All of these customizations allow customers to tailor their coverage to their specific needs. They can make their plan as cheap as they want or splurge for more protection. Customers can also save money with multi-pet discounts, bundling with Lemonade’s other insurance products, or opting to pay premiums annually rather than monthly.

When customers splurge and buy all the add-ons, Lemonade easily outshines Healthy Paws’ coverage. It offers coverage for vet exam fees and behavioral issue treatment, which Healthy Paws doesn’t include. Lemonade customers can also add an optional wellness package, which isn’t an option for Healthy Paws. Lemonade’s wellness package for puppies and kittens also covers spaying and neutering.

Ultimately, Lemonade pet insurance will be a better fit for most pet owners. However, if you live in one of the 13 states where Lemonade isn’t available, Healthy Paws is worth a look.

Read our Lemonade pet insurance review.

Healthy Paws vs. Pumpkin Pet Insurance

Pumpkin Pet Insurance and Healthy Paws are similar services, both offering one comprehensive plan. While Healthy Paws locks customers into unlimited coverage with various choices for deductibles and coinsurance, Pumpkin locks customers into a 90% coinsurance plan with various choices for deductibles and annual limits, even an unlimited coverage option.

Pumpkin pet owners can also purchase optional preventative care coverage, which Healthy Paws does not offer. Pumpkin also offers come coverages that Healthy Paws doesn’t, such as vet exam fees and behavioral issues. It also has a more forgiving policy regarding pre-existing conditions, covering curable pre-existing conditions as long as your pet has been cured and symptom-free for 180 days.

With its greater flexibility and more comprehensive coverage, Pumpkin is the better option for pet owners.

Read our Pumpkin pet insurance review.

Healthy Paws FAQ

No, Healthy Paws does not cover pre-existing conditions, whether they’re curable or not.

Yes, Healthy Paws has a 15-day waiting period for injury and illness coverage.

No, Healthy Paws pet insurance coverage does not offer pet wellness or preventative coverages like dental care or annual exams.

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Healthy Paws

When evaluating pet insurance carriers, we consider several that impact your overall experience. Insurance companies at the top of our list prioritize customer experience, communicate in simple, straightforward language, and provide an easy claims submission process with quick payouts for eligible claims.

Healthy Paws meets all of these criteria, and the philanthropic focus on care for annual shelters is a nice bonus. Our full pet insurance rating methodology can answer questions you may have.

Katherine Fan is a personal finance expert, journalist, and public speaker with nine years of industry experience. ExperienceSince 2015, Katherine has published 1,800+ articles, guides, and reviews covering credit card benefits and rewards, small business finances, points and miles travel, loyalty programs, and real estate investing. Before joining Personal Finance Insider as Senior Editor of Credit Cards, Katherine covered aviation, award travel, loyalty programs, and credit cards as a senior reporter for The Points Guy, and small business finances as a lead writer for Nerdwallet. Katherine has also freelanced for CNN Underscored, Forbes Advisor, Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Bankrate, CreditCards.com, the Dallas Morning News, LendingTree, Upgraded Points, Fortune Recommends, Newsweek, and Slickdeals Money. Her work has been syndicated by Nasdaq, MSN and Yahoo. Katherine is a guest speaker at TravelCon, and has been featured on multiple podcasts including NPR Life Kit, Expedia’s Out Travel the System, and The Points Guy’s Miles Away. In her spare time, Katherine moonlights as a photojournalist covering Formula 1, Austin City Limits, and SXSW for the Austin American-Statesman and other media outlets. When she’s not jetsetting around the world, you’ll likely find her in Austin cooking up a batch of spicy Chinese food.ExpertiseKatherine’s expertise encompasses:

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Katherine’s interest in personal finance runs parallel to her passions for real estate investing and award travel. Despite a salary of just $28,000 a year from her first full-time job, Katherine built an excellent credit score of 805 from scratch through hard work [and privilege], which allowed her to purchase her first home six years after graduating college. She’s since added five more doors to her real estate portfolio, although she plans to retire on her index fund investments.Thanks to credit card travel rewards, Katherine has flown well over one million miles visiting 44 countries across all seven continents. She’s sailed with orcas in Antarctica, flown home in first class from Japan, photographed a wedding at Hobbiton in New Zealand, and gone on safari in South Africa. But her most meaningful trips always bring her home to loved ones in Taiwan. EducationKatherine holds dual degrees in photojournalism and Asian American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a certificate in business Chinese proficiency from National Taiwan University. She began her professional career in tech as a software sales executive for several years before returning to her media roots. “/>

Katherine Fan

Senior Editor, Credit Cards

Small business finances
Credit cards
Points and miles travel
Travel insurance
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