My Experience With Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

I’ve been on a roller coaster of medical issues with my dogs over the years, and as a result, I’m a huge advocate for having pet insurance. Have you read my post Is Pet Insurance Worth It? Spoiler Alert: It’s worth it! In that post, I shared how I got to this steadfast opinion, and also about my experience with Trupanion. Now, I want to tell you about my experience with Healthy Paws pet insurance.

Insurance for accidents and Illness

Like Trupanion, pet insurance with Healthy Paws is for accidents and illness only. When you have a dog, certain expenses are expected. Flea and heart worm prevention, and annual vaccinations are examples. But what about the unexpected things? Things like accidents, illness, cancer, genetic conditions, or emergency care. That’s where Healthy Paws comes in.

healthy paws Summary

• Flexible reimbursement rates, typically 70%, 80%, or 90%.
• Flexible annual deductible, typically $100, $250, or $500.
• A 15-day waiting period for accidents and illnesses, except hip dysplasia.
• A 12-month waiting period for hip dysplasia. A Healthy Paws policy includes coverage for hip dysplasia only if your pet is under 6 years old at the time of enrollment, and then for the lifetime of your pet.
• Reimbursement is based on actual veterinary costs at any veterinary hospital for the treatment of unexpected illnesses and injuries that did not exist prior to coverage (i.e. not a pre-existing condition, which is excluded from coverage).
• Included coverage for many alternative treatment options, such as physical therapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and massage. Read more about these treatments in my post What is the Safest Anti-Inflammatory for Dogs?
• No maximum limits on payouts. In other words, no per incident, annual or lifetime caps on your pet’s benefits.
• Wellness or preventive care, and exam fees, are not covered.

It’s important to note, no pet insurance policy currently available offers coverage for pre-existing conditions. To avoid the dreaded pre-existing condition exclusion, your best bet is to insure your pet as soon as you get them, before any conditions are permanently recorded in their record.

Also, Healthy Paws may limit the range of reimbursement rates or deductible options depending on your pet’s age at enrollment and/or their breed. The maximum age at which you can enroll your pet is 14 years. However, once enrolled, the coverage extends for your pet’s lifetime, even beyond 14 years.

Key differences with trupanion

• Healthy Paws offers an annual deductible vs. Trupanion’s per condition lifetime deductible.
• Healthy Paws allows a sliding scale of reimbursement rates, up to 90%. If you choose a lower reimbursement rate, your premium lowers. Conversely, this increases your share of any covered treatment. Trupanion only offers a reimbursement rate of 90%.
• A Healthy Paws policy includes alternative treatment coverage without a separate policy add-on. Trupanion offers this coverage, but only when you purchase the Recovery and Complementary Care Rider. However, if you have purchased this rider, Trupanion includes coverage for behavioral modification, which Healthy Paws does not offer.
• Healthy Paws does not offer any coverage for specialty diets, while Trupanion offers limited coverage for specialty diets prescribed by a veterinarian.
• Healthy Paws covers shipping costs for compounded medications and diagnostic testing. Trupanion does not cover any shipping costs.
• Healthy Paws representatives are only available during business hours (Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST, Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST, Closed Sunday), while Trupanion representatives are available for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you are in an emergency after hours situation, and have questions regarding your coverage, Trupanion is always there. You can even execute a pre-approval for any treatments you’re considering.
• With Healthy Paws, there are no claim forms. Just submit receipts by email or through their handy mobile app, and Healthy Paws takes it from there. With Trupanion, all claim submissions must include a fully completed claim form.

Not a difference, but a commonality, Healthy Paws and Trupanion both reimburse based on actual veterinary costs at any veterinarian hospital. And neither company has any payout limits on your claims. IMO, these might be the most important aspects to look for when choosing a pet insurance policy.

My Experience with Healthy Paws pet insurance

Healthy Paws appears to be a better value the younger your dog is at the time of enrollment. If your dog’s quote limits the reimbursement or deductible options (i.e. does not allow you to choose a reimbursement rate up to 90%, or an annual deductible as low as $100-$250), it would behoove you to compare policies with another reputable company, like Trupanion.

I chose Healthy Paws for Lemon because the price they offered for 90% reimbursement and a $250 annual deductible was less than Trupanion offered for 90% reimbursement and a $500 lifetime per condition deductible. Lemon’s Trupanion quote included the Recovery and Complementary Care rider, which I would always include when choosing coverage with Trupanion.

Personally, I have found the actual coverage between Healthy Paws and Trupanion (when you have purchased Trupanion’s Recovery and Complementary Care rider) to be very comparable. And I love that filing a claim is as simple as sending in the receipt. The main difference between these policies has been Healthy Paws’ annual deductible vs. Trupanion’s lifetime per condition deductible. Personally, I like the simplicity of planning for X amount deductible in my budget each year.

The bottom line

My experience with Healthy Paws pet insurance has been very positive. Lemon has been insured for nearly 4 years (and counting). Here’s a summary of what Healthy Paws has reimbursed for Lemon to date:

• I’ve filed 48 claims to Healthy Paws totaling $18,027.22 including:
  • Three hospital stays for severe nausea and bowel issues totaling 9 days.
  • Diagnostics including multiple X-rays, multiple ultrasounds, an endoscopy, and other diagnostic testing.
  • Multiple feeding tube placements, IVs, bloodwork, and countless medications to manage her condition.
  • Surgery and pathology for a mammary tumor.
• Healthy Paws has reimbursed a total of $14,029.90 for these claims.
• My out of pocket expense for these claims is $3,997.32, which includes:
  • Deductibles totaling $1,000.00 (4 years x $250)
  • Excluded charges of $1,467.48 for exam fees and a small amount of prescription food.
  • My 10% share of the remaining covered expenses (90% reimbursement rate)
• All in, Healthy Paws has paid 78% of my unplanned, unexpected care for Lemon so far.

Remember, when considering pet insurance, it pays to read the fine print and ask questions. Really knowing and understanding what is covered and what is not covered helps avoid surprises down the road. If you’re able to insure your pet early, it helps avoid any gray areas when it comes to pre-existing condition exclusions.

As I’ve mentioned before, “winning” at pet insurance is the peace of mind you get from having coverage. You don’t necessarily want a reason to use it. But if you do use it, it helps to know you’ve chosen a policy that’s got you covered!