Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Review & Complaints (2024)

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Veterinary bills can be expensive, which is why it’s nice to have options to protect your beloved pets. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation combines a comprehensive pet insurance program with a non-profit foundation helping homeless pets. They provide policies that include coverage for treatment for dogs and cats across the country, ensuring that you don’t have to pay for veterinary expenses by yourself.

What is Healthy Paws Pet Insurance?

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and Foundation was created in 2009 by a no-kill shelter executive director and a visitor to the shelter – a former insurance executive – who both adopted his dog there and helped with fostering of animals. They created it to act as both a pet insurance plan for pet owners as well as a foundation that would help provide assistance to homeless pet shelters.

The insurance plans offered by Healthy Paws are underwritten by global insurance giant Chubb Group, and the company also partners with insurance broker Aon Corporation. Both of these big names offer solid financial backing for Healthy Paws.

Through the Every Quote Gives Hope program, Healthy Paws makes a donation to one of several pet shelters across the country for every quote requested on the website. The company also sponsors an Animal Advocate Scholarship and a Veterinary Student Scholarship annually, and also provides major grants each year to several pet rescues.

Healthy Paws is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and covers pets across the U.S.

What type of coverage is offered?

Healthy Paws writes pet insurance policies for cats and dogs of all ages, although requirements and rates vary based on the pet’s age. Most pet insurance companies will have requirements, but they’ll change depending on the company. For example, you may find a pet insurance company that covers certain procedures such as routine care, but not specialty care or alternative therapies. This is why it’s important to know if your pet has a covered condition before applying.

The program through Healthy Paws does not include any coverage for vet bills for wellness or preventative care visits and is designed only for unexpected accidents, emergencies, injuries, and illnesses.

Covered services include:

• Diagnostic tests
• Medically necessary treatments
• Hospitalization
• Surgery
• Prescription medications

There are a number of exclusions, including:

• Pre-existing conditions
• Examination fees
• Dental care
• Behavioral treatment
• Non-FDA approved supplements
• Boarding

In addition to the exclusion of pre-existing conditions certain congenital conditions, disease types, hereditary conditions, and chronic conditions have a waiting period before they are covered under the insurance policy.

An example is hip dysplasia, one of the most common hereditary conditions in older dogs. This condition is covered under the pet insurance policy only if the pet is under six when enrolled and has a 12-month waiting period for coverage of the condition after enrollment.

Benefits

Like most pet insurance, Healthy Paws operates on a reimbursement basis. The policyholder will be responsible for paying veterinary care bills upfront at the , and then a claim can be submitted for reimbursement of the vet bills in the amount allowed by the pet insurance policy.

Claims for emergency care can be submitted by pet owners after the initial 15-day waiting period that follows enrollment.

An annual deductible applies to each policy, after which plan benefits kick in. The website states that covered services are reimbursed at up to 90%. The actual amount of reimbursement and deductible amount are selected by the policyholder at the time of enrollment.

Available reimbursement rates are 70, 80, or 90%. Deductible selections are $100, $250, or $500.

With the Healthy Paws plan, policyholders can take their pets to any veterinarian. There are no caps on reimbursements.

What is the cost of a Healthy Paws Pet Insurance policy?

We ran a quote using the sample of a one-year-old medium mixed breed dog, using a California zip code.

The suggested coverage rate returned was a reimbursement rate of 80% with a $250 deductible. The monthly premium for this coverage came out to cost $31.48.

At the highest level of coverage (90%) with the lowest deductible ($100), that rate went up to a cost of $44.85 a month.

We then ran a rate quote for a mixed breed cat, also a one-year-old, in the same zip code. The mid-range rate for 80% coverage and a $250 deductible came out to a cost of $18.71 a month.

Bumping up to the highest level and lowest deductible, the sample cat rate came out to a monthly premium of $26.33.

At the lowest coverage levels, our dog quote was $24.51 a month, and our cat quote monthly premiums were $14.73. These match up with the website’s statement that rates start at $15 for cats and $25 for dogs.

All plans have a $25 initial setup fee. Overall, these rates are reasonable for the coverage offered, and lower than what we have seen elsewhere for similar coverage.

How does one enroll in Healthy Paws?

Enrollment in Healthy Paws can be completed online or over the phone.

In order to be eligible for coverage, each pet must undergo a full physical exam by a licensed vet. For pets under six years old, that exam must have been done in the 12 months prior to enrollment, or within 15 days of enrollment. For pets over six years old, the exam must be done 30 days prior to or within 15 days of enrollment.

If a claim is filed and the exam is not found to have been completed, that claim will be denied. Healthy Paws doesn’t require a full medical history upon enrollment, but they will request it at the time of the first claim.

Healthy Paws offers a 30-Day Free Look Period, which allows cancellation within the first 30-days with a full refund as long as no claims have been submitted.

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Claims Process

Ease of Filing a Claim (Online, Over the Phone, Mobile Apps)

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance offers a convenient claims process for pet owners. You have the option to file claims online through their customer portal or use their mobile app for easy submission. This digital approach simplifies the claims process, making it accessible and efficient.

Average Claim Processing Time

After submitting a claim, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance aims to process it within a standard turnaround time of 10 days. Furthermore, the company commits to issuing payment within 24 hours of completing the processing. This ensures that pet owners receive prompt reimbursement for covered expenses.

Customer Feedback on Claim Resolutions and Payouts

Customer feedback plays a crucial role in assessing the quality of an insurance provider’s claim resolutions and payouts. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance has received mixed reviews.

While some customers praise the company for its fast claims processing and satisfactory reimbursements, others have expressed concerns about increasing premiums and denied claims. It’s essential for prospective policyholders to consider both positive and negative experiences when evaluating the company’s claim resolution process.

Digital and Technological Features of Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

Mobile App Features and Functionality

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance offers a mobile app that provides convenient access to various features. Through the app, policyholders can submit claims, track the status of their claims, and manage their policies. The app’s user-friendly interface enhances the overall customer experience.

Online Account Management Capabilities

The online account management capabilities offered by Healthy Paws Pet Insurance enable policyholders to have full control over their insurance policies. From the online portal, policyholders can view policy details, update personal information, and access important documents, ensuring transparency and ease of management.

Digital Tools and Resources

Healthy Paws Pet Insurance provides digital tools and resources to educate and assist pet owners. These resources may include articles, FAQs, and educational materials on pet insurance and pet health. By offering these digital resources, the company empowers pet owners to make informed decisions about their pets’ well-being and insurance coverage.

Do the ratings and consumer reviews indicate great customer service?

Healthy Paws has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), where they have been accredited since 2011. There are 31 complaints on file in the past three years, with 16 closed in the past 12 months. The BBB’s reviews section features 43 positive and 19 negative reviews, a 69% positive rating.

There are eight reviews of Healthy Paws on Consumer Affairs, resulting in an overall rating of just below two stars. Six of the ratings are one star, and they cite issues with increasing premiums and denial of claims.

The company’s Yelp page has a lot more to offer, with 360 reviews. The overall star rating here is four stars, with many positive reviews discussing a good customer service experience and fast claims processing. There are also negative reviews that again focus on denied claims and increasing premiums. Many of the denied claims appear to be the result of misunderstanding what is covered on the policy, a common issue across all forms of insurance.

The positive reviews on Yelp provide a strong counterpoint to the negative ones; in fact, there are far more positive reviews than negative ones across all platforms.

What’s the bottom line?

Healthy Paws offers straightforward pet insurance for injuries and illness, with a few different coverage choices to help fit your budget. They have a good reputation and do a lot of good work with pet rescues and animal shelters across the country as well. The wide range of assistance that they provide is definitely a plus.

Adding to that reasonable rates, this company is a good choice for accident and illness pet insurance. Rather than racking up massive exam fees and monthly costs for medical bills, look into their plan options and see if one of them works for you and your pet.