This is the tightest race we had this year in our pet insurance rankings, but in the end, we chose a winner between Healthy Paws and Pets Best. We explain our reasoning below but want to remind you that you should always get quotes for your unique pet and location. If coverage is similar, then price may play a larger role in your decision-making process.
Visit Healthy Paws’ Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
| Healthy Paws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Coverage | 4.3 | 5.0 |
| Customer Service & Reputation | 4.9 | 4.3 |
| Claim Repayment | 4.7 | 2.6 |
| Plan Customization | 3.8 | 5.0 |
| Price of Policy | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| Overall Winner | 4.3/5 | 4.25/5 |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Policy Coverage
The table below shows precisely what Healthy Paws and Pets Best cover. Note: Both companies cover X-rays, blood tests, ultrasounds, cat scans, MRIs, rehabilitation, specialized exams, surgery, hospitalization, emergency care, specialty care, chronic conditions, cancer, euthanasia, hereditary conditions, congenital conditions, and prescription medication.
| Healthy Paws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Ranking in our Pet Insurance Reviews | 2nd | 3rd |
| Pre-Existing Conditions |  | |
| Illnesses Waiting Period | 15 Days | 14 Days |
| Accidents Waiting Period | 15 Days | 3 Days |
| Hip Dysplasia Waiting Period | 12 Months* | 14 Days |
| ACL Waiting Period | 15 Days | 6 Months |
| Behavioral Therapy | | Covers related exam fees & RX meds |
| Alternative/Holistic Therapies | | |
| Wellness Care Available For An Extra Fee | |  |
| Exam Fees | | Extra Fee |
| Enrollment Fee | $25 | |
| 30-Day Money Back Guarantee | | |
| Annual Payout Options | Unlimited | $5,000 or Unlimited |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
| Underwriter | Westchester Fire Insurance Company/Chubb | American Pet Insurance Company |
| A.M. Best Rating | A++ | Unrated |
*Healthy Paws only offers hip dysplasia coverage to dogs enrolled before the age of six.
Pets Best comes out ahead because it requires no exam to set your pet’s health baseline, covers exam fees (with a plan upgrade), offers wellness options, and has a shorter accident waiting period.
One of our favorite things about Healthy Paws is that it only offers unlimited lifetime benefits to its customers because it feels strongly that your pet should always be covered. However, it gets points deducted for not accepting dogs older than 14 years old for coverage.
Policy Coverage Winner: Pets Best
Customer Service & Reputation
Healthy Paws has one of the best reputations in the pet insurance business. In the past, Healthy Paws was leading the pet insurance industry with positive change and innovations. It was the first company to offer unlimited claim limits and is known for its stellar customer service. However, Healthy Paws has merely maintained the status quo in recent years, while Pets Best introduced new options.
Pets Best has many negative reviews regarding a very slow claim repayment timeline. This is because Pets Best has received an influx of customers (due to its great coverage and low prices), which has caused an increase in claims. Unfortunately, Pets Best hasn’t been able to keep up with all the filed claims, which has delayed many repayments and caused some negative backlash from customers.
Once Pets Best gets a grasp on its claim repayment feedback, we could see it winning this category. But until then, Healthy Paws is the winner.
Customer Service & Reputation Winner: Healthy Paws
Claim Repayment
Healthy Paws pays 99% of their claims within two days — the best out of all the companies we review.
Pets Best used to average claim repayments in eight or fewer days, but they’ve fallen behind over the last year or so due to a higher volume of customers. Now, their averages are 25 to 40 days.
You may be able to have Healthy Paws or Pets Best pay your vet directly, so you don’t have to pay a hefty vet bill in advance and wait for reimbursement, but this isn’t available everywhere, so check with your vet to see if this is an option for you.
Claim Repayment Winner: Healthy Paws
Plan Customization
The major differences between these two companies in your ability to customize your plan comes down to age restrictions. While Healthy Paws has unlimited payouts for all plans, they do have some restrictions on reimbursement and annual deductible amounts, depending on your pet’s age at enrollment.
- Dogs and cats 5 years and under:
- 90%, 80%, and 70% reimbursement
- $100, $250, and $500 deductible
- Dogs and cats 6 and 7 years old:
- 80%, 70%, or 60% reimbursement
- $250, $500, or $750 deductible
- Dogs 8 years and older:
- 50% or 60% reimbursement
- $750 or $1,000 deductible
Healthy Paws doesn’t enroll pets older than 14 years old. Pets Best offers a lot of customizable options with no age restrictions. Pets Best gives you the option of two annual payout options: $5,000 or unlimited. You can also choose your reimbursement level of 70%, 80%, or 90% and deductible of either $50, $100, $200, $250, $500, or $1,000.
Pets Best ultimately comes out on top because of greater flexibility to build your plan no matter your pet’s age.
Plan Customization Winner: Pets Best
Price Of Policy
Healthy Paws requires a one-time fee of $25, and Pets Best has a transaction fee of $2 for every payment. Below are some quotes we pulled on January 3, 2021. All information is for pets without a microchip, no multi-pet discount, and no pre-existing conditions.
| Breed | Birthday | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Payout | Price Per Month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy Paws | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $35.63 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $44.24 |
| Healthy Paws | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $44.51 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2017 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $49.16 |
| Healthy Paws | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $89.58 |
| Pets Best | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $72.05 |
| Healthy Paws | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $45.58 |
| Pets Best | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $45.03 |
| Healthy Paws | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $250 | 70% | Unlimited | $53.63 |
| Pets Best | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $250 | 70% | Unlimited | $62.03 |
| Healthy Paws | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2018 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $74.32 |
| Pets Best | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2018 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $39.62 |
When we ran additional price quotes, Healthy Paws was consistently among the three least expensive, and Pets Best was either the least expensive or among the two least expensive. The quotes can be very similar or different between these two companies depending on your pet.
Pets Best was less expensive more often than Healthy Paws, so we declare them the winner in this category. However, we encourage you to run your own quotes to understand how the pricing stacks up for you and your pet.
Price Of Policy Winner: Pets Best
Coupons
Healthy Paws
Pets Best
- 5% multi-pet discount
- 5% discount for military members and their families
What’s The Verdict?
This was a tough one to compare because we think Healthy Paws and Pets Best are both excellent pet insurance providers. What it ultimately came down to was that Healthy Paws has better claim repayment and customer service reviews. If you didn’t find what you were looking for, our experts have gone in-depth with individual reviews of Pets Best and Healthy Paws so you can expand your comparison.
Overall Winner: Healthy Paws
Our experts have spent hundreds of hours researching to bring you our comprehensive pet insurance reviews, including our top picks as well as details of the most popular pet insurance companies.
If you prefer to see winners by category, we award the best price, multiple pets, 100% reimbursement, unlimited payouts, and “best for” categories, including puppies, older dogs, dental, wellness coverage, bilateral conditions, behavioral therapy, and more in our best pet insurance comparison. You’ll even see winners for exotic pets and cats.
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