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. If coverage is similar (as it is for these 2 companies), then price may play a larger role in your decision-making process.
Visit Healthy Paws’ Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
Policy Coverage
The table below shows specifically what is and isn’t covered by Healthy Paws and Pets Best.
| Healthy Paws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Ranking in our Pet Insurance Reviews | 1st | 2nd |
| Hip Dysplasia Waiting Period | 12 Months* | 14 Days |
| ACL Waiting Period | 15 Days | 6 Months |
| Pre-Existing Conditions | ||
| Check Ups, Vaccinations, Spay/Neuter, Teeth Cleaning | Extra Fee | |
| Illnesses Waiting Period | 15 Days | 14 Days |
| Accidents Waiting Period | 15 Days | 3 Days |
| Behavioral Therapy | Covers related exam fees & RX meds | |
| Exam Fees | Extra Fee | |
| Enrollment Fee | $25 | |
| 30-Day Money Back Guarantee |  | |
| Claim Limits | 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 |
| No Exam Required to Set Baseline for Pet's Health | |
*Healthy Paws only offers hip dysplasia coverage to dogs enrolled before the age of 6.
To summarize, Pets Best requires no exam to set your pet’s health baseline, covers exam fees, 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 for coverage.
Winner: Pets Best
Customer Service & Reputation
Healthy Paws has one of the best reputations in the pet insurance business. The majority of Healthy Paws and Pets Best customer complaints are from customers who, unfortunately, didn’t read or understand their policy.
Complaints include the companies not paying a claim during a waiting period, not paying as much of a claim due to the deductible and reimbursement level selected, not covering pre-existing conditions, etc. We can’t fault Healthy Paws or Pets Best for these complaints because there are similar complaints about all pet insurance providers.
Instead, we hope to inform pet parents on the terms of pet insurance, so that they understand fully what is and is not covered when they purchase pet insurance. This is something we think all pet insurance providers can help with as well.
Pets Best has slightly more negative reviews online than Healthy Paws. We think part of these negative
Pets Best reviews may be due to the company changing its underwriter in the past. Pets Best still has great customer service and reputation; it’s just that Healthy Paws has a better reputation.
Another reason we think Healthy Paws is the winner of this category is that Healthy Paws leads the pet insurance providers with positive changes, whereas Pets Best seems to react to competitors to keep up with the competition. While we think it’s great that both companies offer excellent customer service and coverage, we want to point out that Healthy Paws has been consistent with its performance longer than Pets Best and led the industry as the first company to offer unlimited claim limits.
Winner: Healthy Paws
Timeliness Of Claim Repayment
Healthy Paws pays 99% of its claims within 2 days while Pets Best averages about an 8-day claim repayment or less. Both timelines are among the shortest when compared to other pet insurance companies.
Both companies have a history of repaying claims in a timely fashion, with Healthy Paws having a slightly better reputation. So we declare Healthy Paws the winner of this category.
We’d like to mention that Pets Best is currently experiencing longer claim repayment averages (25 to 40 days) because of the increase in customers. We are keeping an eye on this and will update our content as things change.
Winner: Healthy Paws
Price Of Policy
This category was tricky for us to declare a winner. For the most part, both companies are priced similarly in terms of monthly premiums. Below are some quotes we pulled on December 16, 2019. All information is for pets without a microchip, no multi-pet discount and no pre-existing conditions.
| Breed | Birthday | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Maximum | 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 4 least expensive, and Pets Best was either the least expensive or among the 3 least expensive. The quotes can be very similar between these two companies.
Additionally, Healthy Paws requires a one-time fee of $25 and Pets Best has a transaction fee of $2 for every payment. So, while Pets Best was less expensive more often than Healthy Paws, it also has a recurring fee that can make its cost closer to Healthy Paws. This is why we have a tie for this category.
We encourage you to run your own quotes to understand how the pricing stacks up for you and your pet.
Winner: Healthy Paws & Pets Best (Tie)
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 a more recognizable and established reputation.
Healthy Paws should be on the lookout though; Pets Best is putting up an excellent fight to earn the winner’s spot in our pet insurance reviews. You can learn more about Pets Best and Healthy Paws by reading our individual reviews.
Winner: Healthy Paws
Do you have an experience with Healthy Paws or Pets Best you’d like to share?