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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.
| HealthyPaws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Ranking in our Pet Insurance Reviews | 1st | 2nd |
| X-Rays |  | |
| Blood Tests | | |
| Ultrasounds | | |
| MRI | | |
| Rehabilitation | | |
| Surgery | | |
| Hip Dysplasia | Waiting Period - 12 Months* | Waiting Period - 14 Days |
| ACL | Waiting Period - 15 Days | Waiting Period - 6 Months |
| Hospitalization | | |
| Emergency Care | | |
| Specialty Care | | |
| Pre-Existing Conditions | ||
| Check Ups, Vaccinations, Spay/Neuter, Teeth Cleaning | Extra Fee | |
| Non-Routine Dental Treatment | | |
| Chronic Conditions | | |
| Illnesses | Waiting Period - 15 Days | Waiting Period - 14 Days |
| Accidents | Waiting Period - 15 Days | Waiting Period - 3 Days |
| Hereditary Conditions | | |
| Congenital Conditions | | |
| Cancer Treatments | | |
| Diagnostic Treatment | | |
| Alternative/Holistic Therapy | | |
| Behavioral Therapy | Cover related exam fees & RX meds | |
| Prescription Medications | | |
| Exam Fees | | |
| Enrollment Fee | $25 | |
| 30-Day Money Back Guarantee | | |
| Claim Limits | Unlimited | $5,000 or Unlimited |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
| Underwriter | ACE Property & Casualty (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 insurance carrier several times 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 a 5-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 only a slightly better reputation. So we declare this category a tie.
Winner: Healthy Paws & Pets Best (Tie)
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 26, 2018. All information is for pets without a microchip, no multi-pet discount and no pre-existing conditions.
| Breed | Birthday/Gender | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Maximum | Price Per Month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy Paws | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2016 | Male | Columbus, Ohio (zip code 43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $40.51 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2016 | Male | Columbus, Ohio (zip code 43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $31.05 |
| Healthy Paws | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2016 | Male | Columbus, Ohio (zip code 43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $47.98 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2016 | Male | Columbus, Ohio (zip code 43205) | $100 | 90% | Unlimited | $34.50 |
| Healthy Paws | Labrador Retriever | April 2016 | Female | Los Angeles, California (zipcode 90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $58.57 |
| Pets Best | Labrador Retriever | April 2016 | Female | Los Angeles, California (zipcode 90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $67.21 |
| Healthy Paws | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2014 | Female | Chicago, Illinois (zipcode 60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $42.31 |
| Pets Best | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2014 | Female | Chicago, Illinois (zipcode 60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $29.69 |
| Healthy Paws | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2014 | Female | Chicago, Illinois (zipcode 60604) | $100 | 70% | Unlimited | $63.67 |
| Pets Best | Medium Mixed Breed | January 2014 | Female | Chicago, Illinois (zipcode 60604) | $100 | 70% | Unlimited | $53.63 |
| Healthy Paws | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2017 | Male | New York City, New York (zipcode 10012) | $250 | 90% | Unlimited | $76.48 |
| Pets Best | American Pitbull Terrier | September 2017 | Male | New York City, New York (zipcode 10012) | $250 | 90% | Unlimited | $78.35 |
When we ran additional price quotes, Healthy Paws was consistently in the middle of the pack and Pets Best was either the least expensive or among the 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
Use this link and you will automatically receive up to a 5% discount. The actual discount varies based on individual state regulations. You can also visit our dedicated HealthyPaws promotions page to discuss current offers.
Pets Best
Pets Best offers two discounts that you may be eligible for when you use this link :
- 5% multi-pet discount
- 5% discount for military members and their families
Overall Winner
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 Healthy Paws has a more recognizable and established reputation. While the checkmarks are even, we feel that Healthy Paws wins by a hair in this comparison.
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?
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Alternatively, do they drop coverage completely at a certain age if your pet has been enrolled?
Do other pet insurances do this?
I currently have Healthy Paws, but the lack of exam fee coverage is really bothering me.
(I have had very senior pets, dogs reaching 13, 14 and almost 15, and incidentally cats reaching 18 years and counting so far)
Thank you!!!
Since the premiums with Healthy Paws (HP) and Pets Best (PB) are basically identical, I found several differences that ultimately swayed me to Pets Best.
Exams: HP doesn’t have any plans that include refunding exam fees and I initially didn’t think much about it, but I soon realized that they are like a “hidden deductible” and can add up quickly. Think about it, you are getting pet insurance in case your pet gets ill or injured and to help with the costs. This will involve at least one office visit and most likely repeat visits. Regular vet exams are in the $50-75 range, while a specialist can be around $100-$150. An emergency clinic can be up to $250! Pets Best lets you add exam coverage for only $2-3 more per month, so it works out to less than the price of just one regular vet exam for the policy year.
Options, options, options!:
You have double the deductible options with PB (50,100,200,250,300,400,500,1000) versus HP (100,200,250,500). I don’t like feeling trapped, so I’d rather have more options in case premiums started getting too high in the future and you are looking to cut costs but not lose coverage. Remember that if you take your pet in for an illness, that illness and anything similar or related to it will most likely be considered a pre-existing condition if you tried to switch companies. Or even worse, your pet could be diagnosed with a chronic condition. Having the option to go as high as a $1000 deductible with PB versus only $500 with HP will put a big dent in your premium and would allow you to at least keep the insurance if you have pre-existing conditions. While it wouldn’t be as useful for smaller costs anymore, you are still covered for the major stuff – which is honestly what this insurance is really for anyway. Also remember you can only increase your deductible and not decrease it (the opposite applies for your co-pay).
Which brings me to my next point, I was initially drawn to HP as I had heard they do not increase premiums as your pet ages – only for increases in veterinary expenses, technology, etc. I also read a recent newspaper article that mentioned this. However, this is simply not true. It may possibly be true in SOME states, but I emailed HP and they sent the following reply: “Your premium is based on your pet’s age, breed and your zip code. In Washington, your pet’s age is a factor when we evaluate your policy annually.” PB clearly mentions on their website that they adjust premiums as your pet ages. Based on this, I figured the chances of premium increases is pretty much equal between the two companies, so adding the coverage for exams will help offset some of those premium increases with PB over HP.
You have more payment options with PB. You can pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually versus only monthly with HP. PB does charge $2 per transaction for all but annual payments, so you can save up to $24 a year by doing one of the other payment plans over monthly. It’s important to note that the monthly premiums between the two companies are basically equivalent WITH the $2 monthly fee PB charges INCLUDED (as HP only does monthly billing), so paying any other option does save up to $24 per year over HP premiums. Therefore, the one-time $25 fee HP charges for the first year isn’t factored in and so the first year is $25 more with HP.
Any changes made to your policy in the 30-day review period with PB are backdated to the policy start date. However, with HP it doesn’t go into effect until the following month (as HP only does monthly billing). This essentially doubles the waiting period from 15-days to 30-days. If any claims are made between the original 15-day waiting period and before this next billing cycle payment is processed at the new rate, they clearly state that the claim may not be approved.
The following were additional items I found in favor of PB over HP:
– Shorter waiting periods
– No age restrictions on covered items or enrollment
– PB covers periodontal disease while HP does not
– No exam required beforehand
– You have the option to add a wellness plan at each renewal of your premium if you choose.
– PB includes 24/7 access to Whisker Docs helpline. I’m not sure how helpful this might be, but it is still a welcome addition since both HP And PB don’t have 24/7 customer service.
Anyway, I hope this helps others decide between these two companies if they are stuck deciding like I was. HP does have slightly better reviews, reputation and customer service, but I feel PB just has many more options for the life of the plan that make up for this.
PB actually lets you choose any deductible in $100 increments up to $1000. For some reason they don’t show this on the website. So the deductibles available are 50, 100, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and 1000.
The 24/7 Whisker Docs helpline actually costs $129.99 per yr, but is waived as part of your policy. So it’s definitely added value!
PB includes coverage for behavioral conditions, while HP does not.
Healthy Paws has much better reviews and is recommended over Pets Best by pretty much everything I’ve read. This makes me wonder if Pets Best maybe denies more claims or finds ways not to pay out? It also seems Pets Best increases rates more as a pet ages, but hard to tell. I did notice though that Healthy Paws appears to restrict the co-pay / deductible options if you get a quote for an older pet, but Pets Best has the same options no matter what age. I’m not sure if this applies though if you are already enrolled before your pet reaches that age? Honestly, I’d rather go with the company who has better reviews, appears to deny less claims and doesn’t increase premiums as much. So far, leaning towards Healthy Paws…
Thank you
Is it really 6 months but they don’t just say 14 days to get people to enroll?
Thanks for the help
Please let me know if you have any other questions about pet insurance that I can help you with. I just finished our summer audit for pet insurance and hope to have the articles go live by the end of June.