This content was reviewed by our licensed insurance agent, Michelle Schenker.
To keep the lights on, we receive affiliate commissions via some of our links. Our review process.
We pit two of the most popular pet insurance companies against one another and choose 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. The price may play a more prominent role in your decision-making process if coverage is similar.
Visit Healthy Paws’ Website | Visit Pets Best’s Website
| Healthy Paws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Coverage | More Limited | Extensive |
| Customer Service & Reputation | Excellent, Stable | Good |
| Claim Processing Average | 2 Days | 10-30 Days |
| Price Of Policy | Varies | Lower on Average |
| Plan Customizations | Restricted Options | Many Options |
| Overall Winner |  |  |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Policy Coverage
The table below shows precisely what Healthy Paws and Pets Best cover. Note: Both companies cover emergency care, surgery and hospitalization, specialized exams and specialty care, X-rays, blood tests, ultrasounds, cat scans, MRIs, rehabilitation, cancer, chronic conditions, euthanasia, hereditary conditions, congenital conditions, non-routine dental treatment, and prescription medications. Neither covers pre-existing conditions, cremation and burial costs, pregnancy and breeding, or unnecessary cosmetic procedures.
| Healthy Paws | Pets Best | |
|---|---|---|
| Ranking In Our Pet Insurance Comparison | Fastest Claim Processing | Best Overall |
| Illness Waiting Period | 15 Days | 14 Days |
| Accident Waiting Period | 15 Days | 3 Days |
| Hip Dysplasia Waiting Period | 12 Months | 14 Days |
| CCL Surgery Waiting Period | 15 Days | 6 Months |
| Behavioral Therapies | | |
| Alternative/Holistic Therapy | | |
| Wellness Care For An Extra Fee | | |
| Exam Fees | | Extra Fee |
| 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 covers behavioral therapies, exam fees (with a plan upgrade), offers wellness options, and has shorter waiting periods for accidents and hip dysplasia. The biggest concern with Pets Best is that its underwriter is unrated by A.M. Best (a measurement of financial stability), which means it’s considered higher risk than a company like Healthy Paws, whose underwriter has an A++ rating from A.M. Best.
Another key deciding factor for you may be the age restrictions attached to Healthy Paws, which doesn’t enroll pets older than 14 years old. Additionally, Healthy Paws will not enroll pets older than four years old in New York. And if you choose to enroll your pet with Healthy Paws after their sixth birthday, you’ll notice plan customization restrictions and exclusions for hip dysplasia coverage.
Overall, we feel Pets Best has better coverage than Healthy Paws. However, if age restrictions, behavioral therapy and exam fee coverage, wellness options, and shorter waiting periods for accidents and hip dysplasia don’t concern you, then we recommend Healthy Paws because of its superior financial stability.
Policy Coverage Winner: Pets Best
Customer Service & Reputation
Healthy Paws has one of the best reputations in the pet insurance business. Healthy Paws led the pet insurance industry with positive changes and innovations in the past. 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 prolonged claim processing timeline. This is because Pets Best has received an influx of customers (due to its excellent 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 processing, we could see it winning this category. But until then, Healthy Paws is the winner.
Customer Service & Reputation Winner: Healthy Paws
Claim Processing
Healthy Paws pays most of its claims within two days — among the fastest of all the companies we review.
Pets Best used to process claims in an average of eight or fewer days, but they’ve fallen behind over the last two years due to a higher volume of customers. Now, their averages are 10 to 30 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 Processing Winner: Healthy Paws
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 in December 2021. All information is for pets with no pre-existing conditions. Quotes for Pets Best are for their most popular plan, Plus.
| Breed | Birthday | Gender | Location | Deductible | Reimbursement % | Annual Payout | Price Per Month | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy Paws | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2020 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $34.77 |
| Pets Best | Yorkshire Terrier | December 2020 | Male | Ohio (43205) | $100 | 80% | Unlimited | $31.05 |
| Healthy Paws | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $100.81 |
| Pets Best | Labrador Retriever | April 2017 | Female | California (90024) | $250 | 80% | Unlimited | $93.77 |
| Healthy Paws | 40 lb Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $56.54 |
| Pets Best | 40 lb Mixed Breed | January 2015 | Female | Illinois (60604) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $43.20 |
| Healthy Paws | American Pit Bull Terrier | July 2021 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $69.63 |
| Pets Best | American Pit Bull Terrier | July 2021 | Male | New York (10012) | $500 | 70% | Unlimited | $51.84 |
Pets Best almost always came out less expensive than Healthy Paws in the quotes we’ve run. However, remember that it’s always best to get quotes for your specific dog to compare what pet insurance could cost you. You can use our pet insurance quote form to get started. To see more quote comparisons, take a look at our pet insurance comparison page.
Price Of Policy Winner: Pets Best
Coupons
Healthy Paws
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price and get a quote for your pet from Healthy Paws. You can also visit our dedicated Healthy Paws promotions page to learn more.
Pets Best
Pets Best offers the following discounts:
- 5% off for multiple pets
- 5% off for military members and their families
Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price. No promo code is needed. You can also visit our dedicated Pets Best promotions page to learn more.
Plan Customization
The major difference 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
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
What’s The Verdict?
This was tough to compare because we think Healthy Paws and Pets Best are both excellent pet insurance providers. It ultimately came down to Pets Best having better coverage, fewer age restrictions, lower pricing on average, and more plan customization options. 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: Pets Best
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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