Healthy Paws | Pet Insurance Review

As a physician I don’t trust health insurance policies to begin with. The pet insurance industry is not nearly as regulated as human insurance so it can be rife with dishonesty and no one cares. This is one of those policies. If you do not get insurance the minute your pet is born, do not bother getting insurance. First they offer you no verbiage of the policy when you sign up. Simply put in your dogs age, breed, and decide how much you would want them to pay if an injury happens. Then start paying your premium. They also don’t send you a written copy of the supposed policy you signed up for. When there is a problem that is common amongst your breed I guarantee it won’t be covered. ACL repair one side only and if your dog already tore one side they will never cover that on any other limb. That goes for anything else that can occur in more than one area. Think tooth abscess, knee dislocation, eye problems, etc… Despite, the fact that they say everything is covered it is not. The policy is in the legal jargon you would expect, completely indecipherable by the regular person. Once again you’ve never been provided a copy of this policy but when they don’t want to pay for something, they will send you a copy of page 4, 6, etc… that you never saw. Furthermore, it won’t even say what they say it does, its so nonspecific and arbitrary that it could be applied to anything. Maybe just maybe this insurance will cover if your dog is hit by a car. However, if a vet has ever jotted down that your dog ran in the street in the past… they will not cover it. I’m pretty sure the people who are raving about this insurance either work for the company or are married to someone that does. Let me add their very clear verbiage that they think is so crystal clear. Judge for yourself. You will find this information in our policy, page 2: 2) PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS We do not cover pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions mean: a. illness or the recurrence of any illness or condition which first occurred or displayed any signs and/or symptoms consistent with the stated illness or condition prior to the pet policy effective date; b. an injury or recurrence of an injury that occurred prior to the pet policy effective date; or c. any condition or complication resulting from an illness or injury that occurred prior to the pet policy effective date. 4) OTHER EXCLUSIONS h. Abnormalities where clinical symptoms were apparent prior to the pet policy effective date. This includes conditions that are detectable by a routine physical exam by your veterinarian; V. DEFINITIONS 3) Clinical Symptoms. Any manifested anomaly in, or deviation from the regular healthy state or function of a pet, including behavioral traits. Symptoms include any anomaly that is readily detectible by a thorough and complete clinical examination. 5) Condition. Any manifestations of clinical symptoms consistent with a diagnosis or diagnoses, regardless of the number of incidents or areas of the body affected.

Initially I thought they were looking for ways to not pay out. This is my fourth pet insurance experience and I felt to a point they just up costs and make things more difficult. Healthy Paws has not done this. My German Shepherd has Pannus and recently needed cruciate surgery on her knee Healthy Paws paid 80% as per my contract which I really appreciate. One suggestion: when filing a claim scanning receipt is clearer for them to read versus using a photo. That delayed some of my claims. In addition for surgeries like she just had It would be better if they paid hospital direct rather than having to come up with the full amount and wait to be reimbursed. That said, in general they are easy to work with and reimburse in a short time…usually 3 days later. Best insurance I’ve had so far.

Healthy paws is a rip off and has terrible customer service. I've had them for 3 years, and i'm finally going to switch after too many frustrations. Several times, they don't reimburse the amount they should. And when you appeal it, they don't let you talk to a real person in claims to explain it -- you can only communicate via email (can't call or talk to anyone via phone) and it can take over a month to hear back. When you talk to someone in 'customer success' (not claims), they just tell you to send an email to the claims team. They typically don't speak english well and are reading off of a prompt, so it's like talking to a delayed and unhelpful chatbot.

Warning! Be prepared for steep jumps in premiums as your pet ages & has more health care needs. We are long-time customers of Healthy Paws pet insurance & just got notice our premium is going to jump from $146.71 to $1,210.83 a month. That’s an increase of 725%. Assuming this unbelievable jump in cost had to be a mistake, we contacted Healthy Paws & this was their response: “In the face of steeply rising costs and other veterinary industry developments in WA, after careful consideration, Healthy Paws will be replacing your current pet health insurance coverage...” Even though vet prices may be increasing, that does not justify a 725% increase in premiums. We believe our aging dog, who had cancer surgery this past year, is no longer profitable enough for Healthy Paws. This appears to be a pet insurance company that pushes out dogs as they age & need more frequent vet care. It looks like their focus on profits outweighs their compassion for pets & their owners.

Beware of this company and their rate hikes. We have been insured with Healthy Paws since my dog was a puppy. Initially, it was a $40 monthly cost with quick reimburesment and customer service. The company was sold a few years ago. Since then, they have tried to deny a few of my claims and I have had to go back and query it. They put our rate up to $85 after five years. I just got an email saying they were increasing my insurance to $170 a month...blaming state policies. My dog is nine years old, and I have probably made a total of five claims her entire life. I am currently on the phone with them to discuss it. I have called twice to speak to a manger. Both times they have left me on hold to get rid of me.