5
out of 5
POSTED: | BY: Danielle Stellrecht
Still the best pet insurance
As soon as we adopted our dogs from the shelter in 2015, I signed them up for healthy paws. Years before I had VPI which was a hassle with the mail in forms, the guessing game of what was covered and how much.
I liked Healthy Paws for the straight forward 80% coverage without limits. Over the years we've used them, and I'd say most years it about paid for itself. I've always loved the simple claims process. You just take a picture of the invoice and upload it to the app. The direct deposit means I pretty much always have the reimbursement in my account within 7 days.
We've always kind of thought one of our dogs might need surgery one day because she has bilateral luxating patellas. Instead, in 2022, our other dog tore her ACL and needed surgery. $5,000 plus $500 for physical therapy. Having healthy paws made everything so much less stressful and that I never had to hesitate to make sure she was getting the best option and not the suboptimal treatment.
I was a little nervous because it was our first big claim and I assumed there would be some pushback. Not even a little. It was processed quickly like any other claim. I even got a separate email from them saying they saw the surgery come through and hoped Hendrix was healing quickly. They even covered PT for her to do aqua therapy.
I think the pricing is fair and the policy is the most straightforward and logical. My sister's dog got Lymphoma and their pet insurance had a $2,000 annual limit for chemo. That's not exactly helpful when chemo is $6,000. And what's the likelihood of needing chemo every year (smh)?
I do shop around just to see what new ones are on the market and I will continue to praise Healthy Paws as the best pet insurance.
One other thing that comes up often is people glossing over them maybe because they don't have a wellness plan. You get pet insurance because you don't ever want to be in a position where you have to choose between paying the mortgage and your dogs life. Routine vet visits will not break the bank. There are so many low cost clinics and low cost vaccines for the day to day stuff. Annual exams aren't a surprise and so you can plan. Don't pay extra for a plan with "wellness" because more often than not, you could just pay that out of pocket for less.
Go with an accident/illness plan for the unexpected. Like days where you give a dog a grape because your childhood dog loved grapes. Then your husband asks Alexa if grapes are safe for dogs, and she says, "Grapes are toxic and can be lethal of given to dogs. If your dog has eaten a grape, seek veterinary care immediately." So you drop everything to run to vet so they can induce vomiting and keep her overnight for observation and make sure her kidneys don't fail. (True story and Healthy Paws was great through that too.)