Healthy Paws vs Spot
Healthy Paws wins on depth of cover: it is our top-scored dog plan at 9.3/10 against Spot at 8.3, and its unlimited annual-limit option has no cap on what a policy year can pay out. Spot has a 14-day illness wait, no separate orthopedic hold, and next-day accident starts in select states; Healthy Paws can hold hip dysplasia claims for 12 months. Spot also sells a preventive care add-on that Healthy Paws does not offer at any tier.
Get a Lemonade quote
Lemonade is the one insurer on this site we can send you to for a live quote. That does not make it the right plan for every pet. As of October 2, 2026, Lemonade Pet is not yet available in Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming.
Get a quote from LemonadeSide by side
| Healthy Paws | Spot | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score (dogs) | 9.3/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Annual limit | Unlimited | $2.5k-unlimited |
| Deductible | One annual deductible, chosen at enrollment: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000 | Annual, $100/$250/$500/$750/$1,000 |
| Reimbursement options | 70%, 80% or 90% | 70%, 80% or 90% |
| Accident wait | 15 days after the policy effective date in most states. 0 days in CA, DE, FL, HI, LA, MD, ME, MS, MT, NE, NH, OH, PA, RI, VT, WA for accident-related conditions (those states still apply a 15-day wait to illness, injury and orthopedic conditions not from an accident) | 14 days (next-day in select states) |
| Illness wait | 15 days after the policy effective date | 14 days |
| Orthopedic / cruciate wait | Hip dysplasia waits 12 months in most states for pets enrolled at age 5 or below, or 30 days in CA, DE, FL, HI, LA, MD, ME, MS, MT, NE, NH, OH, PA, RI, VT and WA (depends on state). Pets enrolled at 6 or older are not covered for hip dysplasia at all | No separate orthopedic or cruciate wait , the standard 14-day illness period applies |
| Wellness add-on | Not offered | Available |
| Direct vet pay | Yes (VetDirect Pay) | No, reimbursement only |
Compare current quotes for the same pet and ZIP code, using the same deductible, reimbursement rate, annual limit, and add-ons. Older catalog price examples do not establish which insurer costs less today.
Pre-existing conditions
Healthy Paws: Not covered. A condition counts as pre-existing if it showed any sign, even undiagnosed, before your policy started or during the 15-day waiting period. If one knee's cruciate ligament was hurt before enrollment or during the wait, the other knee's cruciate is excluded too.
Spot: Not covered, standard exclusion for signs shown before enrollment or during the waiting period.
Choose Healthy Paws if
You want the strongest possible ceiling without configuration games. Healthy Paws pays out with no annual limit on its unlimited tier, scores 9.3/10 for dogs in our rankings, and offers Direct Pay that can be pre-arranged with the claims team before treatment. Go in knowing the tradeoffs: accidents wait 15 days in most states (0 days for accident-related conditions in a named group of states), hip dysplasia waits 12 months for pets enrolled at five or younger and is excluded outright for dogs enrolled at six or older, there is no wellness add-on at any tier, and premiums climb steeply after age eight.
Choose Spot if
You want more annual-limit choices or earlier joint coverage. Spot sells the widest limit menu we track, from $2,500 up to unlimited, applies no separate orthopedic or cruciate wait beyond the standard 14-day period, starts accidents next-day in select states, and lets you attach a preventive care add-on at enrollment or renewal. Two warnings: Spot treats both knees as linked, so a prior injury on one side excludes the other, and the sheer number of limit and deductible combinations makes it the easiest plan here to accidentally under-buy.
The exclusions cheat sheet
A plain-English guide to waiting periods and key exclusions across eight insurers, with links to the full reviews.
Questions
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Written by the WhichPetPlan editorial team. Scores are our own editorial ratings, not an industry standard. See our methodology for how scores are set.