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 is the reason most owners pick it, with no cap on what a policy year can pay out. Spot wins on price and speed: illustrative premiums start around $38/mo for a young dog versus $44 at Healthy Paws, both clocks run a flat 14 days with next-day accident starts in select states, and there is no separate orthopedic hold, where 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. For cats, Healthy Paws scores 9.0 against Spot at 8.2 but starts around $24/mo versus $21. Those figures are starting estimates, not quotes. WhichPetPlan does not earn a commission from either insurer.
Side by side
| Healthy Paws | Spot | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score (dogs) | 9.3/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Illustrative starting price | dogs from $44/mo, cats from $24/mo | dogs from $38/mo, cats from $21/mo |
| 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 |
Starting prices are illustrative estimates for a healthy one-year-old animal, not quotes. Your real premium depends on breed, age, ZIP code, deductible and reimbursement rate.
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 to tune the premium precisely or get joint coverage running sooner. 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.
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 August 2026, Lemonade Pet is not available in Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming.
Some links here are partner links. If you buy through one, the insurer may pay us a fee. It never changes your premium and it never changes a ranking.
Get a quote from LemonadeThe exclusions cheat sheet
One page, all 8 insurers: every waiting period, annual cap and excluded condition, in plain English. We email it as soon as you join.
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Written by the WhichPetPlan editorial team. Rankings are editorial, not paid placement. Some links (currently Lemonade) may earn a fee; it never changes the premium and never changes a ranking. Other insurers listed here do not pay us. Scores are our own editorial ratings, not an industry standard. See our methodology for how scores are set.