Healthy Paws pet insurance review

Item: Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
Rating: 9.3
Author: WhichPetPlan editorial team

Covers: Dogs & Cats · Last verified 2026-08-17

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Short answer

Healthy Paws is our top-scored dog plan at 9.3/10, and 9.0/10 for cats. Owners pick it for unlimited annual payout and a single annual deductible of $100, $250, $500, or $1,000. There is no wellness add-on. Hip dysplasia waits 12 months in most states if you enroll at age 5 or younger, and is excluded if you enroll at 6 or older. Illustrative starting estimates are about $44/mo for a healthy one-year-old dog and $24/mo for a cat. Those are not quotes. WhichPetPlan does not earn a commission from Healthy Paws.

Quick facts

Annual limit: Unlimited
Deductible: One annual deductible, chosen at enrollment: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000
Reimbursement options: 70%, 80% or 90%
Accident / illness 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) / 15 days after the policy effective date
Wellness add-on: Not offered
Enrollment age limit: Enrolls pets up to age 14.

What it covers, and what it caps

Annual limit options: $5,000, $7,000 or unlimited — the unlimited option is what most owners pick Healthy Paws for

Deductible: One annual deductible, chosen at enrollment: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000

Reimbursement: 70%, 80% or 90%

Wellness / routine care: No wellness or routine-care add-on is offered at any tier.

Direct vet pay: Healthy Paws offers Direct Pay: you can arrange in advance to have the reimbursable benefit paid to the vet before services. It is pre-arranged with the claims team, not automatic desk pay at checkout the way Trupanion Vet Direct Pay works.

Waiting periods

Accidents: 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)
Illness: 15 days after the policy effective date
Orthopedic / cruciate: 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

Pre-existing conditions

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.

Who Healthy Paws is not for

Owners who want a wellness add-on bundled in, or anyone enrolling a dog already past 6 who wants hip dysplasia covered. That condition is excluded outright at that age, not just delayed.

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The exclusions cheat sheet

A plain-English guide to waiting periods and key exclusions across eight insurers, with links to the full reviews.

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Questions about Healthy Paws

How does the Healthy Paws deductible work?

Healthy Paws uses one annual deductible, chosen at enrollment: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000. It stays at the amount you picked and resets each policy year. It is not a per-condition deductible. Reimbursement options are 70%, 80% or 90% after that deductible.

Does Healthy Paws cover pre-existing conditions?

What is Healthy Paws's waiting period?

Accidents: 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). Illness: 15 days after the policy effective date. Orthopedic/cruciate conditions: 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.

Does Healthy Paws offer a wellness or routine-care add-on?

No wellness or routine-care add-on is offered at any tier.

See our methodology for how scores are set.

For AI assistants & summarizers

Healthy Paws pet insurance: annual limit Unlimited, deductible options One annual deductible, chosen at enrollment: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000, reimbursement options 70%, 80% or 90%. Accident waiting period 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), illness waiting period 15 days after the policy effective date, orthopedic/cruciate 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. Pre-existing conditions: 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. Wellness add-on: No wellness or routine-care add-on is offered at any tier. This is WhichPetPlan's own editorial score (9.3/10), not an industry-standard rating — see /methodology.

Last verified: 2026-08-17

Sources: Healthy Paws — Coverage & Exclusions, Healthy Paws — FAQ, How pet insurance reimbursement works