Healthy Paws Pet Insurance consistently receives excellent marks for customer satisfaction and is one of the top-ranked pet insurance companies. The company allows you to use any licensed veterinarian in the US and Canada, has no caps on payout limits, and reportedly processes most of their claims in less than a week. One question you might have if you’re looking for a pet insurance policy is whether Healthy Paws Pet Insurance covers surgery. The standard Healthy Paws policy covers your pet’s surgery if it is needed to treat a disease or an injury.
There are, however, several caveats to the coverage, including the reimbursement level you have, the initial waiting period, and several others. If you’d like to find out more to make an educated choice about your precious pet’s health policy, read on.
When Does Coverage for Surgery Start With Healthy Paws?
Like all pet health insurance companies, Healthy Paws has a waiting period that must expire before you can make your first claim. Should your pet need surgery before that waiting period has expired, your policy won’t cover any surgery. Once your policy starts, you will need to wait at least 15 days before any claims you make will be considered for coverage, including any surgeries your pet might need.
Another vital factor is that if your pet is less than 6 years old, the waiting period to make a claim for hip dysplasia is 12 months. If your dog or cat needs surgery for hip dysplasia within the first year of having their Healthy Paws policy, the surgery won’t be covered.
If you live in New Hampshire or Maryland, there are no waiting periods because of state regulations. That means your Healthy Paws policy will immediately cover accidents and illnesses and any surgeries.
Healthy Paws Only Offers a Single Standard Plan
One of the major differences between Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and other policies is that Healthy Paws only offers a single, standard policy. For example, where some pet insurance companies offer a wellness or accident-only policy as an additional (or single) policy addendum, Healthy Paws only has a single, all-inclusive policy. The policy includes many inclusions and exclusions, like all insurance policies, and it can only be customized via the reimbursement and deductible rates you choose.
Surgery for Preexisting Conditions Is Not Covered by Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
A preexisting condition is any health condition or disease your pet has before getting a pet insurance policy. Since it occurred before the policy was in effect, pre-existing conditions are not covered by Healthy Paws, nor is the surgery that might be needed to treat them.
This can include surgeries for a problem that healed but then needed surgery, like a broken leg that leads to hip damage a few years later. In short, if surgery is required for anything that happened before your pet’s policy was in place, it won’t be covered by your new Healthy Paws pet insurance policy.
Healthy Paws Only Covers Cats and Dogs
While most pets that need insurance in the United States are cats and dogs, you might want a pet insurance policy for your horse, snake, or another animal you keep as a pet. Unfortunately, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance only covers cats and dogs. If you have what’s known as an “exotic” pet, you’ll need to look elsewhere to find a pet insurance company that will insure them and pay for their surgery.
Healthy Paws Makes Making a Claim Easy
While not directly related to coverage for surgeries, it is worth noting that Healthy Paws has done its best to make filing a claim easy and stress-free. They do this by offering a robust app you can access from your smartphone and use to make claims.
How To Keep Your Pet Safe and Reduce Pet Insurance Claims
One of the best ways to reduce the number of claims you make to pet insurance is to keep your pet healthy and safe throughout its life. Yes, some pets will suffer problems even in the safest home, but most will not need much veterinary attention as long as they’re conscientiously cared for. Below are a few tips on how to keep your precious pet healthy and happy.
Feed your Pet a Nutritious Diet That’s Right for Them
One of the most critical aspects of being a pet owner is ensuring your pet gets the proper nutrition. That’s not always as easy as it sounds since factors like your pet’s breed, sex, age, and more play a role in what they should eat. Without the correct diet, your pet will inevitably have more health issues.
Make Sure Your Pet Gets Attention
Unless you have pets that require minimal attention like, for example, fish, the average pet needs to engage with you (or another animal) to stay healthy and happy. Dogs, cats, pigs, and horses need the most attention as they thrive on interaction with their human families. If they don’t get enough, it can cause psychological and health problems.
Your Pet Needs Exercise and Activity
Even the most sedentary of cats need a scratching post to keep busy, and the average healthy dog needs about 90 minutes of strenuous exercise once a day. Without activity, many pets will gain weight, become lethargic, and start having more health issues (even if they’re young).
Your Pet Should Be Properly Trained
Training your pet, especially dogs, is a vital task that shouldn’t be ignored. For example, if you train your dog to stay on command, you can save them from running out in front of traffic. A well-trained pet will also get into fewer fights with other animals, run away less frequently, and be exposed to fewer hazards.
Get your Pet Spayed, Neutered, and Chipped
Spayed and neutered animals typically live longer live for several reasons, including that their natural aggression levels are lowered. Less aggression means fewer fights with other animals and, thus, fewer chances of being injured and needing surgery.
Also, chipping allows you to find your precious pet more easily if they run away, which can help save their life. Lastly, spaying and neutering keep the pet population under control and reduces the number of pets that wind up in shelters around the United States every year.
Final Thoughts
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance covers surgery for dogs and cats. There’s a 15-day waiting period after your pet’s policy has been put into effect, but that’s the same as many other pet insurance companies. Surgeries for pre-existing conditions are not covered, but that is also similar to other companies. Healthy Paws lets you reduce your premiums by increasing your deductible or maximum payout rate. Overall, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance covers the cost of many surgical procedures for dogs and cats and does it with minimal stress for pet owners.
- Related Read: Does Healthy Paws Cover Medications & Prescriptions?
Featured Image Credit: Drazen Zigic, Shutterstock
