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Would you be able to pay a $4,000 vet bill if your dog had an emergency today? If you don’t want to choose between going into debt or putting your dog to sleep, consider pet insurance.
Insurance only costs about $1 per day for a dog. A much better value than our own health insurance! How many of us spend more than that on a cup of coffee?
Dogington Post sat down with Steve Siadek, co-founder of Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, to find out what sets his company apart from other pet insurance companies. We were pleasantly surprised by what we learned.
Steve adopted his Husky, Daisy, is 2002 from a shelter in Seattle, Washington. “It was after I adopted Daisy that I realized, hey, dogs are amazing,” said Steve, “and I became more active in rescue.”
In 2005, Steve joined Katrina hurricane rescue efforts. He brought 12 dogs back to Seattle. “They were sick, some injured, some had heartworms. I teamed up with a friend and shelter, Homeward Pet Adoption, here in Seattle to treat and home them.”
After that, Steve left his corporate job to become the shelter’s executive director. It was during his time as a shelter director that he met his business partner, Rob, an insurance executive. They realized they could team up to create a better insurance product for adopted animals while still helping homeless pets.
So, what makes Healthy Paws Pet Insurance better?
“Well, when we think ‘insurance’, no one thinks positively about it. People are skeptical when filing claims,” Steve told us. “Healthy Paws is a simple, easy to understand plan. It covers the most important expenses – injuries, illness, and emergencies. And it’s affordable. We pay most claims within 3 to 10 days.”
What Dogington Post likes about Healthy Paws pet insurance is that they have no exclusions for hereditary conditions. Not all pet insurance carriers are the same. Some other companies will not cover hereditary or congenital issues. Healthy Paws plan also includes no caps. They are the only pet insurance company that offers unlimited lifetime benefits with an annual deductible.
But, what we love about Healthy Paws is their Foundation, funded by the “Every Quote Gives Hope” campaign.
The Healthy Paws Foundation is a non-profit program that provides money and resources to pet adoption groups through grant programs. Every time someone gets a pet insurance quote from Healthy Paws, a donation is made toward the Foundation. Rescue organizations can apply for medical grants through the Foundation to help pay for vaccines, spay & neuter programs and medical care for homeless pets in need.
In the past year, Healthy Paws has provided over $250,000 in resources and donations to organizations that help homeless animals. With their help, over 20,000 pets found new homes!
Before Dogington Post was ready to give our “Two Paws Up” for Healthy Paws, we wanted to compare how they stack up against other pet insurance companies via the comparison site, Pet Insurance Review.
Not surprisingly, the company scored at the very top of the rating list – 9.7 out of 10. And they’ve got positive consumer reviews to back up their impressive scores.
“I’m most proud of our ongoing customer reviews,” Steve told us. “I’d rather have someone else talk about us than us talk about us. I’m not an insurance guy. These pets are our kids and we need to treat our customers, and their kids, with respect.”
Click here to get a quote from Healthy Paws pet insurance for your dog, and you’ll be helping homeless animals have a better tomorrow.
Savannah
Apr 11, 2013 at 4:10 am
I HAVE BEEN USING TRUPANION PET INSURANCE FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND I HAVE 3 SHIH TZU AND I HAVE HAD TO USE THE PLAN TO COVER 3 EYE SURGERY’S AND A FEW OTHER EMERGENCY’S AND I HAVE A ZERO DEDUCTIABLE ON ALL 3 DOGS PLANS, WHICH COSTS A LITTLE MORE BUT IS WORTH IT, BECAUSE I NEVER HAVE ANY EXTRA MONEY TO COVER THINGS SUCH AS UNEXPECTED MEDICAL NEEDS OR SURGERY’S AND THE POLICIES PAY 90% OF THE CHARGES, AND THEY DO NOT HAVE AN PRE-DETERMINED AMOUNT THEY USE LIKE IS WITH MOST PET INSURANCE. THEY PAY 90% OF THE BILL YOU SUBMIT AND IF YOU HAVE DEDUCTIABLE, THEN THAT GETS SUBTRACTED, BUT THIS IS THE ONLY PET INSURANCE THAT OFFERS A ZERO DEDUCTIBLE. MY SHIH TZU’S ARE 2 YRS OLD, 3 YRS OLD AND 8 YRS OLD, AND I PAY $122.00 A MONTH WHEN I JUST ADDED THE 3RD DOG TO THE PLAN, BUT BEFORE THAT FOR THE 2 I WAS ONLY PAYING $89.00 MONTH AND THIS IS WITH A ZERO DEDUCTIABLE, BUT YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF HOW MUCH YOU WANT YOUR DEDUCTIABLE TO BE, AND IT IS PRICED BASED ON THAT. ALSO THE THING I LOVE WITH TRUPANION IS AFTER I HAD FILED CLAIMS ON THE 2 SHIH TZU, WHICH BILLS TOTAL WELL OVER $7,000.00, THEY NEVER INCREASED MY PREMIUMS LIKE OTHER PET INSRUANCE COMPANIES DO. THEY PAY VERY FAST AFTER THE FIRST CLAIM. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH TRUPANION AND I LOVE THIS COMPANY AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE WITH PETS. TRUPANION WAS TRULY A LIFE SAVER WHEN MY 2 DOGS NEEDED EYE SURGERIES AND HAD TO SEE SPECIALISTS WHICH THE COSTS WERE VERY HIGH, AND MY OUT OF POCKET WAS VERY AFFORABLE. I WOULD NEVER USE ANOTHER BUT TRUPANION.
Prepaid Card
Dec 10, 2012 at 6:00 am
Very excellent post, i’m currently in the process of considering bankruptcy|applying for bankruptcy|declaring bankruptcy} because i feel out of options I’m also looking at no credit check banking.
Do you have a twitter account I can follow?
Donna
Nov 12, 2012 at 12:41 pm
I have had several insurance plans for my dogs. You have to FIGHT them tooth and nail to get any money from them. Care Credit is the way to go, people!! Check it out. I have had to pay $2000, then $800, then $700 and so on for just ONE of my doxies who likes to eat what doesn’t eat him first. Before that, I had to pay $1800 for bladder surgeries for my tiny chihuahuas, EACH. They are WORTH it. But I am telling you, Care Credit it awesome. Interest free, too, if you pay within the promotional period!
Dominique Davis
Nov 12, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I called them, and they hang up on me just after I mentioned that I used another health insurance for my pets before where I did not read the fine prints.
I went to their website, and yes, that’s great that they are helping shelters, but at the end of the day, are they going to be better? And after reading everything, I will not trust them more than others.
They will decide ultimately if it’s covered or not, and most likely will try to find anything not to cover it.
My suggestion to everyone – and that’s what I am doing now – open a bank account and every month put a certain amount on that account for your pet. Like that you won’t have to wonder if your pet will be covered, if you will have to drag your pet to two or three vets for second or third opinion by a vet chosen by the company.
There is no miracle here, they still need to make money, so, unfortunately I do not think that this one is better than the others. They will all try to avoid paying no matter what.