Embrace vs Healthy Paws Pet Insurance | Compare Plans
1. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Offer a Wellness Plan
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance covers only accidents and illnesses with no option for routine care reimbursement. Embrace promotes, rewards, and encourages healthy pets by offering Wellness Rewards, an optional non-insurance product that reimburses for everyday veterinary, grooming, and training costs.
Without the option of a wellness plan, there are gaps in Healthy Paws Pet Insurance’s policy options. With Embrace, there’s no doubt that you have total protection in sickness AND in health.
2. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Reimburse Exam Fees
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance does not include the exam fee in their reimbursement. Visiting an emergency hospital, or even going to a scheduled visit at a primary veterinarian or a veterinary specialist, can include an expensive exam fee – sometimes well over $100. Not having coverage for these fees is like having to pay an extra deductible at every visit. Embrace believes that this fee should be covered.
3. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Limits Coverage for Hip Dysplasia
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance limits coverage for hip dysplasia in multiple ways. All pets enrolling in Healthy Paws pet health insurance have a 12-month waiting period for hip dysplasia that cannot be reduced. While Embrace has a 6-month waiting period for orthopedic conditions (for dogs only), there is an Orthopedic Exam and Waiver Process to have it reduced to as little as 14 days.
Beyond extended waiting periods, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance doesn’t cover hip dysplasia in pets older than 6 years of age at enrollment. That means if you rescue a senior pet or enroll your dog later in life, they won’t be covered for this condition, period. Embrace covers this condition on all accident and illness policies no matter the age of the pet at enrollment, as long as it isn’t pre-existing.
4. Embrace Doesn’t Require Extra Office Visits for Senior Pets
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance requires that pets older than 6 years of age have a physical exam within 30 days prior to policy purchase, or within the first 15 days of the policy. If an older pet hasn’t had a visit in that time, a visit it required at the owner’s expense since Healthy Paws doesn’t have a wellness plan.
Embrace only requires there be a physical examination in the 12-months preceding the policy purchase, or within the first 14 days of the policy start date – no matter the age of your pet. And if you have Embrace’s Wellness Rewards plan, this visit can be reimbursed if done on or after the date of the policy purchase.
5. Embrace Offers More Coverage Options for Older Pets
Healthy Paws restricts coverage for pets over 6 years of age at enrollment. While younger pets are offered a $100 deductible and 90% reimbursement, the lowest deductible Healthy Paws Pet Insurance offers for pets 6 and over is $250 and the highest reimbursement option is 80%. Embrace offers the same coverage options to your pets up to 15 years of age.
6. Get Better Coverage for Malignant Growths with Embrace
Healthy Paws excludes all cancer coverage if a pet has had a malignant growth prior to the start of coverage. That means that if a pet had skin cancer prior to the start of a Healthy Paws Pet Insurance policy, all cancer is excluded. Embrace would not be able to cover pre-existing cancer, but if your pet were to get a different and unrelated cancer or malignant growth, we would cover it.
7. Embrace’s Reimbursement Method Gives More Money Back on Claims
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance calculates claims differently than Embrace, subtracting the co-pay off the claimed amount first and then subtracting the deductible, which leads to 7-10% lower reimbursement for claims under $1,000. Embrace calculates claim reimbursements by first subtracting the deductible and then taking off the co-pay.
8. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Offer Dental Illness Coverage
Healthy Paws does not cover dental illness including gingivitis, malocclusions, periodontal disease, root canals, and more. They cover only accidental trauma (i.e. a fractured tooth). Embrace covers dental illness under our accident and illness insurance policy up to $1,000 per policy year.
9. Health Paws Pet Insurance Requires Full Medical History to Process Claims
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance requires a pet’s full medical records to process claims – that could go back many years! Embrace only needs the last 12 months of records or, for new pets, records back to the first visit you’ve had with them.
10. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Review Medical Records Before Claim Time
Healthy Paws does not offer any review of a pet’s medical records at enrollment, leaving it to be done when the first claim is filed. Embrace offers you an optional Medical History Review. If your pet has any pre-existing conditions, this review will let you know how they could affect your coverage moving forward.
11. Embrace Offers More Payment Options
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance only accepts credit or debit cards which limits how the premium can be paid. Embrace accepts payment via credit card, debit card, and directly from your checking or savings account.
12. Embrace Offers the Industry’s Best Diminishing Deductible Feature
With Embrace’s Healthy Pet Deductible, your pet’s annual deductible automatically goes down by $50 each year you don’t receive a claim reimbursement. This is included with every policy at no extra charge.
13. Pets Can Get Covered Sooner with Embrace
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance does not insure pets under eight weeks old. Embrace allows you to begin coverage for pets at six weeks old so that you can get them covered sooner.
14. Embrace has Shorter Waiting Periods than Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
Healthy Paws has a 15-day waiting period for accidents and illnesses. Embrace has a 14-day waiting period for illnesses and only a 2-day waiting period for accidents to get you covered sooner.
15. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover Preventable Conditions
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance does not cover conditions that are preventable with vaccine or preventative, including heartworm, fleas, internal parasites, and more. Embrace covers preventable conditions.
16. Healthy Paws Doesn’t Cover Behavioral Conditions
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance does not provide coverage for behavioral problems, therapy, or medication, even if the issue was not present before the start of the policy. Embrace covers behavioral problems, consultations, therapy, and follow-up visits as long as it isn’t a pre-existing condition.
17. Embrace Covers Working, Racing, & Guarding Activities
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance doesn’t cover injury or illness that a pet sustains while racing, law enforcement, or guarding. As long as you let us know that your pet is involved in any of these activities at the start of your plan, or when your pet becomes involved in one of these activities, Embrace will cover them.
18. Embrace Allows More Time to Submit Claims
Healthy Paws requires that claims be submitted within 60 days of the office visit. Embrace gives you your entire policy term, plus 60 days after it renews to submit your claims.
19. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover Pets Internationally
Healthy Paws Pet Insurance’s policy only covers pets in the United States and Canada. Embrace covers your pet wherever you travel, even when traveling internationally for up to six months.
20. Flexible Cancellation Policy with Embrace
To avoid being charged for an extra month of coverage, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance requires policy cancellation at least 14 days before the next payment is due. At Embrace, you can cancel any time in the month without being charged again, and we’ll even reimburse you the unused premium for that month of coverage.
21. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance Doesn’t Offer 24/7 Pet Health Line
Healthy Paws does not give their policyholders access to Pet Pros round-the-clock, so if you have questions about your pet’s behavior, diet, or a possible emergency, you’d have to wait for your vet’s regular business hours. Embrace has partnered with PawSupport to give our policyholders access to Pet Pros 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – even on holidays. And the best part is that this feature is included with every policy at no extra cost.