According to the New York Times, only 1-2% of America’s pet population is insured [1]. This is an alarming number illustrating how unprotected the average pet is when it comes to their health and well-being.
Keeping this in mind, it’s time to analyze two of the biggest heavy-hitters in pet insurance.
Healthy Paws and Figo are well-regarded for being modern, professional, and in tune with pet insurance needs. Both have a large community of clients and it’s time to assess how they compare to each other.
1. Healthy Paws
Healthy Paws was established as a passion project by two friends while they worked at a local pet shelter helping rescue animals [2]. Their passion led to discovering what the industry was lacking and this is when Healthy Paws was born.
Noted for being the first pet insurance app on the iPhone, this tech-friendly insurance provider has earned critical acclaim for being creative. Their original goal was to eliminate paper-based claims and take everything online to make things simpler for the average pet owner.
This included building a full-fledged online Customer Center to help clients.
The non-profit foundation has continued to grow with each passing year and is now a well-established pet insurance provider. It’s also backed by Aon Corporation and offers charitable access to helping homeless pets.
Their insurance policies are designed to offer no maximum limits on claims, no lifetime caps, and comprehensive coverage for pets.
Key Features
- No Expensive Add-Ons
- Simple Pet Insurance Plan
- Accepts Medical Records From All Licensed Vets
2. Figo
Figo Pet Insurance was created, designed, and themed as an incubator project at Google [3]. The tech giant hoped to fill the world with brand-new, innovative tech projects and one of them was Figo.
This pet insurance company is appreciated for being the very first cloud-based company in the pet industry and most of its services/coverage options are available through tech-based solutions.
This is done to make the claims process simpler, smoother, and faster.
Key Features
- Live Vet (24/7)
- A.I. Claims Assistant
- Refined Figo Pet Cloud App
- Multiple Customizable Plans
Key Differences Between Healthy Paws and Figo
1. Coverage Options
Let’s begin by analyzing the coverage options for Healthy Paws and Figo Pet Insurance.
In general, Healthy Paws has an all-in-one plan (Comprehensive Coverage) to make things easier. This is a straightforward pet health insurance plan designed to offer wholesome coverage for a variety of conditions.
The plan includes financial protection for illnesses, cancer, diagnostic treatments, hereditary conditions, accidents, surgery, hospitalization, alternative treatment, prescription medications, and more.
Figo has a more diversified approach to coverage options. The pet insurance company offers three levels of coverage: essential, preferred, and ultimate.
- Essential: Comes with a $10,000 limit on annual claims for illnesses and/or accidents (an additional $250 annual cap is set for behavioral conditions).
- Preferred: Comes with a $14,000 limit on annual claims for illnesses and/or accidents. It also offers reimbursement for emergency boarding fees, theft (lost pet), straying, and lost pet advertising. There’s an additional $500 annual cap for behavioral conditions.
- Ultimate: No limit on annual claims and complete reimbursement for emergency boarding fees, theft (lost pet) lost pet advertising/rewards, unexpected death of a pet, and vacation-based emergencies. There’s an additional $1,000 annual cap for behavioral conditions.
These plans include coverage for emergencies, hospitalizations, surgeries, hereditary conditions, prescription medications, chronic conditions, knee conditions, imaging, hip dysplasia, prosthetics, and more.
2. Pricing Comparison: Which One is Cheaper?
According to market research, the average monthly premium for pet insurance is set at $27.93 for cats and $44.66 for dogs [2].
Healthy Paws offers a comprehensive coverage plan starting at $20 per month for dogs and $15 per month for cats. These rates can vary depending on where you reside, the pet’s condition, and the pet’s age.
In comparison, Figo offers a variety of plans and each one is priced differently.
Figo’s most affordable plan begins at $15 for cats and $20 for small dogs. It’s important to note there’s an additional fee attached to the plan if pet owners choose to include exam fee coverage ($6.36 per month). These do not include routine visits.
3. Deductible Costs
Healthy Paws has an age-based system when it comes to deductibles.
- Pets under the age of 5 – $100 (70% reimbursement), $250 (80% reimbursement), and $500 (90% reimbursement).
- Pets aged 6 and 7: $250 (60% reimbursement), $500 (70% reimbursement), and $750 (80% reimbursement)
- Pets ages 8 and above: $750 (60% reimbursement)
While Figo has a linear system when it comes to deductibles.
Deductibles can be any one of the following based on the chosen plan – $100, $250, $500, $750, $1,000, or $1,500
4. Available Benefits
Healthy Paws has a Comprehensive Coverage plan, which is designed to be an all-encompassing health insurance solution for pets. This includes covering various illnesses and/or accidents involving emergency care, hereditary conditions, cancer, injuries, and more.
This pet insurance provider also offers consistent support both online through its Customer Center and offline through its hotline. This ensures pet owners can reach out to them at any time of the day if necessary.
Healthy Paws also offers no caps on its coverage whether it is annual and/or lifetime. Along with having no cap, the pet insurance provider promises 2-day claims from the moment they come in.
On the other hand, Figo provides a range of available benefits depending on the plan that’s selected.
This includes the optional reimbursement of exam fees to ensure clients don’t have to pay for specific examinations and/or consultations with a vet.
The plans also include competitive deductibles to make reimbursement easier for pet owners once the waiting period concludes. The amount varies based on the selected plan.
Figo also offers a simple to understand set up for its annual deductibles making sure pet owners don’t have to split deductibles based on the type of illness or injury. It’s an all-in-one deductible for the year.
The company maintains a set waiting period for all of its clients and it’s kept to a minimum for accidents, illnesses, and knee-related conditions. This is required before the approval comes in.
4. Filing a Claim
Filing a claim with Healthy Paws is simple and faster than most of its competition.
The pet insurance provider promises to offer a two-day claims process from the moment everything is uploaded onto the app.
Clients are able to keep track of their claims online by logging in. Each detail is updated onto the client’s profile. To submit a claim, all it takes is a few steps. Take a picture of the vet bill and upload it either onto the mobile app or online.
With Figo, the claims process is straightforward as well.
Since this is a cloud-based service, the pet owner simply has to log into their Figo Pet Cloud account, go under the “Claims” icon, answer the relevant questions, and upload a picture of the vet bill.
If necessary, the vet will also be required to set in the pet’s medical records.
While comparing the two services, it’s clear Healthy Paws has a much faster and more efficient setup. They take no more than two business days to reimburse the pet owner while Figo makes clients wait at least 7 business days.
5. Enrollment Process
Healthy Paws requires a detailed physical examination from a licensed vet. This is the bare minimum to be eligible for pet insurance coverage with this provider. However, they don’t require additional testing whether it’s blood work or x-rays.
Only the physical exam is necessary to gain approval.
Healthy Paws also has specific timelines in place for when the physical exam should take place. This varies depending on the pet’s age.
For example, a pet under the age of 6 will require an exam within 12 months, while a pet over the age of 6 will need one within 30 of approval.
Figo is more than happy to insure any pet over the age of 8 weeks and doesn’t set upper limits. The pet also doesn’t have to be neutered/spayed to qualify for pet insurance with Figo.
The company doesn’t require a detailed vet exam for enrollment purposes. As long as the pet’s medical records are made available, the approval can come through for the coverage. It’s important to note if the medical records aren’t made available, a vet exam will be necessary within the first 12 months.
In general, Figo has a better enrolment setup since there’s no vet exam needed.
6. Waiting Periods
Healthy Paws has a set waiting period of 15 days once the policy takes effect. This waiting period begins after midnight (12:01 am) on the day your pet is enrolled. Once the 15-day waiting period is over, claims can be submitted online.
In comparison, Figo has a 5-day waiting period (accidents) and a 14-day waiting period (illnesses). The waiting period is mandatory in both cases and a wellness exam is needed too.
Looking at the raw numbers, Figo has a much shorter waiting period for accidents but a similar timeline for illnesses. This makes it slightly better than Healthy Paws.
Comparison Summary
Healthy Paws offers comprehensive coverage and a wide list of benefits to its pet owners. The Customer Center is wonderful along with its mobile app. This allows pet owners to put in fast claims without having to wait around.
In fact, the pet insurance provider offers two-day claims ensuring the reimbursement is in the client’s hands as soon as possible.
Figo is a cloud-based service with a long list of plans and coverage options. It allows pet owners a chance to customize each detail including whether or not the seek coverage for emergency exam fees. It offers reduced waiting periods, faster enrollment, and different plans.
Both pet insurance providers bring something unique to the table. It’s all about figuring out what’s more important for your needs.
References
- Susan Jenks, Pet Insurance is the Latest Work Perk, New York Times. Retrieved at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/well/family/pet-insurance-is-the-latest-work-perk.html
- About Us, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance. Retrieved from https://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/healthy-paws-pet-insurance-company
- About Us, Figo Pet Insurance. Retrieved from https://figopetinsurance.com/about-us
- https://www.valuepenguin.com/pet-insurance/average-cost-of-pet-insurance
