Healthy Paws vs. AKC Pet Insurance

AKC's pet insurance is better than Healthy Paws' overall, finishing in second place for dogs and sixth for cats in MoneyGeek's analysis. However, your best option may vary based on your priorities.

• Affordability: AKC leads ahead of Healthy Paws in our national rankings for dog affordability, with AKC ranking fifth, while Healthy Paws takes the sixth spot. For cats, Healthy Paws is cheaper than AKC, placing sixth compared to AKC's ninth position.
• Customer Experience: AKC ranks third nationally in customer experience for dogs and cats, outperforming Healthy Paws' fifth ranking across both pet types.
• Coverage: AKC claims the top national spot for coverage breadth for dogs and cats, while Healthy Paws ranks sixth for both.

Learn more about the best pet insurance options for your pet across different situations:

Between Healthy Paws and AKC, AKC ranks as the best pet insurance company in all 50 states for dogs and 30 states for cats. Healthy Paws upsets AKC for cat coverage in 20 states, including Arizona, Georgia, New York, Virginia and Wisconsin.

AKC is more affordable than Healthy Paws across seven of eight age categories in our pet insurance cost study, with middle-aged dog owners saving 56% by choosing AKC over Healthy Paws. Healthy Paws only wins for young dogs, offering savings of just 2% compared to AKC.

AKC offers the cheapest pet insurance in all states across most of the age categories in comparison to Healthy Paws. We break down the affordability trends for both providers at the state level below.

• Kittens: AKC wins in all 50 states, with Arkansas offering the lowest rate at $14 monthly (50% savings compared to Healthy Paws).
• Puppies: All states favor AKC for puppy coverage. Arkansas delivers the cheapest rate at $25 monthly, saving you 24% over Healthy Paws' puppy rates.
• Young Cats: AKC costs less in every state for young cat coverage, with Arkansas rates starting at $17 monthly—a 9% savings compared to Healthy Paws.
• Young Dogs: Healthy Paws takes the lead for young dogs, winning in all 50 states. Arkansas offers the best deal at $29 monthly, cutting costs by 1% compared to AKC.
• Middle-Aged Cats: AKC ranks as the more affordable choice across all states, with Arkansas rates being the cheapest at $21 monthly (48% cheaper than Healthy Paws).
• Middle-Aged Dogs: Every state shows AKC ahead of Healthy Paws for middle-aged dogs. You'll find the lowest rate in Arkansas at $40 monthly, delivering 56% savings over Healthy Paws.
• Senior Cats: AKC wins nationwide for senior cat coverage, starting at $34 monthly in Arkansas (20% less than Healthy Paws).
• Senior Dogs: AKC leads in all states for senior dogs, with Arkansas offering the most competitive rate at $69 monthly—an 11% discount compared to Healthy Paws.

AKC offers two pet insurance discounts for insuring multiple pets and breeders enrolled in AKC's Breeder of Merit or Bred with H.E.A.R.T. programs. Meanwhile, Healthy Paws doesn't offer any discounts.

AKC provides better customer service than Healthy Paws, ranking third nationally for both dogs and cats while Healthy Paws lags behind by two spots. Although Healthy Paws holds a higher Trustpilot rating (4.0 versus 2.8 out of 5.0), AKC wins in our analysis by garnering stronger positive sentiment on Reddit (86% versus 20% positive).

AKC offers broader pet insurance coverage for dogs and cats than Healthy Paws, taking the top spot in our analysis, while Healthy Paws ranks sixth. AKC provides flexibility with its wide range of options for deductibles and annual limits. It's also the only pet insurance company to cover both curable and incurable pre-existing conditions after a year of continuous coverage.

Coverage varies by state and policy terms. Always review your specific policy documents to understand exact coverage terms, exclusions and limitations.

Healthy Paws doesn't offer any optional add-ons, choosing to focus on providing accident and illness coverage through its standard policy. Meanwhile, AKC has five:

• Exam coverage:  Covers the cost of vet exam fees from specialty vet visits, primary care vet visits and emergency vet visits.
• Hereditary coverage: Extends coverage to include common hereditary congenital conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, hip dysplasia, luxating patella and diabetes.
• Pet wellness coverage: Offers coverage for various routine care services, including wellness exams, vaccinations, microchipping, spaying/neutering, routine diagnostic tests, heartworm/flea/tick prevention and teeth cleaning.
• Breeding coverage: Covers accidents, illnesses and complications during breeding, pregnancy, whelping or nursing. This includes emergency C-sections, mastitis, gestational diabetes, eclampsia, dystocia and pyometra.
• Final respects coverage: Reimburses the cost of end-of-life-services such as burial and cremation.

AKC provides better pet insurance than Healthy Paws overall, particularly excelling in coverage and customer service. AKC offers more comprehensive coverage, being the only insurer to cover curable and incurable pre-existing conditions after a year of enrollment. It also maintains an A+ rating from the BBB and 86% positive sentiment on Reddit, plus it provides cheaper rates for almost all age categories, from puppies and kittens to middle-aged and senior pets.

Compare other major pet insurance companies to determine the best choice for your pet:

Compare Healthy Paws and AKC pet insurance through these common questions: