If you read my earlier pet insurance post, you know that I used to be a devoted Healthy Paws customer — both of our dogs have been on it since we’ve had them. When Cat was diagnosed with cancer, they reimbursed us quickly and appropriately — no fuss, no gotchas. It was one of the few things that didn’t keep me up at night.

But like a lot of things that start off strong, the honeymoon ended.

Somewhere along the way, Healthy Paws quietly changed. I suspect it was due to them being acquired by a large corporation — universally, that tends to do things like lead to a decline in service, sadly. The payments got slower, the call wait-times got longer, the associates answering the phone became less knowledgeable.

Then they began doubling down on a rule I hadn’t realized they’d had because they’d never enforced it: They stopped approving claims for any prescription drugs that have been approved by the FDA but not for veterinary use. There are some very common drugs, too, including metronidazole, amoxicillin, cephalexin, gabapentin. Believe it or not: Even Doxorubicin — the chemo drug considered the go-to standard of care for treating HSA and many other canine cancers with chemotherapy — is not approved for veterinary use.

Oddly, their coverage was inconsistent, as well. Obviously, they approved her doxorubicin chemo, as well as a drug she takes every single day propranolol. But, then we needed them most — to cover the costly targeted therapies — they tightened the reins. (I wrote about this in an earlier post, too, with an update at the bottom of the post).

Unlike something I was seeing more commonly covered by other insurance companies, they don’t cover accident or illness exam fees, either. And trust me: when your dog is seeing a specialist every other week, those exam fees add up!

Another covered cost I was seeing more and more for other companies was for supplements and alternative therapies. That has been an ENORMOUS EXPENSE for us — over $6,000 (and rising).

It is obviously too late to change Cat’s coverage with her glaring pre-existing condition, but our other dog Wolfy has been (knock on wood) pretty healthy. He’s had no claims and has no pre-existing conditions, so I started shopping around. I considered Trupanion, Embrace, Lemonade, ASPCA, and others. I landed on Spot Pet Insurance — it was ranked at or near the top of all the legit review sites, and Redditors had good feedback, as well. (Chewy’s CarePlus was a close second).

Here are some reasons I chose them:

• They cover alternative therapies. Acupuncture, hydrotherapy, chiropractic care — it’s all eligible. I don’t know if we’ll ever need it, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to have the option. Prescribed supplements are covered, too.

• Accident and illness exam fees are covered. They don’t cover wellness exams unless you purchase an additional plan (that didn’t seem to make sense when I did the math). If you are looking for a more budget-friendly plan, they also offer accident-only insurance.

• Customizable plans. I could tweak the deductible, coverage limit, and reimbursement rate until I found the sweet spot between peace of mind and “this won’t make me resent my credit card bill.”

• No weird waiting periods for hip dysplasia or knee injuries if you get the orthopedic exam done early. (Healthy Paws? 12 months. No exceptions.)

To be clear: Healthy Paws came through for Cat when it mattered. But they’ve changed. And our needs have, too, and I’m glad to have made this change for Wolfy ——— because if Cat taught me anything, it’s this: the worst time to be comparing pet insurance policies is when you’re sitting in an emergency department waiting room.

If you’re interested in reading more about Spot Insurance, just click here.