Side By Side Comparison With A Clear Winner

*Waiting periods for California, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Washington are as follows:

• Accidents – 0 days
• Illnesses – 14 days
• Cruciate Ligament Conditions – 30 days
• Routine Care – 0 days

†Healthy Paws only offers hip dysplasia coverage to dogs enrolled before the age of six.

Pumpkin Pet Insurance comes out ahead because it offers coverage for behavioral therapies, wellness items, exam fees, and alternative/holistic therapy. Pumpkin also has shorter waiting periods for hip dysplasia. Otherwise, the two have nearly identical waiting periods (14 days as opposed to 15 days).

Pumpkin’s underwriter has an A rating from A.M. Best (a measurement of financial stability). This means that it is considered slightly less stable than Healthy Paws (which has an A++ rating) regarding the dependability of claim repayment. Additionally, Healthy Paws has been in business for 11 years longer than Pumpkin, so it has more experience paying out claims.

Ultimately, Pumpkin is the winner of this category because it provides more thorough coverage and excludes fewer health conditions; however, this is a close race due to Healthy Paws being in business longer with a strong customer experience reputation (read more below).

Customer Service & Reputation

Customer Service & Reputation Winner

Pumpkin is new to the pet insurance space, starting up in 2020. And from the customer reviews we’ve seen, there are many complaints regarding pricing, cancellation difficulties, lengthy claim processing periods, and more. It can take years for a company to stabilize its performance and pricing, and it appears that Pumpkin is still working through these challenges.

Meanwhile, Healthy Paws has one of the best reputations in the pet insurance business. It introduced many things to the industry, including being the first company to offer unlimited claim payouts. However, in recent years, it hasn’t led the charge in innovation.

The majority of Healthy Paws’ complaints center around its customers’ misunderstanding of what is covered and excluded in their policy. Unfortunately, this is common among all pet insurance companies, so we encourage you to read your policy in its entirety before signing up.

Claim Processing

Claim Processing Winner

Pumpkin states it processes claims in two to four weeks. This is much longer than most of its competition. The majority of companies average fewer than ten days. Healthy Paws pays most of its claims within two days, which is among the fastest you will find.

Healthy Paws also offers an option to have them pay your vet directly, so you aren’t required to pay a hefty vet bill in advance and wait for reimbursement. However, this isn’t available everywhere, so check with your vet to see if this is an option for you.

Because Healthy Paws has a much shorter claim processing average and may offer a direct payment option to your vet, it wins this category.

Price Of Policy

Price Of Policy Winner

Healthy Paws has no one-time enrollment fees or monthly transaction fees. Pumpkin has a monthly transaction fee of $2 but no one-time sign-up fee.

Your premium price quote is based on your pet’s details (age, breed, location, etc.). We recommend obtaining quotes from each company for your specific pet. You can also visit our pet insurance comparison quotes to see a few sample prices we’ve gathered. 

Healthy Paws almost always came out less expensive than Pumpkin in the quotes we’ve run. However, remember that it’s always best to get quotes for your specific dog to compare what pet insurance could cost for you. You can use our pet insurance quote form to get multiple company quotes when you complete this one-quick form.

Coupons

Pumpkin

Pumpkin offers the following discount:

• 10% off for multiple pets

Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price. No promo code is needed.

Healthy Paws

Use this link to take advantage of the best possible price and get a quote for your pet from Healthy Paws.

Plan Customization

Plan Customization Winner

One of the significant differences between these two companies is the plan customizations they offer. Pumpkin offers several customizations, so you can adjust your policy to fit your budget.

• Annual payout options for dogs: $10,000, $20,000, and unlimited
• Deductibles: $100, $250, $500, and $1,000
• Reimbursement: 90%
• Add-on wellness plan is available for preventative care

On the flip side, Healthy Paws offers fewer customizations. They have unlimited payouts for all plans and some restrictions on reimbursement and annual deductible amounts, depending on your pet’s age at enrollment.

• Dogs and cats 5 years and under:
  • 90%, 80%, and 70% reimbursement
  • $100, $250, and $500 deductible
• Dogs and cats 6 and 7 years old:
  • 80%, 70%, or 60% reimbursement
  • $250, $500, or $750 deductible
• Dogs 8 years and older: 
  • 50% or 60% reimbursement
  • $750 or $1,000 deductible

Overall, Pumpkin has more customization options than Healthy Paws, which may make it a better, more flexible fit for your budget.

What’s Our Verdict?

Overall Winner

In the end, Healthy Paws wins this comparison against Pumpkin due to its longstanding reputation, faster claim processing, and lower pricing. However, if you want coverage for your pet’s wellness-related expenses or more customization options, you may want to consider Pumpkin.

If you didn’t find what you were looking for, our experts dig even deeper into each company in our individual reviews of Pumpkin and Healthy Paws.

Our experts have spent thousands of hours researching to bring you our comprehensive and frequently updated pet insurance reviews, including our top picks, along with details on each of the most popular pet insurance companies. So, if you want to know how other providers compare against one another, you may find this review helpful in your pet insurance search.