About PetsHealthHub
A serious publication that happens to be about pets
We started PetsHealthHub because buying pet insurance should not require a law degree. We read the fine print, price the plans and publish exactly how we reach every conclusion.
Last updated
01Who we are
Editors, not salespeople
PetsHealthHub is an independent editorial team of researchers and writers with backgrounds in personal finance journalism, insurance analysis and veterinary practice management.
We do not sell insurance and we are not a broker. Our job is to explain how each policy works, compare them honestly and point you to the plan that fits your pet, whether or not we earn anything from that recommendation.
Every page on this site is reviewed by a second editor before publication and re-checked whenever an insurer changes its pricing or terms.
02Methodology
How we rank insurers
We analyze policy documents, sample quotes across 12 cities, and claims data, then apply the same weighted formula to every insurer.
We read the policy documents
Not the marketing pages. Every sample policy, exclusion list and state filing we can obtain, cover to cover, for every insurer we rank.
We price sample quotes across 12 cities
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, Minneapolis and Austin, for dogs and cats at matched settings, refreshed every quarter.
We track claims data
Published claims statistics, regulatory complaint ratios and test submissions tell us how quickly and reliably each company actually pays.
We score, then we write
Scores are calculated from a fixed weighting before any review is drafted. The writing explains the number; it never adjusts it.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | 40% | What the base policy actually pays for: exam fees, hereditary conditions, dental illness, alternative therapy, behavioral care and annual limits. |
| Price | 30% | Sample monthly premiums for dogs and cats across 12 US cities, at matched $500 deductibles and 80% reimbursement. |
| Claims speed | 20% | Median time from claim submission to reimbursement, how claims are filed, and whether direct vet payment is available. |
| Exclusions | 10% | How narrowly pre-existing conditions are defined, orthopedic waiting periods, age caps and bilateral-condition clauses. |
Each criterion is scored out of 10. The weighted total is divided by two to produce the score out of 5 shown throughout the site.
03Independence
Our editorial independence
Our editorial team and our commercial partnerships are kept separate. Editors do not know which insurers pay referral fees when they score a policy, and no insurer reviews our content before it is published.
Insurers cannot pay to be included, to improve their score or to remove criticism. When an insurer disputes a fact, we verify it against the policy documents and correct the page if we were wrong, noting the date of the change.
We rank companies we have no commercial relationship with using exactly the same method, and we will continue to recommend them when they are the best choice.
04Disclosure
How we make money
When you buy through our links we may earn a commission. This never affects our rankings.
PetsHealthHub is free to use and supported by affiliate commissions. Links and buttons marked “Ad” are sponsored: if you click one and purchase a policy, the insurer or a partner network may pay us a fee. You pay nothing extra, and the price you see is the price you would pay going to the insurer directly.
Commissions may influence where on a page an offer appears, but they never influence our scores, our ranking order or what we write about a company. Our ranking is determined solely by the methodology above.
Premiums displayed on this site are representative sample quotes. Your actual price will depend on your location, your pet’s breed and age, and the plan options you choose. Coverage is subject to each insurer’s terms, conditions and exclusions.
Contact
Spotted an error? Tell us.
Corrections, insurer updates and reader questions go to our editors at editors@petshealthhub.com. We respond to every factual correction within two business days.