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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Healthy Paws Pet Insurance by a consumer claiming the company charges excessive monthly premiums.
Plaintiff Steven Benanav says that Healthy Paws is contractually obligated to increase their insurance premiums only to the extent of the costs associated with an increase in the amount spent on veterinary medicine.
Benanav reportedly purchased a Healthy Paws insurance policy for his dog Mali in March 2012. This insurance company has reportedly been underwritten by numerous companies such as Markel American Insurance Company, Ace American and Westchester Fire Insurance Company.
When the plaintiff first purchased the insurance for Mali, the monthly premiums were $33.85 per month, Benanav claims. However, as the dog aged, the monthly premiums reportedly increased.
The plaintiff states that in 2016, the monthly premiums increased from $39.03 to $44.80. Thereafter, the premiums increased to $55.61 in 2018, to $69.67 in 2019, and finally to $104.50 in 2020, according to the Healthy Paws class action lawsuit.
Benanav claims his pet insurance policy increased more than 300 percent over the course of seven years. The plaintiff alleges this amount is well above the overall average costs of veterinary medicine for that time period.
A Nationwide Purdue Veterinary Price Index from 2019 notes that from 2014 to 2018, the cost of veterinary medicine increased only 21 percent, which is less than the cost of the premium set by Healthy Paws.
Benanav says Mali is now 13-years-old and he is unable to switch insurance companies, because the dog has aged out of most policies.
The plaintiff claims that he expected his insurance premiums to rise according to inflation. He says if he knew that Healthy Paws would be taking Mali’s age and other factors into consideration to increase their rates, he would not have signed up for this particular insurance policy.
Benanav alleges that the age of his pet is not a factor related to veterinary medicine, and therefore Healthy Paws should not have used that information to increase insurance policies.
The Healthy Paws class action lawsuit argues that the insurance company has earned millions of dollars in extra profits by unrightfully increasing the costs of the monthly premiums.
“More and more, Americans regard their pets as members of their family and more and more, Americans are demanding similar services for their pets as they do for their family members—and that includes health insurance,” claims the Healthy Paws class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff cites statistics by the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, which states that more than 2 million pets were insured at the end of 2017.
In addition, the director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America has recently stated that the purchase of pet insurance is “often motivated by a combination of love and fear,” which puts the purchaser in a vulnerable situation, according to the class action lawsuit.
Also, the plaintiff maintains that the cost-benefit analysis of whether an individual should choose pet insurance is based on the cost of monthly premiums.
“Many consumers, when presented with the possibility of securing the most advanced veterinary care for their pet in the event of a future illness for only $30 or $40 per month, believe that pet insurance is a good deal,” argues Benanav.
The Healthy Pets class action lawsuit states that pet insurance companies drastically increase the cost of monthly premiums when the consumers need the insurance the most: as their pets age.
The plaintiff argues that suddenly, monthly premiums for pet insurance may skyrocket to hundreds of dollars per month, which drastically affects the cost-benefit calculation.
“While some pet insurance policies may explicitly allow monthly premiums to increase based on a pet’s age—thus warning consumers from the outset of the potential for a spike down the road—Healthy Paws’ policies do not,” according to the Healthy Paws class action lawsuit.
There are two prospective Classes in the Healthy Paws class action lawsuit. First, a nationwide Class which consists of “All persons who, within the applicable statute of limitations, had their monthly premiums increase on a Healthy Paws pet insurance policy.” The second Class is a California subclass which includes “All persons in the state of California who, within the applicable statute of limitations, had their monthly premiums increase on a Healthy Paws pet insurance policy.”
Do you have insurance for your pet and have experienced premium costs increasing? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Samuel J. Strauss of Turke & Strauss.
The Healthy Paws Insurance Class Action Lawsuit is Steven Benanav v. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, Case No. 2:20-cv-00421, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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844 thoughts onHealthy Paws Class Action Says Pet Insurance Premiums Skyrocketed
Just received my premium renewal for 2024. I have two small dogs on the plan since 2017 and 2018 and have not used the coverage since 2019 and even then, all but one claim went toward the deductible. The premium for one dog, my 9-year-old, increased 50% and the other dog, 7 years, increased 84%; the combined increase is 50%. I have another dog, a puppy, that I did NOT enroll in Healthy Paws in August 2023 but another company and believe it or not, I was able to enroll both of my Health Paws enrollees on that plan and I will pay less money than I was paying in 2023. I expect there to be a premium increase annually based upon the aging of the pet, but when I asked Healthy Pets “Why” so high an increase, they told me that the overall claim payments in my state exceed the premiums they are getting. Sounds to me like Healthy Pets is not investing the premium money to offset premium increases to customers but that I just a thought.
I would like to be added as well I have been a cusomer for 10 plus years and the increases have been large. Now when my pets are older they just increased my premium $57 !
I would like to be added to the lawsuit. We went from about $55 per month for 2 small dogs 7 years ago, and are now at $140. We used the insurance once when my dog was 1 and had an infection. Otherwise, my dogs are very healthy. After seeing our new statement this month, I checked online and found this lawsuit. They never told us our rates would increase just because of our dogs age. And now it is too late to go to another provider.
I would like to be added to this lawsuit if it is still going on. I feel raped by the premium cost increases over the years. This next year has increased over $65 per month. I am now at $187 per month for a 6 year old dog. They have to be stopped. Please help.
I feel like I was just blindsided. My premium for my dog who turned six this year just went up 70%! I was unaware of the original class action lawsuit but would like to be a part of it, or start a new one. I have been with healthy paws since 2016 and never have I had an increase like this. When I originally signed up for the policy it clearly stated that rates would not be impacted by the number of claims, age or breed.
I would like to be added to this lawsuit. My dog is now 11 years old and I started paying 40 a month when he was under a year old and I am now paying $160 a month and cannot switch insurance due to his age.
My small dog was enrolled in Healthy Paws originally for 26$/mo. In approximately 3 years it went up to 42$/mo
with no claims.
I recently did make a claim. My great reimbursement was a whopping 68$.
I too was startled by the abrupt increase.
I would like to follow the lawsuit. I had 2 dogs on Healthy Paws Ins. My older dog, 11 years recently died. His premium had gone up to $164 a month. The last few years the premiums have increased over 30% a year. My 6 year old dog’s premium is $50, about double of his puppy cost, but still affordable. I am concerned about the future increases and I am looking at other Insurance plans.
I would also like to be added. Like everyone else, my premium has gone from $40 to $400+/month. These guys are crooks. You can’t justify these ridiculous rates. Especially not with how they market their company and services. They loop you in with their “guarantees” and then once they know it’s practically impossible to switch companies, they increase your premiums to the point that my dogs insurance is costing more than mine. They know they have the upper hand because of our pets ages and we have no other options now. I can’t believe they haven’t already been sued into oblivion. I don’t ever do this but I am all for joining this fight to take this company down. Unbelievable what they are doing.
Hi
Are we still able to be added to the Class Action Lawsuit? If so, please add my name. We enrolled our dog in July 2017 with Healthy Paws. Her premium was $59.28 (she was on the family plan with a discount) a month. It continued to rise each year, then in 2021 went from $87.58 up to $122.61 a month. In 2022, both cats had died so our dog’s premium went to $175.00 a month. I felt that was extreme but thought it must be because she wasn’t on the family plan any longer. So we paid it. The final straw – in 2023 her premium went up to $502.24 a month! I called several times but was never given a believable reason why this insane increase happened. Our dog has pre-existing conditions but that isn’t the problem since the insurance company just doesn’t pay on that. Healthy Paws increased our rates because our dog is now 13 years old, a full blooded American Bulldog and they know there will be more problems in the future due to the breed and her age. Insurance was not created to exclude insureds just because of their age. They need to be stopped from this gouging. We changed pet insurance companies and even with her pre-existing conditions we had no trouble getting insurance, at a fraction of the cost of Healthy Paws.