PILLAR 01 35%
Coverage
What the policy actually pays a vet bill: the annual payout limit, the highest reimbursement rate, whether dental illness is covered, and whether wellness care has its own budget.
Trust and method
How we rate pet insurance
Our pet insurance ratings weight four pillars: coverage 35 percent, value 25 percent, service 25 percent and trust 15 percent. Here is exactly how it works.
Last updated · 15 July 2026
Every insurer on HelloPets gets a rating out of 5. That rating is the weighted average of four pillars, plus a small editorial adjustment. We publish the criteria and the weightings so you can check our work. We keep the exact point thresholds internal, so that insurers cannot reverse engineer the scale and so that we can recalibrate when the market moves.
Every insurer gets a rating on the four dimensions below. The weightings reflect their real impact on what you get back when you send in a vet bill. They apply identically to partners and non-partners.
PILLAR 02 25%
Value
Not the cheapest, the most cover for the money: a mid tier plan against our predicted market price, the deductible and how it is structured, and documented year two increases.
PILLAR 03 25%
Service
A policy is only as good as its claims process: the Trustpilot rating weighted by volume, the documented reimbursement time, vet telehealth, and direct vet payment.
PILLAR 04 15%
Trust
Who carries the risk and can you check the contract first: a named, state-licensed underwriter, how long the brand has operated, a public sample policy, and independent awards.
How we test
No rating without actually reading the contract. Every insurer goes through the same four steps, partner or not.
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STEP 01 13 markets
Read the policy wording
We start from the contract itself (the sample policy and the declarations page), not the marketing. We record what decides a claim: limits, rates, exclusions, waiting periods.
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STEP 02 42 breeds
Price it for real
We pull pricing from our own database on typical profiles (dog and cat, several breeds and ages) to compare at equal cover, not on a headline price.
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STEP 03 weighted reviews
Weigh the service
Trustpilot rating weighted by volume, documented reimbursement time, vet telehealth, direct vet payment. A policy is only as good as its claims handling.
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STEP 04 rating /5
Rate and publish
Score computed on the weightings above, plus a small editorial adjustment. Published even if the insurer is a partner, even if the rating is low.
The editorial adjustment
The four pillars give a weighted average. On top of that, we can apply an editorial adjustment of at most 0.7 points, up or down, for things a rubric cannot fully capture: the reliability of payouts we observe, the quality of the purchase journey we test at our partners, and consistent reader feedback. Every adjustment is recorded with a reason.
One honest exception: for insurers we have not tested through the full purchase journey, which in practice means non-partners, the published rating is capped. Their score can therefore sit below what their contract alone would earn. We would rather be transparent about that limit than imply a purchase experience we have not verified.
Editorial independence
HelloPets is funded by affiliation: we earn a commission when a reader buys through one of our links, at no extra cost to them. To protect independence, we apply these rules:
- No editorial clause in affiliate contracts. If an insurer demands a minimum rating or placement, we refuse and cover it anyway on our method.
- Ratings are public before any partnership. An insurer cannot negotiate its rating by offering a partnership.
- Transparent link marking. Affiliate links are flagged and partner insurers clearly identified.
- Coverage of non-partners. A relevant insurer with no affiliate program, or one we cannot access, is reviewed and rated on the same scale.
Declared conflicts of interest
We disclose here any relationship that could influence our analysis of an insurer, beyond affiliate links: an equity stake, a service contract, privileged data access, or a personal link between a writer and a brand under review.
As of publication: no conflict declared beyond the standard affiliate partnerships, flagged on the relevant insurer pages.
Revision policy
Every insurer review is refreshed at least once a quarter: cover, pricing and service rating are checked. On a material event (a change of underwriter, a cover overhaul, a documented service incident), we revise immediately. The last updated date sits at the top of every review.
If you spot outdated information, flag it through our contact page. We fix it within two business days if the report is founded.
What this methodology does not do
Our methodology evaluates the characteristics of a policy, not the fit between a policy and your pet. It does not account for your pet's age, breed or medical history, or your budget. A well rated policy may not be the right one for an older animal or a higher risk breed.
Before you buy, read the sample policy and the declarations page, check the waiting periods and any age or breed exclusions, and confirm the price for your specific pet. The same plan can cost twice as much depending on breed and age.