ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

I purchased pet insurance on the advise of a friend, when I got our first family dog, Micky. I never want to have to have a conversation with my young daughter, because we had to weigh the cost of any medical procedure for our pet. My mischevious little beagle has gotten into two scrapes requiring emergency vet care, and the insurance has paid for itself in the year we have had it. They process payments quickly, and for the cost, it gives me great peace of mind.

When Baxter adopted us two years ago, my husband and I had gone back and forth about getting coverage for him. In the end I went with my instincts and purchased the plan. I had previously spent over $1500.00 on a surgery for one of my other cats when he had bladder stones and I did not want to take the risk of not having my new companion covered. It has been so worth it. In October Baxter was diagnosed with Diabetes. We worked through the first few weeks of getting it under control and since he has been able to come off of the insulin. He also had a major infection, which we were also able to take care of. This insurance has been our saving grace. We have spent over $1500.00 and gotten back at least half of that. It has given us such a peace of mind to know that we have the safety net when any of our pets fall ill.

I have had a very good experience with ASPCA health insurance since I started purchasing it three years ago. For years I had only cats and didn't bother with insurance - and indeed, it would not have been cost effective. But then I got a dog and boy, am I glad I have insurance! I'm thankful that it doesn't pay for itself some years, but other years are different: a cut paw here, ingesting something bad there, it adds up. And the claims process is very simple and quick, with complete and clear explanations of the amounts. Why can't human health insurers do the same?

I have two young puppies insured through ASPCA under their level 3 plan with continuing care. Level 3 includes wellness care. An unfortunate string of accidents and illness in their early months had us running to the vet almost weekly for a short time. I found that ASPCA's "reasonable and customary" reimbursement rates fell far short of my vet bills when it comes to non-routine care: x-rays, ekg's, etc. They also have a pretty lengthy list of expenses that are "exclusions" and are ineligible fore reimbursement. I have calculated that my actual reimbursement on vet expenses has averaged between 30% to 50% per claim, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having insurance. In my opinion, this insurance is a poor value for the hefty monthly premium, especially in light of the fact that they do not cover hereditary and congenital conditions. This basically negates coverage for most major issues a dog is likely to have outside of accidents.

We were getting pretty frustrated about paying vet bills every other month for our cat who goes outdoors at night and has apparently too much fun. Anyway, we finally asked our local vet, who keeps repairing him, if there is medical insurance for pets like humans. Our vet recommended ASPCA Insurance and we have never been happier. It has saved us money and allowed us to provide our cat with the best care without worrying a lot about cost.