ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

I have had this insurance company for almost 8 yrs now. My three oldest cats are 14. Through out the years when i filed a claim..(which was practically never)..this company never wanted to pay..they used everything they could to not pay and finally if they did it wasn't the 80% of what i was owed it was more like 1% when they got done tearing the claims apart. Last year i changed my 3 younger cats over to another insurance company..my older ones i had no choice but to stay with petshealth. The last claim i made was a legitimate claim for a sick cat..the company said that this was for a pre existing condition...(my cat is a kidney failure cat)..i never filed claims on this after the first year knowing it wasn't covered after the initial policy period..(which is ridiculous anyway). Okay,,so my cat was vomiting from eating some plastic..the vet did some xrays and bloodwork..this company said the blood work wasn't covered and my vet charged to much for the xrays..THIS TIME.. i fought them for my money..reported them to the better business bureau. NOW>>>i get registered letters in the mail stating my cats will no longer be covered and they are not renewing my policies. Because of my cats ages i can't get coverage for them anywhere. All this company wants to do is take your premiums and when it comes time to pay anything at all they try to find all the ways to get out of paying. Save your money and put it away for your pets emergency because with this company you'll have no money and no reimbursment for anything either.

Last summer I was walking with my thirteen year old pointer mix, Barkis, when he unexpectedly yelped in pain and didn't want to put any weight on one of his back legs. An X-ray revealed that he had actually broken his leg; he had bone cancer. It was a devastating diagnosis. After leg amputation and chemotherapy, however, he is now playing in the snow and enjoying every day with inspirational gusto. Without insurance, it would have been very difficult for me to face the magnitude of the vet bills. I am so grateful that he was able to get the very best medical care, and that Barkis continues to be such an important part of my life. Thank you.

One comment I must make has to do with review sites in general. Negative reviews will always be the worst cases imaginable and usually outnumber positive responses because it is human nature to complain rather than praise. Anyways, we have had ASPCA for our 3 dogs for just about two years. We have filed numerous claims and most have been accepted. The denied ones were for reasons stated in the policy. Even the ones that were accepted were reduced somewhat as it always is with insurance. But over the last two years we have been reimbursed 3.5:1 versus our premiums. We have had claims for infections, viruses, cancer and bloat all reimbursed proportionally. In my opinion, any reimbursement over and above the premium is a good investment. Would I get pet insurance for one animal, probably not. I would rather save money in a pet emergency fund. But when you have multiple pets, insurance is a great safety net especially if more than one pet gets stick at the same time.

To the Petshealth Customer Satisfaction Department:Thumbs up to Petshealth for providing such good service during the past year, which has been a tough one for my cat Heathcliff. I thought I'd take the opportunity to report back to you with the good news that he's bounced back from his three illnesses and is doing great now. On the renal failure front, he's been asymtomatic since a re-check on 07/07/09 (confirmed in a regularly scheduled check-up on 10/30/09), and his last treatment for it dates back to 07/07/09. As for his ulcer, he has been asymptomatic as of that same 07/07/09 re-check (also confirmed in that same regularly scheduled check-up on 10/30/09), and his last treatment for it was 10/23/09 -- we had continued with treatment as a defensive measure since July. Finally, he's been asymptomatic re his gastroenteritis/pancreatitis since that same regularly scheduled check-up on 10/30/09, and his last treatment was 11/27/09 -- again, we had continued with it as a defensive measure since October. Petshealth's service has helped to defray a significant part of the costs associated with these three illnesses. I am very glad to have had this help, and wanted to share the good news of Heathcliff's recovery on all three fronts. Sincerely, Dean

After committing to a long term treatment for my pets allergies I was notified that the treatment would no longer be covered since it had occurred in a 'prior' plan period. In other words, they only covered ANY condition for the first year of coverage. ALL conditions are then deemed preexisting at the time of renewal. Is this not the complete antithesis of our understanding of medical insurance?!?!?!?!