ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

With my previous cat (who died in 1993) I had tried other pet insurance companies, but I always had to pay a co-pay and they didn't cover many of the bills I had submitted for payment. I signed up with ASPCA Pet Insurance in 2006 and am extremely glad that I did. Last year I took my cat to a "cat" groomer that I thought would be a good place to go (I checked on the internet and it had several stars as a rating. I had taken my cat to the groomer in May and by Memorial Day weekend (a couple of weeks later), my cat had become very ill (he was falling down, plus his third eyelid was showing in one eye). This had happened on Sunday so, of course, the pet hospital where my cat's vet was was closed. Fortunately, there is a Pet Emergency center near where I live, so I took my cat there and was told he had "Horner's Syndrome" (the symptoms can last for 6-8 weeks), which they did. Over the time that my cat was ill, his medical bills came to over $1,500.00 and ASPCA Pet Insurance paid over $800.00 of that.

My first pet insurance experience was with this company; I was in part lured in by the ASPCA endorsement. I was concerned that the policies offered for my 2 cats and one dog were not particularly good but decided to give it a try. I did understand that every renewal was treated as a new application and coverage for illnesses occuring within the previous year would not be covered. I also understood the limits of coverage per illness. What angers me the most however is not that Hartville offers poor policies (after all I did purchase the policies) but that they did not reimburse fairly even given the limits of the policies. The reimbursement schedule is very low; three animals, three cities, 5 vet clinics- always the reimbursement was 60% after deductibles and co-pays (not the promised 80%). What they consider reasonable isn't. The adjusters also look for every reason to deny reimbursement. Part of a claim was denied for "timely filing" although they only want one claim per illness (how does that work?). They tried denying a claim for an emergency visit for my acutely ill cat claiming that it was due to his chronic mild liver inflammation. The cat died three days later of acute leukemia. I did finally receive some payment but only after repeated calls and many weeks. The renewal policy for the dog listed "ingestion of foreign bodies" as a pre-existing condition that would not be covered. Since when is one accidental ingestion a chronic condition? (That incident only cost them $40- a fraction of the premium- the dog was entirely healthy otherwise) In short, Hartville offers poor policies and then doesn't even honor their side of the contract. After extensive research I have been able to find better policies elsewhere for the same or only slightly more money. The ASPCA should be ashamed to partner with a company like Hartville.

Name:Kathy FastAddress: Plainfield IN Story:Our kitty's name is Patches and he is 11 yrs old. He developed diabetes in November of 2008 and I have to say how amazed I am with this pet insurance. I had been a contributor to ASPCA for helping homeless animals for quite a while and only found out about their pet insurance a couple of yrs ago. Patches was virtually always healthy, never sick and never went to see the vet except for his yrly exam and shots. Since his diagnosis, I have had to take him to the doctor several times for bloodwork and tests while they are trying to regulate his blood sugar. I am amazed at how prompt ASPCA is in paying their claims, and they have paid exactly what they said they would pay. I feel like I have a "guardian angel looking over us by having this insurance thru ASPCA. I don't feel so quite alone in going thru this with Patches. He is doing great, his blood sugar is coming down although the vet said it may take a while for us to go to where it needs to be. I just feel so fortunate to have found this insurance --it has been a lifesaver, especially with the times being so hard right now Thank you ASPCA! Kathy Fast

I have had 2 types of plans with ASPCA. I had an emergency plan that I didn't think I'd ever use. Unfortuntately, it came in quite useful when my cat became seriously ill, and ultimately passed at only 1 year of age. The customer reps that I contacted both online and by phone were very helpful and supportive. I purchased another contract for my new kitten, and have also experienced wonderful service. My questions are answered promptly, and claims are handled in an efficient manner. I would and will purchase again.

We purchased a plan with PetsHealth (Hartville group) in 2005. Not very many companies offering pet insurance at the time. We found out that after the first year of coverage, our dog started loosing benefits because the clause in the contract stipulated a waiting period of 180 days from inception. They changed this to 180 days between cycles (annual). Which means any chronic condition will not be covered after 1 year. Our pure breed was diagnosed with a skin disorder and found out that since we treated him in November with an OTC for itching he bacame ineligible for coverage to see a dermatologist and all subsequent treatments because 180 days had not passed. We were also threatened if we cancelled our policy early we would encure penalty fees. We requested a high review of the claims and had to constantly call them for a status update. Once we got ahold of someone willing to tell us what happened they were rude and condascending. Now that we cancelled our policy all of our dogs issues will be considered pre-existing and not covered through another vendor.