ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

My Puppy was enrolled in ASPCA insurance and ended up having pretty severe allergies. For the first year ASPCA was pretty good about paying on my claims. HOWEVER after renewing my policy (I never missed a day of payments) they told me chronic conditions like allergies are not covered after the first year!!! So if your pet gets diabetes, or glaucoma, or arthritis, or anything which is considered on going SORRY you are out of luck next year they won't pay for it. And then you are stuck because NO other company will pay on pre-existing conditions. Even the ones who say that they will only pay between 100- 200 dollars over the lifetime of the pet. PLEASE STAY AWAY!

Although I have had a couple of negative experiences with Petshealth, I must say that they seem to be the ONLY pet insurance company willing to insure older pets. They will insure dogs up to 13 years and cats up to 15 years. They will even insure the pet with their top plan, regardless of age, if there are no pre-existing conditions. I have a 13 year-old cat who has never been sick a day in his life. I was able to insure him with Petshealth under their most extensive plan. A few things to watch out for, though. First, unless you get their top plan that covers chronic and/or recurring illnesses, if your pet is diagnosed with some illness and/or injury in one plan period, as soon as the plan period renews, it is considered a pre-existing condition and coverage will stop. This is a bad deal if, say, your pet is diagnosed with cancer a week before your plan renews because in just one week, the coverage for the cancer will stop. That's crappy. Also beware that any congenital and/or hereditary condition is not covered on ANY of their plans. So, that immediately excludes a boatload of illnesses as there are lots and lots of disorders known in hundreds of breeds. But, again, if you need to insure a senior pet, this is probably the only option you really have.

I've had pet insurance on my 4 dogs for only a little overa year, and so, I had very little experience with any of the pet insurance companies. 3 of my dogs are relatively young (1,2, and 5), but my 4th dog is 13 years old. Because of that, I had trouble finding a company that would insure her (besides basic accident coverage) but PetsHealthPlan said that they would, and, so, initially, I was ecstatic. They requested her medical records, reviewed them, and then, noted one pre-existing condition -- hypothyriodism -- which is quite treatable and just requires my dog to be on medication for the rest of her life. Other than that, she was in perfect health. Well, within 2 months of obtaining the insurance, this dog came down with gastroenteritis -- a $108 vet bill, and of that, $91 was applied to my $100 deductible. So far, I was impressed with Pets Health...but also note that they had NOT paid out anything yet, but they were taking my $50 a month premium. Then, a month ago she started coughing, and after doing bloodwork and an x-ray, the vet finally diagnosed her with inhalant allergies -- a $300 vet bill. I submitted a claim and it was denied saying that allergies can result from hypothyriodism, and so it was a result of a pre-existing condition. I told my vet about this, and she said NO, skin allergies can result from hypothyriodism NOT inhalant allergies. So, now I am appealing it and they are saying "they are looking into it". Finally, about 2 weeks ago, my dog fell and slipped a disc in her back. She had a $2500 back surgery yesterday, but PetsHealth is telling me that it won't be covered because back injuries(IVDD) are common for her breed. The surgeon says that he doubts it is IVDD -- she just simply hurt her back when she fell, which should be classified as an injury. PetsHealth says it doesn't matter -- her breed is prone to back injuries, and it's not covered. I am very upset with this company now. I see how they lure clients in, though, and it is very deceiving. Their biggest point of advertisement is the fact that their plans cover "wellness care" -- routine vaccinations, heartworm tests, dental cleanings, etc. The problem with that is that those things are relatively cheap -- maybe $150 - $200 per year. Most people get pet insurance to have peace of mind that the MAJOR things will be covered -- not just the $150 routine, annual exam. In addition, when I called to see if my dog's back surgery was covered, as soon as I told the customer service representative how much the procedure was going to cost, he became very rude and attempted to end the phone call as quickly as possible. In my opinion, this company is just one big scam. Their premiums are ALOT higher than the competitors, and they won't pay for a single thing once it gets past your deductible.

Each time I submit a claim I am always pleasantly surprised when I get a check in the mail! So many weird unexpected things can happen. It's great peace of mind. I highly recommend it.

As an example: If your pet is diagnosed with cancer in the 10th month of the policy then all claims that continue into the renewal are not covered as they are considered a pre-existing condition. I purchased two policies on my two cats from Petshealth over 7 years ago and when cancer set in I had no (0) coverage as they invoked the pre-existing condition provision at renewal. It took us two months to organize the tratment. Once I read the policy and saw the exclusion I cancelled both policies. I hope the ASPCA realizes what they endorsed as they are a fine organization. We also had a dog insured with the same company for 5 years who was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately his cancer condition was diagnosed at the beginning of the policy year and his treatments where covered up to the $3500 limit with deductions for reasonable and customary. He died before the policy expired. His cremation coverage for a 135 pound German Shepard was under $50. All of these incidents happened before the ASPCA endorsed the current program. Good luck.