ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

Just imagine that your own Blue Cross or other health insurance would pay for a condition until the annual renewal date of your policy, and then claim that your illness was a "pre-existing condition" (they claim that each year is a completely new policy!), and refuse to pay further. That is exactly what Hartville/ASPCA does with your pet insurance. In addition, they only pay 80% of the fee allowed in their own "fee schedule," which you bet your life is lower than what your vet charges you. Who would even think to ask these specific questions when enrolling? This company's advertising is misleading. They are unethical cheats. I gave the a rating of "1" only because there is no Zero option.

This pet insurance does not cover chronic conditions that manifested in the previous year into the new policy year. They treat it as PRE EXISTING!! I had a 11 year old samoyed who developed kidney disease and when the policy renewed they no longer covered any of her bloodwork, medications, etc. and I was basically on my own as far as vet expenses were concerned. If you are not worried about that take the policy BUT you will regret it.

I have been with ASPCA for over a year, I have three pets on the plan.My cat had developed hyperthiroidism in Nov. of 2007 and was put on medication which is not hepling,he had to be on it for three months to regulate the thiroid before surgery could be done.The policy renewed in Feb. when I read my new ploicy on the certificate it had a clause that read any illness that manifests in one 12 month period and is not cured and treatnent free for 180 days will be excluded from coverage in the subsequent 12 month period.but there was a asterik at the end of that statement (*) at the bottom of the plan it says does not apply to our plan.I called to verify this and was put on hold for 10 minutes and told to turn to page 9 under section Limit Of liability which basically said the same thing that was on the front page.I was told that they did not know why the asterik had that clause and that there were two supervisers looking into IT ,but that I am still not covered,I am thinking of contacting a lawer in this matter,I sent several E-mails and they never reply.I asked if my pet had an accident 12/31 and had to go back for several appointments and my policy renewed Jan.1 if that would be covered and was told no.What kind of rip off company are they.I chose them because they are the aspca,and thought that they would be more reputable because of there name .Boy was I wrong.I am going to look for another company.

This plan seems like a great plan at first, I chose the Advantage plan, which covers spay and neuter which can be so expensive and you get routine coverage as well as accident. However, once I submitted my claim for reimbursement, I was surprised at how LOW my reimbursement was compaired to my vet bill!! Granted, I took into a account the deductable, however they only reimbursed me for 80% of what THEY consider to be "reasonable costs" (basically they take the average of what the vets are charging in your area, and that includes cheaper places like shelters and such, so if you choose to go to a more expensive vet, that is a disadvantage for you). Also, I'm unhappy with the customer service, which once I got through was good, but anytime I chose the option to check up on my claim, it took literally 30 min. before someone would answer! Then when I chose the option to open a new plan, my wait time was (conveniently) only 5 min.I wouldn't recommend this insurance, too many loop holes.

They use their own fee schedule, so even if they pay 80% for a particular malady, it is 80% of what they say is reasonable for your area. It is not based on your actual charges. I found this misleading.