ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

+I was a former subscriber to the Hartville Group who was taken for thousands of dollars and learned many unfortunate lessons. This company also has affiliates including PetsHealthPlan.com and ASPCAPetInsurance.com who also engage in the same untrustworthy manner. When I first signed up with this company many years ago, they paid based on the actual percentage of the bill. In a later renewal, they slipped in language changing the amount they reimburse from the agreed upon 80% of actual charges on my bill to a list of cost estimates that were much lower than actual cost of treatment. The cover letter did not provide any indication that these changes were being made. Also during initial signup, I don't believe this company had anything in their contract stating they would stop paying claims after my renewal date. Refusing to pay six months out of a twelve month policy isn’t much of a benefit is it? Honestly, though, I may not have looked as I naturally assumed (as almost everyone else does) that as long as I paid my premiums every month, this company would pay the claims my pet may generate later in life. The Hartville Group preys upon the people who make the logical but false assumption that pet insurance has regulations and protections. If I had signed up with a reputable insurance company my cat may still be alive today. Only after my cat became sick would I find out what a horrible company this was as they either massively underpaid the promised 80% reimbursement or flat out denied claim after claim after claim. Of course I had nowhere else to turn as my cat was now sick and therefore uninsurable. Of the many claims I submitted during my cat's debilitating illness, there was not one claim where I was reimbursed the 80% I was promised after meeting my $100 deductible. Not one! NOW they have introduced a so-called "Continuing Care Endorsement" to fend off the complaints by me and the many others like me who were abandoned by them in years past. Too late for my cat, though. Besides, it still doesn’t stop them from underpaying claims. Thanks for nothing Hartville, I hope you all burn in hell. So my question to you is, with all of the other choices available to you for pet insurance, why would you trust your pet to these people? Thank you pet insurance review for allowing me to publish this warning. If it keeps others from suffering like I did, then maybe my cat's death won't be in vain.

We were sold a great dane with terrible health problems by a dishonest breeder. We racked up over $3,500 in vet bills in less than 6 months. Aspca fought us every step of the way, and drug our claims process out. They ultimately paid out 60% of the claim. Not bad for $9 a month policy. We got another dog and I don't think I will go back to them though. Thinking of trying VPI.

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.