ASPCA | Pet Insurance Review

My beloved German Shepherd became very ill and was euthanized recently at age 12+. He lived a long and healthy life. About 4 years ago I insured him through the ASPCA program. I chose the "primary" program which covered illnesses and accidents, and I knew that those would increase as Chance aged. Also, not even insurance companies for humans cover pre-existing or chronic conditions. This coverage was reasonably priced and I soon found that the interpretation on claims was pleasantly and surprisingly good. My only surprise was the interpretation for coverages at the time of renewal. Nonetheless I felt that this program was fair and as reasonable as could be. Service reps were nice, and e-claim filing a blessing. My confidence in treating my baby was increased because of this program. Susan 11/19/08

I have just initiated a health plan for my dachshund Smitty, and havefiled no claims, so my comments are based simply on the start-up process - which has been excellent - especially in comparison with my attempts to obtain coverage from another server. The other server made it almost impossible to proceed, so I didn't. Smitty was adopted from an animal shelter, and his medical history is a little sketchy. But he was thoroughly checked out before adoption, and again by my vet. Nevertheless the other server wanted documentation that did not exist, they were plod-slow in responding, and ultimately I got on the internet and did some research. Smitty was approved for ASPCA Health Care almost immediately. I have had a series of follow up questions, and each of them has been answered promptly, by a human being, and not by auto-response. We all have had personal experiences with insurance companies bordering on the inhumane. At this point, I will put my trust in this program; if developments change my outlook, I will update these comments.

After it cost me over $1000.00 at the emergency vet the day I lost my Golden Retriever, I started looking at my CKCS thinking he was getting older and I could use pet insurance just for the emergency and major health concerns. After looking at several plans and ones that would reasonably insure a 10 year old dog, I chose ASPCA. I live in Maryland and there is a law in this state that says when an insurance plan goes into effect, it must be in effect that day. One of the Customer service rep's told me about this. Little did I know at that time how much I was going to need this. I was planning on getting a puppy from rescue so I took my 10 year old in for check up and titers on the 8/04, 4 days after the plan went into effect and the vet found nothing. Two weeks later when I was scheduled to bring my dog back in for vaccination, I found a large lump on the side of his throat, at first I thought the lymph node was enlarged and since he had a history of ear infections I thought he had another. I refused the vaccine at the vet's though, and insisted on seeing the vet to find out what this lump was. Turned out it was not his ears, but a growth in his throat which the vet said then needed to come out "yesterday". He had surgery the very next day and the news a few days later was that he has "tonsil squamous cell carcinoma". I immediately scheduled an appointment with an oncologist. As you can imagine the bills were mounting up fast here for my little guy. I called customer service and after they realized that I lived in Maryland and my dog would be covered they have been wonderful! I had only paid the first premium, and they are still paying 80/20 split ($100 deductible) for my dogs medical bills. You can't imagine how much of a help this has been for me and I had only started paying premiums! I don't know why this company does not have a higher rating here. Special thanks to all the customer reps who have helped me at ASPCA Pet Insurance, and have been so wonderful with my many phone calls to you with questions.

I have three dogs all at different stages of there lives and all with completly different personalities.One standard blanket insurance policy doesn't work for all 3. The great thing about this insurance is it let me pick what type of coverage a I wanted for each dog. that really helped a lot to be able to get a plan based on each of their induvidual needs. Thanks so much!

I recently transferred my five pets' insurance fromPetshealth to PetPlan because of Petshealth's denial of renewal for conditions occuring in the previous policy period by labeling them as "pre-existing". Moreover, Petshealth will not cover dental disease of any kind unless it is an emergency that involves extractions of teeth. Thus, gingivitis is excluded, as is periodontal disease necessitating treatment under anesthesia. Equally disturbing is the ASPCA's lack of responsiveness to complaints about Petshealth. I have contacted both the Marketing Manager and the CEO of the ASPCA and have not received the courtesy of a response from either.