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ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Review
By Digvijaya Rau MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is one of the oldest pet insurance companies in the U.S. In the last 20 years they have covered over 200,000 pets and processed over 2.2 million claims. Pet parents choose ASPCA Pet Health Insurance for its flexibility and coverage. If you are looking for a trusted and comprehensive plan for your dog, cat or horse, ASPCA pet health insurance plans are among the best pet insurance plans there are.
Because pet health insurance isn’t standardized, every firm offers different insurance packages at varying costs. We cataloged this company’s offerings so you can determine if ASPCA pet insurance is worth it for you.
ASPCA Pet Health overview
Although expensive, ASPCA pet insurance plans provide comprehensive coverage to pets in a complete package, including preventive care if needed. Before diving into ASPCA pet health coverage details, be sure you’re clear about what pet insurance covers.
ASPCA Pet Health coverage
ASPCA’s Complete Coverage plan covers a range of pet-related medical expenses, while the Accident-only coverage covers accidental medical issues. You can also opt for an add-on preventive care plan. Its offerings compare favorably on several parameters with other market leaders like Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Nationwide and Petplan.
What ASPCA Pet Health Insurance offers
ASPCA pet health insurance comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It allows you to visit any licensed vet in the U.S. or Canada and you can manage your account online at any time. The Complete Coverage plan comes with coverage for diagnostics, exam fees and treatment. Advanced treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, acupuncture and stem-cell therapy are also covered. ASPCA pet health insurance covers the following conditions:
Hereditary and congenital conditions
The Complete Coverage plan covers birth defects and inherited conditions. Conditions like Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), heart disease, hip dysplasia, and eye disorders that appear later in a pet’s life are also covered here. This makes the ASPCA plan more comprehensive than its competitors, who offer this coverage only as an add-on.
Alternative therapies
ASPCA insures your pet’s alternative therapies used to treat an accident or illness. These include low-level laser therapy, hydrotherapy, rehabilitative therapy, chiropractic care, physiotherapy and acupuncture.
Behavioral issues
Sometimes pets indulge in destructive behavior that harms the pet itself and disrupts the home. Complete Coverage diagnoses and treats these problems.
Chronic conditions
Ongoing conditions like diabetes and cancer are covered under Complete Coverage. Unlike other insurance providers, these conditions don’t leave your pet ineligible for coverage.
Prescription medication
Vets sometimes prescribe medication to help pets deal with their health conditions. These could be pains, thyroid problems, inflammation and infections. Such medications for covered conditions are covered under the Complete Coverage plan.
Prescription food and supplements
The Complete Coverage plan reimburses you for vet-prescribed foods and supplements. There are no limits on how long you use this coverage.
Microchip implantation
When pets are lost, microchips can ensure that they are returned home. ASPCA Pet Health Insurance shows it cares by covering microchip implantation in its pet health insurance.
You can choose accident-only dog/cat insurance if you want coverage only for injuries.
What ASPCA Pet Health Insurance doesn’t offer
Every pet insurance provider has exclusions. This means some pet conditions aren’t covered. ASPCA is no different. Here are the exclusions in the ASPCA policy.
Cosmetic procedures
Plans don’t cover elective procedures like claw removal, tail docking and ear cropping.
Breeding costs
Plans don’t cover costs associated with breeding and pregnancy.
Pre-existing conditions
Conditions that occur during a waiting period or before coverage begins are called pre-existing conditions. These conditions are not covered. However, an injury or condition free of treatment and symptoms for 180 days or more is not considered a pre-existing condition. In the case of knee and ligament conditions, if it has occurred during a waiting period or before the effective date of coverage, all such conditions occurring in the future are not covered.
Preventive care (optional add-on)
Routine care and vaccinations can be added to your plan for a small amount every month.
Types of coverage plan options available
The answer to the question “How much is pet insurance?” is “It depends.”
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance provides two types of coverage options. These are Accident-only coverage and Complete Coverage — for both accidents and illnesses. You can customize both types of coverage options based on annual limits, reimbursement percentages and deductibles.
The annual limit is the maximum amount that you can be reimbursed over a policy period of 12 months. You can choose between annual limits of $3,000, $4,000, $5000, $7,000, and $10,000 for both types of coverage.
The reimbursement percentage is the covered cost paid back to the insured person after satisfying the deductible. The ASPCA Pet Health Insurance actual payout (reimbursement percentage) can be either 70%, 80% or 90% of the vet bill. Choosing a lower reimbursement percentage results in a lower premium. A higher reimbursement percentage means a higher premium but also more money back. Your dog insurance also depends on your pet’s breed; premiums on dog insurance for popular breeds vary because every breed has different health insurance needs.
Accident-only coverage
This covers your dog or cat when it is hurt. It covers emergencies and new injuries related to accidents. These include broken bones, torn ligaments, bite wounds, cuts, toxic ingestion and foreign objects lodged in the body. Exam fees, diagnostics and treatment for these are covered. Surgery and stem cell treatments and even alternative care like chiropractic and acupuncture are covered.
It doesn’t, however, cover breeding costs, cosmetic procedures, pre-existing conditions or incidents that are unrelated to accidents. Coverage begins on the 15th day after the effective policy date.
Complete Coverage Accident and Illness
This type of ASPCA pet health insurance includes coverage for accidents and illnesses like digestive problems, hypothyroidism, urinary tract infections, allergies, arthritis and cancer. In addition, behavioral issues and hereditary and congenital conditions are also covered.
To get a perspective on the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance costs associated with these two kinds of coverage, we’ll consider coverage for both types with an annual limit of $4,000, with 80% reimbursement and a $250 annual deductible: In this example, Accident-only coverage will cost $30.11 per month, while Complete Coverage will cost $106.20 per month.
ASPCA Pet Health accessibility
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance is easily accessible online via its member center, its mobile app and also through email, fax and mail. Phone lines are not open 24/7.
Contact information
Connect with the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance number center if you have a query. You can connect with them at 1-888-716-1203 from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm EST, or email them at sales@apscapetinsurance.com. Existing customers can connect with the customer satisfaction team between 8 am to 8 pm EST at 1-866-204-6764 or email the team at cservice@aspcapetinsurance.com. Services for veterinary staff are available at 1-877-738-2677. You can also contact them by email at vets@cfinspet.com.
You can submit a claim online via the app or member center. You can also submit claims by email, fax or mail. Just download the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance claim form and fill it in as per the instructions.
You can track the claim status in the member center or app, and the customer service team will update you on the processing status.
Additional add-on options
Preventive care is an add-on option to your Complete Coverage program. This covers vaccinations and other routine care. Preventive care comes without deductibles or coinsurance amounts. You can add it to your plan for a little more per month.
Preventive care is meant to prevent pet illnesses. It includes vaccination, dental cleanings, flea and tick medication, and heartworm prevention. Screenings and wellness exams help keep you on top of any health issues that may arise.
You can choose between Basic Preventive Care or Prime Preventive Care options:
- The Basic Preventive Care ($8.25/month) allows for dental cleaning, deworming, a wellness exam, rabies or Lyme vaccine/titer, DHLPP vaccine/titer, heartworm test, and fecal test for a combined total annual benefit of $250.
- The Prime Preventive Care ($20.75/month) includes everything in the Basic Preventive Care as well as flea/heartworm prevention, health certificate, Bordetella vaccine/titer, blood test, and urinalysis with a combined total annual benefit of $450.
With the preventive care programs, you can sign up today and have coverage tomorrow. You can submit claims like you do for accident or illness coverage. Not all pet insurance providers offer preventive care. Depending on your option, you may qualify for spay/neuter, dental care, and the FVRCP and FELV vaccine/titer for cats.
Deductibles
Deductibles are amounts you need to meet before getting reimbursed. With some providers, you need to meet a per-incident deductible — for every insurance incident, you need to meet that amount. Other providers have annual deductible options — you need to meet the deductible amount only once a year, even if your pet gets sick multiple times. With the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program, you can choose between annual deductibles of $100, $250 and $500. A higher deductible means a lower monthly premium and vice-versa.
Limitations
If you are considering buying an ASPCA Pet Health Insurance plan, here are some limitations to keep in mind.
- You must be enrolled in behavioral issues and alternative therapies coverage (plans like Trupanion give you the choice of whether to enroll).
- Embrace and Lemonade both have an accident waiting period of just 2 days, compared to the ASPCA waiting period of 14 days.
- The ASPCA plan takes 15-30 days for claim processing, compared to 2 days for Trupanion.
- Pets Best offers a 24/7 pet helpline, while ASPCA Pet Health Insurance does not.
- The maximum annual coverage is $10,000. Several competitors offer higher coverage.
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance customer satisfaction
Reviews and complaints
At the time of writing, ASPCA Pet Insurance had an excellent rating of 4.3/5 stars on Trustpilot based on 3,946 reviews. Pet owners on Trustpilot praised the business’s various aspects, including ease of use, comprehensive coverage, quick claim processing, pleasant staff and a pain-free application process. People unhappy with the coverage often say their claims were not honored or they had problems registering.
On Consumer Affairs, ASPCA has a rating of 4.2 stars based on 771 ratings. Both the highest-rated and lowest-rated reviews on Consumer Affairs had to do with claim acceptance. Some of the low-rated reviews complained about high-value claims being rejected.
ASPCA Pet Insurance FAQs
Summary of ASPCA Pet Health Insurance review
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Complete Coverage is expensive but has extremely customizable plans. The pet insurance plans come with a multi-pet discount of 10% for each additional pet. ASPCA covers the cost of pet exams and comes with preventive care programs, allowing you to stop your pet’s problems before they begin. ASPCA pet health insurance plans allow your pet to get treated at licensed vets throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The downsides are that claim processing is slow and there are no deductible options over $500. There is a 14-day waiting period for accidents and illnesses, and the maximum annual coverage is $10,000.
However, ASPCA is one of the best pet insurance companies in the U.S., and if you are looking for a comprehensive insurance plan, it may be just the right choice for your pet.
Digvijaya Rau is a musician, a yoga enthusiast, and an internet junkie, but most of all he is a writer. His education is in marketing and psychology. A career freelancer since '07, he has written for clients across the English-speaking world. Nothing gives him more pleasure than a writing job well done.