Today I’ll be doing an in-depth review of ASPCA dog insurance. ASPCA is known for their non-profit activities that benefit injured or stray dogs and cats, but their insurance is a bit different. The Hartville Group pays ASPCA a fee to use their name for their pet insurance, which means that it’s not directly managed by ASPCA. For good or bad, that’s how it is.
This relationship between Hartville Pet Insurance and ASPCA began in 2006, and Hartville says that the ASPCA insurance was made to be consistent with the ASPCA's beliefs and motives in pet care. For example, they cover pet spaying and neutering, but they do not cover any treatments that are opposed by the ASPCA, including tail docking, ear cropping, and declawing.
Let’s get into the real review and rating of this insurance from ASPCA.
ASPCA Insurance Review
Overall, ASPCA dog insurance leaves much to be desired. Many ASPCA insurance reviews point to frustrating limits to claim amounts that left owners owing large veterinary bills even though they’d been investing in pet insurance for years. For me, the point of pet insurance is to avoid these situations, and I’m not convinced that ASPCA insurance is worth the money.
Pros
Offer Preventative Or Additional Coverage
The higher level plans from ASPCA offer Preventative Care and other alternative therapy coverage that you might want to get for your pet. Not all insurance companies offer these as an add-on, so this option is nice to have, even if it comes at a higher cost.
Range Of Prices
Depending on what coverage you want to get, your monthly coverage cost for you pet can be anywhere from $8 - $80. This is average and can be very reasonable for you and your pets depending on what kind of coverage options you need.
Pets Can Get Into Trouble
ASPCA is known for how much they care for dogs, and ASPCA dog health insurance understand that pets occasionally get into trouble, and you need pet insurance for when you pets are a little too fearless:
Cons
Age Limits
When using dog insurance, ASPCA does have age limits. Dogs over 13 years old cannot enroll, and pets must be at least 8 weeks old to be enrolled. Once enrolled, the dog can stay covered, but this can be frustrating for some owners with some older pets who are just learning about pet insurance.
Caps On Hereditary And Congenital Conditions
ASPCA puts caps on how much coverage you can get for both hereditary and congenital conditions that can come up in your pet. These lifetime or per year limits are relatively low considering the cost of covering such additions are not very good for pet owners.
Per-Incident Claim Limits
While there is no lifetime limit on claims, there is a per-incident claim limit with ASPCA. Depending on your plan, these range from $1,000 to $7,000 dollars. While they have annual deductibles which is great, this per-incident claim limit counteracts the usefulness of an annual deductible payment scheme.
Coverage Based On Averages
When placing a claim, coverage provided by ASPCA is based on the average or usual cost of a treatment, not the actual cost you paid. This can be a big difference depending on where you live or where you took your pet for care, so I don’t like this aspect of the plan. Plans should pay you back for what you actually paid to get the care your pet needed.
Complicated Coverage
As you can see from the above cons, the coverage scheme from ASPCA is quite complicated, and their customer service doesn’t do a great job of explaining it all. Even their website does not offer a clear comparison of plans they offer, which is a bit ridiculous if you ask me! You should get a plan that is exactly what you need, and with ASPCA, it’s hard to find that plan.
Plan Options
Let’s take a closer look at the top plans from ASPCA Pet Insurance and what they cover. These plans differ based on your pet and your location. Unfortunately, the ASPCA Insurance website does not give clear examples of what coverage you can get without selecting a state, breed of dog, age of dog, and more.
1. ASPCA Complete Coverage
Complete coverage from ASPCA covers both accidents and illnesses. Every animal's plan is different, but covers some level of care up to certain annual limits. There is an annual deductible you must reach before the care will kick in. These amounts differ by animal, state, breed, age, and a number of other factors, so it’s hard to give estimate ranges.
2. ASPCA Accident-Only Coverage
Accident-Only Coverage from ASPCA does not cover illnesses, but is in all other ways the same as the Complete Coverage. All accident coverage will follow those terms outlined in the Complete Coverage section above. Accident-only limits exist and differ by plan.
3. ASPCA Optional Preventive Care Add-On: Basic
This is an add-on option for option #1 and #2. Covers some money towards the following:
- Dental Cleaning
- Annual Exam
- Deworming
- Heartworm Tests
- Some vaccinations
The amount towards each item differs by plan.
4. ASPCA Optional Preventive Care Add-On: Standard
This is an add-on option for option #1 and #2. This type of plan covers some money towards the following:
- Dental Cleaning or Spay/Neutering
- Annual Exam
- Deworming
- Health Certificate
- Heartworm Tests
- Fecal Tests
- Some Vaccinations
The amount towards each item differs by plan.
5. ASPCA Optional Preventive Care Add-On: Prime
This is an add-on option for option #1 and #2. Covers some money towards the following:
- Dental Cleaning or Spay/Neutering
- Annual Exam
- Heartworm/Flea Prevention
- Deworming
- Health Certificate
- All Tests
- All Vaccinations
The amount towards each item differs by plan.
Want To Give ASPCA A Shot?
If you are ready to give ASPCA dog health insurance a try, they do have a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can see how it goes. However, this isn’t really enough time to truly see how well this pet insurance will work for you and your pet.
If ASPCA insurance reviews like mine have made you feel like you’d like to look elsewhere for pet insurance, I’d like to offer three additional brands that you should consider. Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, Pets Best insurance, and Go Pet Plan are all reliable pet insurance companies that will help you find the best coverage for your pets at affordable prices.
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