ASPCA Pet Insurance Review

Overview

ASPCA pet insurance provides some solid levels of coverage plus ample policy customization options at a mid-range price point. Customer service may be a slightly weak area, as indicated by some public online reviews.

For an instant quote, call (877) 290-8182. For an in-depth review, read on.

Pros of ASPCA pet insurance

• Many policy customization options 

• Competitive coverage that includes services other providers exclude 

Cons of ASPCA pet insurance

• Customer service reviews are inconsistent

• Premiums can be higher than lowest-cost providers

About ASPCA pet insurance

Buying pet insurance from the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) seems like a good idea. The organization is, after all, one of the largest humane societies in the world -- protecting animals since the 1800s. 

The thing is, you won't buy the insurance from the ASPCA. The name is a branding mechanism only. You will instead be working through PTZ Insurance Agency, Ltd and United States Fire Insurance Company. PTZ administers the ASPCA pet policies and United States Fire Insurance Company underwrites them. 

PTZ Insurance Agency, Ltd

PTZ is headquartered in Illinois and has offices in Ohio. The company is a subsidiary of Pethealth, Inc., which is owned by insurance company Crum & Forster. Crum & Forster operates multiple brands of pet insurance, including Pumpkin and Spot.¹

PTZ has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, but a 1.4-star rating (out of 5) from customers.² 

United States Fire Insurance Company 

United States Fire Insurance Company is also owned by Crum & Foster. The underwriter has an AM Best financial rating of A, meaning that it's well positioned to meet its financial obligations.³ AM Best's highest financial score is A++. 

As reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), United States Fire Insurance Company has a low complaint rate. The average complaint index rating is 1.0, and  United States Fire Insurance Company's comes in well below that at 0.3, which is very good.⁴

The rating is calculated from the number of complaints adjusted for the company's size in terms of annual premiums. 

Coverage overview

ASPCA Pet Insurance has two main plans for dogs and cats, plus add-ons to expand your coverage. The primary plan, called Complete Coverage, covers pet accidents and illnesses. If you want a leaner, cheaper plan, you can alternatively opt for the accident-only insurance.  

ASPCA Complete Coverage 

Like most pet insurance policies, the ASCPA Complete Coverage plan helps pay for costs associated with accidents, illnesses, and hereditary conditions. Additionally, the plan covers some items that other providers exclude, such as: 

• Behavioral issues

• Dental disease 

• Alternative therapies like massage and acupuncture

• Exam fees 

• Microchip implantation 

• Prescription food and vet-recommended supplements to treat covered conditions 

Exceptions are a given with any insurance policy. The big exceptions on ASPCA Complete Coverage are: 

• Preventative care

• Pre-existing conditions 

• Breeding costs 

• Cosmetic procedures 

• Boarding and training 

• Treatment for conditions that arise during the waiting period 

Three of these bullet points need further explanation: preventative care, pre-existing conditions, and the waiting period. 

Preventative care

Preventative care includes annual exams and various treatments vets recommend to keep your dog or cat from getting sick. Vaccines, dental cleanings, and heartworm and tick prevention meds fall into this category. 

Accident and illness plans never cover these types of pet maintenance plans. ASPCA Pet Insurance is one of a few providers that gives you the option to add a preventative care plan for an extra fee. You can learn more about this upgrade below.

Pre-existing conditions 

ASPCA Pet Insurance excludes pre-existing conditions, which is standard. The policy definition of a pre-existing condition is a change to your pet's health that appears before your coverage becomes effective or during your waiting period. If your pet is cured from the condition and remains symptom-free for 180 days, then the policy treats any recurrence as a new incident.⁵ 

Waiting period

The waiting period with ASPCA Complete Coverage is 14 days. In practice, this means your pet essentially doesn't have coverage until two weeks after your plan's effective date.⁶

ASPCA accident-only plan 

The ASPCA accident-only plan does not protect you against from the costs of pet illnesses, hereditary conditions, or behavioral problems. As the name suggests, it only covers accidents. These are sudden, unexpected issues like: 

• Car accidents 

• Foreign object ingestion 

• Poisoning 

• Cuts from fighting with other animals or running into a sharp object 

The accident-only plan from ASPCA has a 14-day waiting period.  

Preventative care upgrade  

ASPCA offers two preventative care plans, Basic and Premium. Both have set annual limits by procedure, such as:

• The basic preventative program will reimburse you $100 for a dental cleaning. The premium program pays $150. 

• Basic and premium preventative programs both will reimburse you $50 for an annual wellness exam. 

• The basic program does not cover flea and heartworm medication, but the premium program will cover $25 of this cost annually. 

The basic option has a total annual benefit of $250, while the premium's annual max is $450.  

Deductibles, reimbursement, and annual limits 

ASPCA Pet Insurance follows the industry standard of allowing you to select your deductible, reimbursement rate, and annual policy limit. The deductible is an annual one, so you can accumulate your deductible contributions throughout the year. The reimbursement rate is the percentage your policy will pay on covered services. And the annual policy limit is the maximum payout you can receive on the policy in a single year. 

The table below outlines your options on these structural features of your policy. These numbers apply to ASPCA Complete Coverage and accident-only plans, for dogs and cats.  

Table data source: ASPCA Pet Insurance website. 

Sample premiums 

Across the industry, pet insurance premiums for accident and illness coverage on dogs range from less than $20 monthly to more than $80. Cats cost about one-third to one-half less to insure. The variance in premiums depends on the provider as well as the plan options you choose. 

The table below shows quoted premiums for ASPCA Pet Insurance plans and the preventative care upgrade, for a three-year-old dog and three-year-old cat in February 2023.   

Table data source: ASCPA Pet Insurance quote.⁶

How claims work 

ASPCA Pet insurance, like most pet plans, works on a reimbursement basis. This means you visit your vet, pay the bill, and then submit a claim. If your claim is approved, your provider reimburses you according to your policy terms. 

You do not have to use an ASPCA-approved vet, either. You can visit any vet in the U.S. or Canada. The only exception here is that you cannot provide veterinary services for your own pet.

To file a claim, you can use the ASPCA iPhone or Android app. You can also log into ASPCA's online member center. Or, if you like to do things the old-fashioned way, you can download a claim form and send it back by email, fax, or snail mail. With any of these methods, you will need to share a copy of your vet's invoice. 

You can also ask ASPCA to do a claims eligibility check before you have the procedure done. To do this, you'd send the vet's estimate plus your pet's prior 12 months of medical records via email to claimsestimates@cfinspet.comor by fax to 855-324-9881. 

The big challenge here is that it could take seven to 10 days for ASPCA to determine if the procedure is eligible for reimbursement. If your pet is suffering, you may not want to wait that long. 

Online reviews  

As of February, 2023, ASPCA pet insurance has a good TrustPilot rating of 4.2 out of 5.⁷ However, there are several recent and severe complaints about the company. Multiple customers characterized the customer service as non-responsive. Others said system outages prevented them from managing their policy. And some complained that the insurance paid out far less than expected on claims. 

Overall, ASPCA Pet Insurance ranks eight out of 10 for pet plan providers on TrustPilot. For context, the highest rated provider is Prudent Pet Insurance. 

Quote and customer service contacts 

You can reach an agent for a quote at (877) 290-8182, or customer service rep for ASPCA Pet Insurance at 866-204-6764 or by email at cservice@aspcapetinsurance.com

Is ASPCA Pet Insurance right for you? 

ASPCA pet insurance may be right for you if you want maximum coverage, you're willing to pay for it, and you can handle repeat calls to customer service. If possible, make use of this provider's pre-procedure eligibility check. That'll help keep your claim surprises to a minimum.