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Hartville/ASPCA (ASPCA & Petshealth brand)
P.O. Box 2847
North Canton, OH 44720
phone: (866) 861-9092
website: http://www.hartvillegroup.com
claim form (PDF)
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Offering pet insurance throughout 47 states under the brand names: ASPCA Pet Health Insurance,
Petshealth Care Plan and Healthy Bark & Purr. Recently partnered with ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to
offer pet insurance. *Plans are available in all states except VA, FLA and AK.
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User Reviews of Hartville (ASCPA & Petshealth)
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Rating: 1
Recommend: N |
Rip-off artists!
Just imagine that your own Blue Cross or other health insurance would pay for a condition until the annual renewal date of your policy, and then claim that your illness was a "pre-existing condition" (they claim that each year is a completely new policy!), and refuse to pay further. That is exactly what Hartville/ASPCA does with your pet insurance. In addition, they only pay 80% of the fee allowed in their own "fee schedule," which you bet your life is lower than what your vet charges you. Who would even think to ask these specific questions when enrolling? This company's advertising is misleading. They are unethical cheats. I gave the a rating of "1" only because there is no Zero option. |
Reviewed by: Bill M.
Date: 5/5/2008 |
Rating: 2
Recommend: N |
Read the fine print!
This plan seems like a great plan at first, I chose the Advantage plan, which covers spay and neuter which can be so expensive and you get routine coverage as well as accident. However, once I submitted my claim for reimbursement, I was surprised at how LOW my reimbursement was compaired to my vet bill!! Granted, I took into a account the deductable, however they only reimbursed me for 80% of what THEY consider to be "reasonable costs" (basically they take the average of what the vets are charging in your area, and that includes cheaper places like shelters and such, so if you choose to go to a more expensive vet, that is a disadvantage for you). Also, I'm unhappy with the customer service, which once I got through was good, but anytime I chose the option to check up on my claim, it took literally 30 min. before someone would answer! Then when I chose the option to open a new plan, my wait time was (conveniently) only 5 min.
I wouldn't recommend this insurance, too many loop holes. |
Reviewed by: Carolina Rivera
Date: 2/14/2008 |
Rating: 5
Recommend: N |
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Canton Ohio
They use their own fee schedule, so even if they pay 80% for a particular malady, it is 80% of what they say is reasonable for your area. It is not based on your actual charges. I found this misleading. |
Reviewed by: Oscar
Date: 2/11/2008 |
Rating: 2
Recommend: N |
Do your homework and read the fine print!
I'm going to take part of the responsibility here in that we were naive to the number of pet insurance companies out there and just went with ASCPA because of who they were affiliated with. Big mistake. We signed up for our insurance in June. We went with the second highest coverage (Premier) for our lab mix. New Years Eve he slipped in the yard, tore his ACL and needed surgery. We knew we were going to have to eat part of the cost, but were thankful we were going to get at least part of it back. We went ahead with the surgery and submitted our claim. Whoops! ACL surgery is not covered for the first 12 months...and since you renew every year, you have to basically pony up for an entire year before they will cover something major. Many of the other pet insurance companies begin ACL coverage after just six months, which we would have been well inside of with another outfit. This is also much more expensive than other companies I have since compared it with. I plan to cancel my coverage at the end of the month after I've had his check-up and teeth cleaned...which they are supposed to pay for, so my $500 worth of premiums won't be completely wasted. |
Reviewed by: JP
Date: 2/2/2008 |
Rating: 8
Recommend: Y |
Much better plan
I had VPI and the same experience with no pay or little pay. I have three shelties. I switched to ASPCA. After speaking to their representative for a long time he explained how they figure the charges and it definitely is better done this way than the way the others do it. Getting a check for $10 for a $200 bill is something I didn't like after the cost of the insurance. My oldest also has lyme disease and after one antibiotic treatment which was not enough, VPI turned all the subsequent treatments down and didn't pay anything. Rip off. |
Reviewed by: Nancy
Date: 1/3/2008 |
Rating: 1
Recommend: N |
Does Not Cover Chronic Conditions
My Puppy was enrolled in ASPCA insurance and ended up having pretty severe allergies. For the first year ASPCA was pretty good about paying on my claims. HOWEVER after renewing my policy (I never missed a day of payments) they told me chronic conditions like allergies are not covered after the first year!!! So if your pet gets diabetes, or glaucoma, or arthritis, or anything which is considered on going SORRY you are out of luck next year they won't pay for it. And then you are stuck because NO other company will pay on pre-existing conditions. Even the ones who say that they will only pay between 100- 200 dollars over the lifetime of the pet. PLEASE STAY AWAY! |
Reviewed by: Sarah
Date: 12/23/2007 |
Rating: 6
Recommend: Y |
Great for senior pets
Although I have had a couple of negative experiences with
Petshealth, I must say that they seem to be the ONLY
pet insurance company willing to insure older pets.
They will insure dogs up to 13 years and cats up to 15
years. They will even insure the pet with their top
plan, regardless of age, if there are no pre-existing
conditions. I have a 13 year-old cat who has never been
sick a day in his life. I was able to insure him with
Petshealth under their most extensive plan.
A few things to watch out for, though. First, unless you
get their top plan that covers chronic and/or recurring
illnesses, if your pet is diagnosed with some illness
and/or injury in one plan period, as soon as the plan
period renews, it is considered a pre-existing condition
and coverage will stop. This is a bad deal if, say,
your pet is diagnosed with cancer a week before your
plan renews because in just one week, the coverage for
the cancer will stop. That's crappy. Also beware that
any congenital and/or hereditary condition is not covered
on ANY of their plans. So, that immediately excludes
a boatload of illnesses as there are lots and lots of
disorders known in hundreds of breeds.
But, again, if you need to insure a senior pet, this is
probably the only option you really have. |
Reviewed by: Mary
Date: 12/20/2007 |
Rating: 2
Recommend: N |
Would not recommend
I've had pet insurance on my 4 dogs for only a little over
a year, and so, I had very little experience with any
of the pet insurance companies. 3 of my dogs are
relatively young (1,2, and 5), but my 4th dog is 13
years old. Because of that, I had trouble finding
a company that would insure her (besides basic accident
coverage) but PetsHealthPlan said that they would, and,
so, initially, I was ecstatic. They requested her
medical records, reviewed them, and then, noted one
pre-existing condition -- hypothyriodism -- which is
quite treatable and just requires my dog to be on
medication for the rest of her life. Other than that,
she was in perfect health.
Well, within 2 months of obtaining the insurance,
this dog came down with gastroenteritis -- a $108 vet
bill, and of that, $91 was applied to my $100 deductible.
So far, I was impressed with Pets Health...but also note
that they had NOT paid out anything yet, but they were
taking my $50 a month premium.
Then, a month ago she started coughing, and after
doing bloodwork and an x-ray, the vet finally diagnosed
her with inhalant allergies -- a $300 vet bill. I
submitted a claim and it was denied saying that allergies
can result from hypothyriodism, and so it was a result
of a pre-existing condition. I told my vet about this,
and she said NO, skin allergies can result from
hypothyriodism NOT inhalant allergies. So, now I am
appealing it and they are saying "they are looking into
it".
Finally, about 2 weeks ago, my dog fell and slipped
a disc in her back. She had a $2500 back surgery
yesterday, but PetsHealth is telling me that it won't
be covered because back injuries(IVDD) are common for
her breed. The surgeon says that he doubts it is IVDD
-- she just simply hurt her back when she fell, which
should be classified as an injury. PetsHealth says
it doesn't matter -- her breed is prone to back injuries,
and it's not covered.
I am very upset with this company now. I see how they
lure clients in, though, and it is very deceiving. Their
biggest point of advertisement is the fact that their plans
cover "wellness care" -- routine vaccinations, heartworm
tests, dental cleanings, etc. The problem with that is
that those things are relatively cheap -- maybe $150 - $200
per year. Most people get pet insurance to have peace of
mind that the MAJOR things will be covered -- not just the
$150 routine, annual exam.
In addition, when I called to see if my dog's back
surgery was covered, as soon as I told the customer
service representative how much the procedure was going to
cost, he became very rude and attempted to end the phone
call as quickly as possible.
In my opinion, this company is just one big scam.
Their premiums are ALOT higher than the competitors, and
they won't pay for a single thing once it gets past your
deductible. |
Reviewed by: Susan
Date: 12/14/2007 |
Rating: 9
Recommend: Y |
Love it!
Each time I submit a claim I am always pleasantly surprised when I get a check in the mail! So many weird unexpected things can happen. It's great peace of mind. I highly recommend it. |
Reviewed by: Miriam
Date: 11/21/2007 |
Rating: 1
Recommend: N |
Don't do it
It is easy to setup a policy on the website, but try to terminate a policy; it's like pulling teeth. If you e-mail them, they don't respond, when you call them, the customer service extension has a long queue. If you call and speak to the sales department they are clueless and only try to upsell you on a product you don't want to begin with. Once you get through to cancel the policy, they try to talk you out of it and tell you they are best company cause they cover more than all the others. WRONG!! If your dog is diagnosed with a hereditary illness, they will cover the loss the first time and at renewal, it will be a pre-existing condition and you won't get a dime. Pet Plan US - www.gopetplan.com offers a Guarantee for Life Policy which covers hereditary conditions and will not consider it a pre-existing condition in the future; plus great customer service!! |
Reviewed by: Ed
Date: 8/10/2007 |
Rating: 1
Recommend: N |
Don't use ASPCA!!!!!!!
I do not recommend ASPCA. They do not return my phone calls and half the time do not answer their phones. We recently sumbitted a claim that should have been covered by our plan, but they denied it for no reason. After we called to dispute, they completely changed our claim, from an injury to an illness. My dog was injured not sick! Shop around before using them!! Also, they were supposed to get back to us and they still haven't. We are canceling immediately and looking for other coverage. |
Reviewed by: Heather
Date: 8/10/2007 |
Rating: 10
Recommend: Y |
Best one out there!
Check out www.aspcapetinsurance.com - it's awesome, they are so friendly! |
Reviewed by: Sue M
Date: 2/1/2007 |
Rating: 9
Recommend: Y |
Great coverage!
They covered a very expensive surgery for my dog (almost $3000) as well as his shots and dental cleanings. I've been with them for years and would recommend them to everyone! |
Reviewed by: LT
Date: 2/1/2007 |
Rating: 8
Recommend: Y |
Worth It
You get what you pay for. Petshealth is a bit more expensive than others but they cover illnesses that the other won't. |
Reviewed by: TJ
Date: 7/22/2006 |
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