Key takeaways
- ASPCA distinguishes itself with a comprehensive base policy that covers extras—like dental illnesses and behavioral therapy—without requiring policy add-ons.
- ASPCA offers excellent protection against claim surprises through its consumer-friendly claim calculation and direct-to-vet payment option.
- While ASPCA premiums trend higher than the national average, it does not increase rates when you make claims.
Our expert take on ASPCA pet insurance
Summary
Base-plan generosity
One of ASPCA’s big selling points is its superior coverage. There’s no need for add-ons because the base policy covers alternative therapy, behavioral therapy, dental illnesses, prescription food, vet-exam fees, microchipping costs and more.
There’s no special waiting period for coverage for orthopedic conditions, compared to some competitors that make you wait six months or more.
Plus, ASPCA will cover a pet’s curable pre-existing conditions if the pet has gone 180 days without treatment or symptoms and there’s no special waiting period for coverage for orthopedic conditions.
Customization power
ASPCA’s pet insurance lacks customization options, with only a small number of deductible and reimbursement choices.
Price-shock protection for claims
ASPCA has excellent protection from financial surprises after a pet insurance claim. It can pay a veterinarian directly so you don’t have to pay up front and then make a claim. And it has no condition-specific payment caps that could pop up at claim time.
Another big plus is that ASPCA calculates claim payments by first applying your deductible and then your reimbursement (co-insurance). This is a more consumer-friendly way to calculate a claim payment compared to the reimbursement-first calculation used by some other pet insurers.
Premium stability
ASPCA’s premium stability over time is adequate, mainly because it won’t raise rates because you make pet insurance claims.
But its current dog insurance rates between puppies and senior dogs have a delta of $43 a month for $5,000 in coverage—higher than the national average of $39. So rates could increase more than average over time as your pet gets older.
Cost
Our analysis found generally high costs for ASPCA pet insurance, but its ample coverage and policy features push it to the top of our ratings,
ASPCA’s dog insurance rates for $5,000 in annual coverage were some of the highest in our analysis at $50 a month, compared to a national average of $46. Cat insurance rates were only slightly above the national average at $26 a month.
Other notable features
- Bilateral conditions that can occur on both sides of the body are not covered.
- The base policy covers microchipping costs.
- There’s a generous deadline of 270 days to submit claims.
- ASPCA, Pumpkin and Spot pet insurance have many of the same policy features but with different pricing and certain features that vary.
What does ASPCA pet insurance cover?
ASPCA has one of the best pet insurance insurance policies in our analysis, in part thanks to its superior coverage. It provides comprehensive coverage for medically necessary expenses for illnesses and accidents, including:
- Veterinary treatments, including examinations
- Surgery and hospitalization
- Diagnostics, including lab tests, X-rays, MRIs and CT scans
- Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- Dental illnesses such as periodontal disease
- Tooth extractions (as well as dental cleanings if they are used to treat a covered illness)
- Alternative therapy
- Behavioral therapy
- Prescription pet food
- Vet-exam fees
- Microchipping costs
- Poison-control consultation fees
Accident-only coverage
If you’re on a tight budget but still want coverage for emergency care for accidents, ASPCA’s accident-only policy is cheaper. It covers diagnostics and treatment for problems such as cuts, bite wounds and broken bones.
Pet-wellness plans
For routine-care coverage, ASPCA sells two pet-wellness plans: Basic ($250 in annual coverage) and Prime ($450 in annual coverage).
What isn’t covered by ASPCA pet insurance?
ASPCA pet insurance has very robust coverage but has a bilateral exclusion: If the pet has a ligament or knee condition before the policy starts or during the waiting period, both sides will be excluded from coverage for ligament and knee issues.
Like other pet insurance policies, ASPCA’s coverage excludes pre-existing conditions, but one of the advantages of ASPCA is that it will cover curable pre-existing conditions after 180 days if the pet had no symptoms or treatment.
ASPCA pet insurance has other exclusions, such as:
- Boarding
- Breeding, pregnancy, whelping or nursing
- Cosmetic and orthodontic dental procedures
- Experimental or investigational treatments and medications (including clinical trials)
- Herbal products, including cannabis
- House-call fees
- Organ or heart-valve transplants
- Preventive care (it sells pet-wellness plans for that)
- Whole, fresh, lightly-cooked, custom or limited-ingredient diets, even if recommended by a veterinarian
ASPCA pet-wellness plans
ASPCA’s pet-wellness plans are add-ons to a base policy for pet owners who want coverage for preventive care:
- Basic. Get up to $250 in benefits per year, including an annual wellness exam, deworming, heartworm test, limited vaccinations and more.
- Prime. Some of the vaccines not available with the Basic plan are included with the Prime add-on. The Prime plan also helps pay for spaying/neutering costs, flea/heartworm prevention, blood tests and a health certificate. Annual benefits of up to $450 are available.
How much does ASPCA pet insurance cost?
ASPCA’s dog insurance costs tend to be higher than the national average.
Cat insurance costs from ASPCA are around average or slightly higher.
What pet insurance discounts are available?
ASPCA offers a:
- 10% multipet discount
- 10% discount if you’re employed by a veterinary practice
- 10% discount if you’re buying a plan through an employer group
Methodology
We evaluated 16 pet insurance policies based on:
- Base-plan generosity (50%). The most important factor in a pet insurance policy is how much coverage you’re getting for your money. For this category, we looked at coverage included without add-ons, such as alternative therapies, vet-exam fees, dental illness, burial and cremation, and more. We also factored in whether curable pre-existing conditions will be covered after a certain time.
- Cost (20%). We factored in average costs for plans with $5,000 and unlimited annual coverage for cats and dogs ages 4 months, 2 years and 8 years.
- Price-shock protection for claims (15%). No one wants an unpleasant surprise with a claim. For this category, we analyzed how claims payments are calculated, low-deductible options, condition-specific payment caps and direct-vet-payment systems.
- Premium stability (10%). When you find good pet insurance, you want to avoid being priced out of it in the future. We looked at the current cost spread between puppies and older dogs and whether making a claim can lead to a rate increase.
- Customization power (5%). It’s beneficial to have some control over your monthly premium. We looked at the range of annual coverage, reimbursement and deductible options available from each pet insurance company.
We use a curved-rating system: Scores are assigned relative to the top-performing product or company; providers that score the most points are assigned 5 stars and other star ratings are assigned based on performance relative to the top performer. The lowest-scoring companies received 1 star.
