When we adopted our 5-year-old dog we decided to purchase pet health insurance in case she needed emergency care. After speaking with a company representative we opted for the Category 4 level which is $78 a month (an exorbitant amount for a small dog!) Still, we were assured this premiere plan would be best for an adopted animal because it covered things most plans did not - including injuries to the CCL.

Several months later our dog was playing at the park and injured her leg severely. We rushed her to an emergency clinic and they did X-rays, blood tests, and sent her home with medication. Their initial finding was that she had ruptured her CCL. I was relieved because I'd opted for the "Premiere" plan with ASPCA which covered that. We found that she would need a surgery. Initial estimates were around $3000. Our regular vet said they could do the repair for half that. I submitted our first claim to ASPCA for the emergency clinic visit.

After two weeks of "processing" our claim they denied it. Their reason was that while they covered CCL injuries they didn't cover them until after 12 months (something the rep forgot to mention) and they didn't cover them at all if they were "congenital" and it was possible this was "congenital."

So, for months I'd been paying this huge premium for just such an emergency and come to find out the coverage was worthless. They even denied things done not directly related to the injury on these same flimsy excuses. So, they have collected hundreds in premiums and have no intention, it seems, of ever paying a single claim because now everything is "related to a CCL injury in the first 12 months of coverage."

This "insurance" is a scam. I only wish I'd taken the advice of friends who warned me against them and simply taken their huge premium and put it in a savings account specifically to pay for vet bills! At least I'd have some money for this huge expense! As it is, ASPCA has my money and I have the bills!

Incidentally, when I complained I got a very condescending phone call from a representative who wanted to "explain" how I "misunderstood" their rep who sold me this worthless insurance. Long story short, I'm cancelling this if I can, as it looks like a process because they seem trained to hold customers as long as possible so they can squeeze out more premiums. I'll be putting that insurance premium in a savings account for future expenses while I try to rebuild my own savings account thanks to ASPCA.