Overview
Year Company Started: 1999
Also known under the brand names: PetCare, QuickCare, and 24PetWatch.
Underwriter: Praetorian Insurance Company
AM Best Financial Strength Rating: A (excellent)
Website: www.sheltercare.com
Phone: 1-877-707-7297
ShelterCare Pet Insurance, a leading brand of Pethealth, Inc., covers all cats and dogs over 8 weeks old regardless of age or health. Also known under the brand names PetCare, QuickCare, and 24PetWatch. The company offers a variety of affordable plans, from accident-only insurance to comprehensive accident and illness coverage. They also have special policies for pure-bred pets—which often have hereditary defects—and third party damage coverage for apartment-dwelling pets. The first month costs just $1.
Unlimited accident lifetime coverage always begins the next day after your enrollment application is approved. Illness coverage—up to $72,000 lifetime for dogs and $60,000 lifetime for cats—begins after 30 days. As a condition of your policy, you must give your pet all required vaccinations and schedule annual exams.
Unlike other companies, ShelterCare does not increase premiums or deductibles as your pet ages. You can visit any veterinarian in North America and you can change or cancel your policy at any time. The company also offers real-time insurance claim processing with EVE through participating clinics (and reimbursement within 10 days for nonparticipating clinics.) Most pet insurers only offer reimbursement.
Additional benefits include trip cancellation insurance, boarding kennel fees, coverage for prescriptions, and discounts for policy holders with micro-chipped or multiple pets.
Shelter Care Pet Insurance Review
Rating: 4
Our review process starts with calling each of the insurance providers over the telephone and then, we gather quotes for these three pet profiles:
- A 2-year old male Yorkshire Terrier named Jax
- A 6-year old male Cocker Spaniel named Max
- An 8-year old female mixed breed cat named Fluffy
I spoke with Shima at Shelter Care Pet Insurance to get quotes for two dogs and a cat. Shima was friendly enough, but the overall experience was less impressive than calls I’ve had with other pet insurance companies. At least twice she recommended I get information on the website instead of speaking with her because that would be easier.
The Plans/Quotes
Shima gave me quotes for two popular plans—Basic and Comprehensive. She told me there are many other plans in between that offer varying levels of coverage.
Basic
Covers 2 illnesses and 7 accidents per year with a $100 deductible and 100% coverage
You get $500 for each illness and $1,000 for each accident per year
$17/month for each pet
Comprehensive
Covers all accidents and illnesses with a $100 deductible per condition and 70% reimbursement
You get $5,000 per illness category, totaling $60,000 over the pet’s lifetime (there are 12 categories) and $5,000 per accident, with no lifetime limit
$56/month for dogs and $40/month for cats
The Details
I reviewed the website to fill in the gaps from my conversation with Shima. That only led to more confusion.
On the site, the different levels of coverage are listed as:
- ShelterCare Intro
- QuickCare
- QuickCare Gold
- QuickCare Complete
- QuickCare Optimum
- QuickCare Senior
- EmergencyCare
- TenantCare
I believe ShelterCare Intro is what Shima referred to as Basic. It provides up to $500 in coverage for any first time illness—meaning you cannot seek treatment for the same illness twice. There’s a list of specific incidents for which you get $1,000, including poison ingestion, burns, and bone fractures. The first month costs $1, and after that the premium increases to $15.13. Pre-existing conditions are not covered. The plan takes effect the day after you purchase it, one minute after midnight.
QuickCare Complete is likely the comprehensive coverage she referred to.
The 12 illness categories include:
- Blood & lymphoid system
- Cardiovascular & respiratory system
- Digestive system
- Ears
- Eyes
- Endocrine system
- Cancer
- Infectious diseases
- Musculoskeletal system
- Nervous system
- Skin
- Urogenital system
This plan includes Wellness Care Coverage, which gives you $150 annually to put toward vaccinations, annual physical exams, spaying/neutering, heartworm testing, heartworm prevention, and teeth cleaning. Accident coverage is available the day after you purchase your policy and illness coverage 14 days later. According to the website, this costs $54.90/month for dogs and $38.45/month for cats.
All plans are month-to-month, so you can cancel at any time.
Conclusions
Pros:
- ShelterCare offers many plans for different budgets.
- You get unlimited lifetime accident coverage.
- Most programs include coverage for hereditary conditions and Cancer.
- Premiums do not increase as your pet ages.
Cons:
- The basic plan is highly limiting, covering only first-time illnesses, and only 2 per year.
- The Comprehensive plan limits you within specific categories. If your dog has a heart problem, it would be advantageous to have the full range of coverage available for heart-related incidents.
- ShelterCare reimburses 70%—whereas other companies reimburse 80% or 90%.
- Money debited from your account may be subject to an international transfer fee because the company is based in Ontario.
- $150 is not a lot for annual wellness coverage
- Customer reviews are overwhelmingly negative.
I received the 30 day insurance when I adopted my pet. The week after I purchased my kitten, I spent a couple thousand with emergency care. After contacting them several times, I realized that the $750 max is a joke. ShelterCare said that they would only cover less than $100 of the care.
Comcast, what plan did you have for your pet? $100 seems too low. I didn’t know much about ShelterCare, but i think VPI and PETCO pet insurance are pretty good.
They are worthless…I realized this from the beginning when the man on the phone tried to scam me into purchasing their policy immediately or I would lose the 8.95 or whatever… Any company that pressures you into their product is a scam. Horrible service. Horrible coverage. I would never give them a dime.
What a crock! I also got a kitten from the shelter and received 30 days of insurance. My kitty got very sick just 3 days after I got her home and cost me 200 $ at the vet for an upper respiratory infection! URI’s should be covered but they denied my claim saying it was a preexisting condition because my kitten started to cough the night I got her and the policy doesn’t start until 48 hrs after purchasing. My vet even wrote a second letter and sent records proving that she hadn’t be seen or diagnosed prior to my coverage beginning! But they reviewed it and said “she was symptomatic at home so we are considering it preexisting”!!! Apparently you can have a preexisting illness without ever even being diagnosed! DON’T PURCHASE THIS POLICY!!!!!!
Fuck shelter care. They suck and over charge while trying to conceal it and not refund money
This company is a scam. I will let everyone know. I purchased a puppy from Molly’s place it died three days later from Parvo….The insurance co. told me that they would not pay because it was preexisting. What the heck!!! Because it got sick on the car ride home from the shelter it was preexisting. Never again will I get a dog from a shelter, or believe that the dog as a great warranty or insurance. This insurance company is not a good company….
Thanks for the info. I was going to try them out, but after reading this, I’ll try elsewhere.
We adopted a dog who within the first week of having him, had pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. He has since been back 2 times. I have mailed, faxed, called, emailed claims, none of which they will respond to. I sat on hold before even talking to someone for 20 minutes. Then, I ask my boyfriend to call, and he gets through after waiting 30 minutes, and they tell him they have no record of my claim on file, and to fax it. He verified the fax number, and the address, to which they said it was correct. Do not go with this company. Terrible terrible terrible!
I am the Executive Director of the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society. Our clients have had similar experiences as described above. I am removing Shelter Pet Care Insurance from any of our programs. It seems that they are using our clients information for personal gain and not honoring their policies.
I adopted two dogs.. one got hurt and had to have surgery. now ShelterCare wont pay b/c the gift insurance don’t cover it and the other isurance claims it to be pre-existing b/c I claimed it during the gift insurance coverage. Its a crock of crap.. I would never recommend ShelterCare to anyone.. and I am sending other emails and making phone calls. I will not stop until I get some sort of result from ShelterCare. This is only the begining for me.