Pre-existing Conditions for Pet Insurance
One of the most common issues we help pet parents understand is how pre-existing conditions work on a pet insurance policy. Plus you should know that even if your pet has a pre-existing condition she can still get pet insurance for all other conditions she could get.
What is a Pre-existing Condition?
A pre-existing condition is an illness or injury that happened before your policy's start date or within the waiting period.
Because insurance is designed to protect you against unexpected things, no pet insurance company will cover conditions that are pre-existing.
If your pet has a condition that neither you nor your veterinarian is aware or seen clinic signs of then it is not a pre-existing condition.
How Pet Insurance Companies Handle Pre-existing Conditions
In general, pet insurance companies exclude any health issue that appeared before the start of your policy, even if the condition has not yet been clearly diagnosed or is in remission. These exclusions may be temporary or permanent and some companies allow coverage for the condition to start again after an incident-free period of time has passed.
When your policy renews, some companies reset the pre-existing conditions and cut off coverage for chronic illnesses. This coverage is less expensive than policies that cover chronic conditions as long as you continue to pay your premiums but might not be what you expected from your pet insurance policy.
How Embrace Handles Pre-existing Conditions
At Embrace, we do not cover health conditions that occurred during the year before your policy first started or chronic conditions you saw signs of when you signed up. If a condition is curable (e.g. an ear infection not related to allergies, or diarrhea) we may at our discretion remove the exclusion if the clinical signs of that condition have not reappeared for one full policy term.
Some Specific Examples of How Embrace Handles Pre-existing Conditions
At Embrace we are open and honest about our coverage and there are some situations in which we regret we cannot cover certain conditions:
- We do not cover bilateral conditions that showed clinical signs before the end of the waiting period. For example, if your pet has been diagnosed, prior to being insured, with a condition on one side of her body, she runs a higher risk of the same condition on the other side of the body. Future related conditions on either side of the body will not be covered. Bilateral conditions include cruciate tears or strains, hip dysplasia, cherry eye, luxating patellas, and elbow dysplasia.
- We do not cover any new incidences of intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) if your pet has had prior occurrences of IVDD.
- If your pet has been diagnosed or treated for cancer prior to being insured, further incidences of any type of cancer in any location in the body are not covered. This exclusion also includes any conditions that are a direct result of the cancer.
- If your pet has been diagnosed with or had clinical signs of hyperthyroidism prior to being insured that subsequently led to a hyperthyroidism diagnosis, hyperthyroidism treatments and medication are not covered. Related kidney, heart, or high blood pressure conditions that may develop will not be covered.
Still Not Sure If a Condition Will Be Covered?
Call us at (800) 511-9172 and we'll answer your questions.