Can Insurance be Denied for Pre-existing Conditions?

Injuries or illnesses that afflict animal companions are covered by pet insurance. When a pet needs medical treatment, owners of dogs, cats, and even certain exotic animals can purchase a coverage that covers the costs. However, it's often crucial for pet owners to purchase insurance early on in the animal's life before the animal has any health issues. To understand why being insured early is so vital — and what happens if they don't do that, and a medical concern arises before insurance is in place — owners should be familiar with the regulations for pet insurance and pre-existing conditions.

Can insurance be refused for a pet?

Insurance for your cat may indeed be declined. It hinges on the insurance, though. The age or pre-existing problems of your pet will typically result in a pet insurance company denying coverage.

Can you get pet insurance after receiving a diagnosis?

After a diagnosis, you may absolutely get pet insurance. Depending on the breed, age, and condition of your dog, different rules will apply. Pre-existing condition limitations differ from business to firm, much like age restrictions do. The majority of pet insurance providers will let you get coverage for a pet with a pre-existing ailment, but they won't pay for any associated medical expenses. For instance, if your dog begins limping in January and you get pet insurance in February only to learn that your dog has hip dysplasia, no expenditures associated with treating hip dysplasia will be covered.

The Conditions for Pre-Existing Conditions for Pet Insurance

Pre-existing condition policies for pet insurance differ from those for human insurance. Human health insurers are no longer permitted to refuse coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition under the Affordable Care Act. In other words, a person can get insurance after becoming ill, and the insurer will cover all of their medical expenses, even those related to the sickness that existed before they did.

However, pet insurers are not subject to this law. No pet insurance provider will thus offer coverage for pre-existing conditions. Prior to the purchase of a policy, insurers may inquire about the medical history of a pet and will frequently demand veterinarian documents or that the animal undergo a physical examination. However, this does not imply that the pet's insurance will be completely rejected. In many circumstances, the pet insurer will pay for other problems the pet has but not for anything associated with the medical issue it had prior to the purchase of coverage.

For instance, if a pet's heart murmur was discovered after insurance was obtained, any heart-related medical problems would not be covered by the insurance. However, if the pet got cancer after the owner purchased insurance following the diagnosis of the heart ailment, the insurance would cover the costs associated with this unrelated medical problem.

Additionally, some insurers make a distinction between treatable and irreversible illnesses. Therefore, if a pet had an illness that could be treated, such a urinary tract infection, the insurance might not pay for any costs associated with the infection for a year but would then offer protection from future urinary tract infections. On the other hand, a lifelong ailment like diabetes that is incurable would never be covered.

How to Ensure that Pets are Protected

A pet owner should make sure they purchase insurance as soon as possible, when the animal is still young and healthy, if they want to ensure that any medical difficulties their pet develops are covered. Prior to the onset of a pre-existing condition, insurance should not include any significant exclusions. There will be no doubt that a cherished pet receives the greatest medical treatment available, regardless of cost, because insurance will be there to cover the costs if the animal becomes sick.

Pre-existing Illnesses That are Curable

Curable pre-existing conditions are covered by pet insurance providers as long as any recurrence occurs at least a year after the last issue. An illness won't be deemed "pre-existing" under the ASPCA's pet insurance program if it can be treated and there have been no symptoms for 180 days (excluding knee and ligament conditions). After 180 days, if the ailment returns, it may be treated as a brand-new issue.

Curable situations include, for example: