In the past few decades, pets in U.S. households have been living longer due to better access to veterinary care, vaccinations, and improved nutrition and living environments. But with this increased life expectancy comes a greater number of dogs and cats living with chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes.
Pet insurance can help pet owners afford the necessary care to keep their pets healthier longer. But unlike human health insurance, pet insurance generally doesn’t cover preexisting conditions. Here’s
Learn more: How does pet insurance work?
Pet insurers typically define a preexisting condition as any illness, disease, abnormality, or injury that occurred prior to the policy’s coverage start date or during a waiting period — even if your pet never went to see a veterinarian about the condition and it was never officially diagnosed.
This would include any problem that occurred as a result of a preexisting condition. For instance, if your cat developed a severe urinary tract infection because of poor diabetes management, treatment for both the infection and diabetes would not be covered by pet insurance.
Examples of curable conditions:
Learn more: What does pet insurance cover?
Here are examples of pet insurance companies that cover preexisting conditions under certain circumstances.
AKC pet insurance offers coverage for preexisting conditions after the pet has had 365 days of continuous coverage with AKC. This can include coverage for conditions such as cancer, allergies, and even ligament injuries.
ASPCA and Spot pet insurance
If you have ASPCA pet insurance or Spot pet insurance and your pet has been free of symptoms and without treatment for 180 days, their preexisting condition can be considered cured and will be covered if it occurs again. Knee and ligament conditions are excluded from this.
Learn more: ASPCA pet insurance review
Embrace pet insurance says that if your pet has a curable preexisting condition and remains symptom-free and treatment-free for a year, it will cover the condition if it returns. Incurable conditions include orthopedic issues, allergies, cancer, and diabetes.
Learn more: Embrace pet insurance review
Felix pet insurance is exclusively for cats, but it does cover some preexisting conditions after 365 days of continuous coverage. Felix encourages customers to check the details of their policy and call to verify whether a cat’s condition will be covered.
Curable preexisting conditions are covered by Fetch pet insurance if your pet has gone 12 months without signs, symptoms, or treatment. For example, urinary tract and respiratory infections, gastrointestinal problems, and broken bones are curable conditions.
Figo pet insurance also has a list of curable and incurable conditions on its website and says it can extend coverage after 12 months if your pet is symptom-free. Figo encourages pet owners to contact it directly for more information about whether a pet’s condition might be covered.
Learn more: Figo pet insurance review
Hartville pet insurance covers curable preexisting conditions after 180 days free of symptoms or treatments — with the exception of knee or ligament conditions.
Lemonade pet insurance will extend coverage for a pet’s preexisting conditions that have been cured or resolved for 12 months, depending on the state you live in. However, it does not categorize knee or ligament conditions and some chronic diseases as curable.
While MetLife pet insurance doesn’t cover preexisting conditions, there is a little loophole: If you were previously covered under a MetLife group benefits policy and you switch to MetLife pet insurance, it would continue to provide coverage for any preexisting conditions that the MetLife group policy covered.
Learn more: The best pet insurance companies
According to the North American Pet Health Association’s 2025 State of the Industry Report, these are the most commonly reported medical problems for dogs and cats.
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Gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea or vomiting
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Otitis and ear infections
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Allergies
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Skin conditions or infections
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Urinary tract, kidney, and bladder infections
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Anxiety, behavioral, and neurological issues
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Growth or mass
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Arthritis of osteoarthritis
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Musculoskeletal issues
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Vision and eye disorders
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Dental diseases
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Gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea or vomiting
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Urinary tract, kidney, or bladder infection
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Otitis and ear infections
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Respiratory illness
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Dental disease
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Diabetes
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Hyperthyroidism
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Skin conditions or infections
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Anxiety, behavioral, and neurological issues
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Vision and eye disorders
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Arthritis and osteoarthritis
Learn more: Is pet insurance worth it? How to decide.
There are a few ways pet insurance companies can determine whether your pet has a preexisting condition. It could be during enrollment through a required review of your pet’s medical records and history, or when a pet insurer requires an initial vet visit to establish coverage. And if you submit a claim, your insurer will usually ask for medical records to determine if the condition being treated might have been preexisting.
Your pet insurer may also ask you up front if you’re aware of any preexisting conditions. Your truthfulness matters because attempting to hide conditions could be considered insurance fraud and is grounds to cancel your policy.
You can still buy pet insurance for a pet with preexisting conditions. A pet’s preexisting condition won’t result in a complete policy denial. But the policy won’t cover treatment for the condition. However, the pet insurance can cover new conditions as they arise.
If your pet has preexisting conditions that are likely to be cured and don’t involve cruciate ligament issues, look into one of the pet insurers listed above that will cover conditions after 180 days or a year. During that period, your pet can still be insured and receive coverage for veterinary services, medications, and expenses unrelated to the preexisting condition.
Worried about whether you can secure affordable pet insurance for dogs and cats with some medical issues? Here are some tips for handling preexisting conditions before they become a barrier to obtaining pet insurance.
Like people, young dogs and cats are typically healthy. The sooner you can start pet insurance, the sooner you lock in coverage for problems that crop up later in life.
Learn more: Pet insurance that pays the vet directly: How does it work?
Check out the prices from insurers that will consider your pet’s condition curable after a period of time and weigh the financial trade-off of some out-of-pocket expenses now in return for the promise of full coverage later.
When your coverage lapses or you switch pet insurance companies, you have to restart the clock on waiting periods, and the preexisting condition rules will reset. Thus, a gap in coverage could turn out to be very expensive if you have to pay for medical bills for conditions that now fall under preexisting condition exclusions.
Tip 4: Do annual wellness exams and routine care
Even if you don’t have pet wellness coverage, vaccinations and yearly checkups are crucial to preventing costly illnesses and injuries. Regular exercise and quality nutrition can also go a long way toward nourishing your pet’s long-term health.
Learn more: Pet insurance that covers vaccines
Amy Danise and Tim Manni edited this article.
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