It feels natural to protect your pet’s health with insurance in the same way you protect your loved ones with health insurance. After all, fur babies are part of the family.
But if you’ve shopped for pet insurance recently, you might have cringed at the cost. Should you really pay hundreds of dollars every year for something you might not use? For some pet parents, the answer is yes, even if their pet is young and healthy. And that’s partly because of how pet insurance handles pre-existing conditions.
A pre-existing condition is any illness or injury that shows symptoms before your pet insurance policy takes effect. Pet insurers usually won’t cover these conditions.
Dr. Rebecca Greenstein, chief veterinarian at Kleinburg Veterinary Hospital and veterinary expert for rover.com, says she’s seeing an increase in claim denials based on pre-existing conditions. “The whole point of insurance is you want broad spectrum coverage for a variety of things,” she says. “By the time they're excluding major organ systems and anything related to that, you may be paying monthly for coverage that doesn't actually help you when you need to go make a claim.”
If you’re considering pet insurance, it’s best to buy a policy before your pet needs it.
Pre-existing conditions matter in pet insurance
Your pet’s pre-existing conditions will determine which treatments and procedures insurers cover down the road.
Say your dog has a history of allergies. If you buy a policy after your four-footed friend has shown symptoms, pet insurers typically won’t pay for allergy shots or other treatments. The exclusion might also apply to related problems like itchiness or ear infections, says Dr. Michael Goldstein, medical director at Billerica Veterinary Hospital and Thrive Pet Healthcare.
He offers the example of a dog who goes to the vet for a hotspot one year and an ear infection the next. If you got pet insurance for your dog between those visits, the insurer might deny your claim because both issues could be caused by underlying allergies.
The best way around this type of scenario is to buy coverage when your pet is young, before any symptoms develop.
Why skipping pet insurance might be risky
It’s tricky to figure out if pet insurance will actually save you money in the long run. The most common type of plan covers accidents and illness. It costs an average of $836 for dogs and $435 for cats each year, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). You could pay these premiums for years before an emergency surgery or chronic illness makes its way to your financial doorstep.
It’s impossible to know for sure whether your pet will stay healthy or run up sky-high vet bills. But you can assess the potential value of pet insurance by looking at common chronic conditions that pets develop with age and how much it costs to treat them.
For instance, “cats generally, as younger animals, don't have a lot of problems,” Goldstein says. “But as they get older, there are definitely common issues. Older cats in particular get chronic kidney disease.”
In cats over age 10, the Cornell Feline Health Center estimates that as many as 40% have chronic kidney disease. The annual cost to treat this condition can top $1,200.
Another example is atopic dermatitis from skin allergies, a common ailment affecting as many as 15% of dogs, according to the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center. A single vet visit to address these itchy, persistent symptoms can cost $250 or more. And while that’s a fraction of what you might pay for pet insurance, costs of chronic conditions can add up over your pet’s lifetime.
Vet bills can also balloon quickly if chronic conditions require surgery. One example of this is hip dysplasia, a genetic disorder that can cause arthritis and pain in large-breed dogs. Depending on the procedure, you could pay up to $10,000 for hip surgery.
Many pet insurance plans cover treatments for hip dysplasia, including surgical costs, as long as it's not a pre-existing condition. However, some policies have waiting periods of six to 12 months for orthopedic issues like hip dysplasia. If symptoms develop during that waiting period, the condition will be considered pre-existing. That’s another argument for buying your pet’s coverage earlier rather than later.
Most importantly, having insurance means you can choose the best treatment for your pet no matter the cost. “It's really tragic when it's a life and death decision that is needed and it’s based on someone's financial constraints,” Greenstein says. “What is best and what's affordable often are not on the same side of the spectrum.”
If pet insurance is too pricey, consider alternatives
One option to keep pet insurance affordable is to buy an accident-only plan. This type of coverage is usually much cheaper, costing about $190 annually for dogs and $112 for cats, according to NAPHIA. These plans cover injuries resulting from accidents, which include not just wounds and broken bones but also objects or toxins your pet might swallow.
However, an accident-only plan won’t help with some of the most common vet expenses. Illnesses, not injuries, are behind most claims submitted to pet insurer Lemonade, the company said in an email. In the past year, more than 60% of Lemonade's pet insurance claims stemmed from illnesses. That’s twice as many as the next-largest claim category, which was preventive care. A similar trend can be found in data from Nationwide, where chronic diseases make up a clear majority of pet insurance claims submitted to the company in 2025.
If you opt for an accident-only plan or no coverage at all, it’s still smart to set aside some savings for those inevitable pet emergencies and illnesses. This pool of funds can keep you from having to make difficult decisions about your pet’s care based solely on the cost of treatment.
The article Pet Insurance on Your Mind? Buy It Now, Not Later originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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