Will You Qualify for Pet Insurance if Your Pet Has a Pre-Existing Condition?

One of the first things we did when we adopted our dog, Champ, three years ago was take him to our vet for a checkup. His health records were a bit jumbled (to this day, we're not totally sure what his birthday is because we received conflicting documents) so we wanted to make sure there weren't any glaring issues we needed to know about. 

After that initial visit, Champ marched out with a clean bill of health. But a few months later, we found ourselves at a specialty clinic having Champ undergo testing after an extended limp that wouldn't subside. 

We found out that he had arthritis -- a common condition for dogs his size, even young ones. And that was a relief given that at one point, there was concern about malformed joints and surgery to correct that.

But while the news on Champ was ultimately good -- arthritis is a pretty easily treatable condition for most dogs -- one thing we realized is that we were a little out of luck on the pet insurance front. See, we'd been so focused on helping Champ settle into a routine that we'd put off shopping for health insurance following his initial vet exam. We knew that having arthritis would pose a challenge from a pet insurance standpoint, since pre-existing conditions and pet insurance don't tend to mix well.

But rest assured that we were able to secure insurance for Champ. And if your pet has a pre-existing condition, there's a good chance you'll manage to get pet insurance, too.

Insurance isn't off the table, but it may not be as helpful

It used to be difficult for people with pre-existing conditions to qualify for health insurance. Thankfully, the laws have changed there, and now, insurers cannot deny coverage on the basis of that alone. Not only that, but insurers have to cover the cost of treatment related to pre-existing conditions.

Pet insurance works differently. You may not be denied insurance for your pet if they have a known condition. But pet insurance companies aren't required to cover pre-existing conditions and their related treatment. 

So while we do have a policy for Champ, the medications he takes to treat his arthritis aren't covered. And should he need further treatment for that issue, we'll have to cover the cost ourselves.

Now, you may be wondering why we bought pet insurance if it won't cover a known issue with our dog. The reason is that if Champ were to get hurt or suffer from another ailment not related to his arthritis, that treatment would likely be covered by our plan. So basically, our policy is our safety net against massive bills. 

Let's say Champ ends up needing surgery for a reason having nothing to do with arthritis. If that procedure costs $5,000, it'll be a huge blow to our savings account. If our insurance policy picks up the bulk of that tab, the hit won't be as bad. 

Will you pay more for pet insurance with a pre-existing condition?

Not necessarily. This might depend on the issue at hand, but in many cases, you can still qualify for affordable rates with a known condition. 

In our case, the fact that Champ has arthritis doesn't put him at an increased risk for health complications like heart problems or diabetes. So we're not being upcharged simply because of his condition. You might have a different experience, though, depending on the issue your pet has, so it's a good idea to shop around with different insurers and see what they say.

There are several different factors that go into calculating pet insurance rates, like your dog's breed, age, and size. Progressive says that the average annual cost of pet insurance for a large dog like ours is about $300 to $870. Clearly, that's a wide range, which explains why we got quotes from several insurers before landing on ours. And it definitely pays for you to do the same, whether your animal has a pre-existing condition or not.