Why Isn’t Pet Insurance With No Waiting Periods?
In short, emergency pet care is expensive. The purpose of pet insurance is to provide pet parents with financial assistance for an unforeseen accident or illness — not to pay for an immediate emergency. Pet insurance companies use waiting periods to prevent pet owners from waiting until an animal is already hurt or sick to shop for insurance. After your waiting period passes, you can use the insurance policy to help cover the cost of an emergency.
Since most pet insurance companies have waiting periods, search for a company with short waiting periods. We suggest going with a plan that has a 48-hour waiting period for accidents and no more than 2 weeks for illnesses.
Many pet insurers enforce separate waiting periods for accidents and illnesses, with illnesses having longer waiting periods. Depending on your provider, you can use accident coverage as soon as 48 hours after signing up. Illness coverage usually has longer waiting periods, beginning at 14 days. However, even these short periods make it important to shop for insurance before your pet gets sick or hurt.
Note that one pet insurance provider, Companion Protect, offers pet insurance policies with no waiting period, but there are two caveats. First, you must submit your pet’s medical records to the company before it decides if your pet qualifies for a policy — approval is not instant or guaranteed like with some competitors. Second, you can only buy a Companion Protect plan if you adopted your pet from a qualifying shelter or rescue mission.
Is There An Emergency Pet Insurance Plan?
Whether your animal breaks a bone, swallows a foreign object or becomes ill, pet insurance covers unplanned animal care, including emergencies. In fact, many providers don’t distinguish emergency care from other unplanned treatments, meaning a typical policy includes emergency pet insurance for dogs and cats. Coverage varies by plan, however, so read a sample contract to make sure the terms and conditions are agreeable to you.
What Are Typical Pet Insurance Waiting Periods?
The typical waiting period is 14 days, particularly for illness coverage. Some pet insurance providers have a waiting period of only a few days for accident coverage. Hereditary conditions such as hip dysplasia typically have much longer waiting periods — up to a year. If your pet develops symptoms of a health problem within that time frame, expenses for that health problem will not be covered, whether a vet provides treatment or not. Some pet insurers impose a longer waiting period of six months for cruciate ligament events.
| Company | Waiting Period for Illnesses | Waiting Period for Accidents |
|---|---|---|
| Lemonade | 14 days | 2 days |
| Spot | 14 days | 14 days |
| Fetch | 15 days | 15 days |
| Embrace | 14 days | 2 days |
| Figo | 14 days | 1 day |
| Trupanion | 30 days | 5 days |
Lemonade Offers No Accident Waiting Periods
If you’re shopping for pet insurance based on waiting periods, Lemonade is the only pet insurance company selling policies with no waiting period in certain states. While it imposes a standard 14-day waiting period for illnesses, Lemonade’s accident coverage goes into effect as soon as you pay for your plan. According to the company, it is currently offering no-accident waiting periods in Mississippi, New Hampshire, Washington and Nebraska, with plans to extend nationwide throughout 2024.
Lemonade
Shortest Waiting Periods
Pet Insurance Companies With Short Accident Waiting Periods
Compare pet insurance providers offering shorter waiting periods for accident coverage below.
*Lemonade may offer shorter waiting periods depending on where you live.
Pet Insurance Companies With Short Illness Waiting Periods
Insurance companies institute longer waiting periods for illness coverage than accident protections. However, pet insurance policies differ by provider. Explore a few plan choices with shorter illness waiting periods using the table below.
Best Pet Insurance Companies with Short Waiting Periods
While no pet insurance policy eliminates waiting periods entirely, the following insurers shorten the time before your coverage goes into effect.
Embrace
Our Pick for Savings
Figo
Most Flexible Reimbursement Rates
Pets Best
Our Pick for Vet Direct Pay
Prudent Pet
Highest Customer Ratings
Why Do Pet Insurance Companies Have Waiting Periods?
Pet insurance is intended to cover health conditions that may happen in the future, not ones that have already occurred. Pet insurance companies would lose money if they insured pets with known expensive health problems, which is why providers rarely cover pre-existing conditions.
Waiting periods exist to prevent insurance fraud. Since most providers don’t require your pet to get a health exam before enrolling in coverage, waiting periods are meant to prevent you from purchasing insurance after a pet’s accident and then canceling after the insurance company helps cover treatment. Essentially, the waiting period allows pet owners to enroll in a policy quickly while keeping people from gaming the system.
Are There Pet Insurance Plans That Don’t Require Exams?
Yes, there is pet insurance that doesn’t require an exam. While some pet insurers require your pet to undergo medical exams before receiving coverage to root out pre-existing conditions and make sure your pet is healthy, this isn’t an industry standard. Some companies, such as Spot and ASPCA, do not require a wellness checkup and rely only on the policy’s waiting period for pre-existing conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pet Insurance Waiting Periods
No, you can’t buy pet insurance to cover vet bills or health conditions that happened before you bought the policy or before the waiting period is up. This is why it’s best to buy a pet health insurance plan when your pet is young and healthy.
No, all pet insurance providers have a waiting period between the policy’s effective date and the start of coverage. There may be exceptions for routine care add-ons or emergency-only plans, but these are rare.
A pet insurance deductible is the amount of money you pay out of pocket before your pet insurance starts paying for eligible expenses. The waiting period is the set amount of time after the purchase of a policy that you must wait before making any claims.
Yes, all standard pet insurance has a waiting period, though some are shorter than others.
Other Pet Insurance Resources
- Best Pet Insurance
- Cheap Pet Insurance
- Best Pet Insurance For Pre-existing Conditions
- How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?
