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Ask any insurer whether it covers pre-existing conditions and the headline answer is the same word: no. Read the policy documents, though, and twelve different answers appear. Some insurers will cover a cured condition again after a set period. Some carve knees and allergies out of that promise. Two of the biggest names offer no route back at all. This page sets out the actual rules, read from the insurers' own sample policies, disclosures and product pages, because the difference between a 180-day rule and no rule is the difference between an exclusion that ends and one that lasts your dog's whole life.
This page is general information about how dog insurance works. It is not financial advice, it is not a quote, and it does not sell insurance. Policy terms vary by insurer, by state and over time. Every insurer fact on this page was read from that insurer's own published sample policy, official disclosure or official product pages on 10 November 2026, and the policy wording on the provider's own site is the only version that counts when you buy. Always read the sample policy, including the exclusions and the definition of a pre-existing condition, before you pay for any plan.
The definitions are wider than the everyday meaning of the words. A condition does not need a diagnosis to count. Embrace's published definition reaches anything that was noticed before cover started or during a waiting period. Trupanion's sample policy includes conditions whose signs were masked or controlled by medication. Pets Best works from a 180-day lookback before the policy. In plain terms: if it was in the vet records, or reasonably visible, before the policy began, expect the insurer to treat it as pre-existing, whether or not anyone named it at the time.
Most insurers split pre-existing conditions into curable (a stomach upset, a one-off infection, a minor injury that heals) and incurable or chronic (allergies, diabetes, arthritis, anything expected to return). Curable conditions can earn their way back to cover after a published symptom-free period. Chronic ones, with very few exceptions, cannot.
| Insurer | Symptom-free period | The rule, as published |
|---|---|---|
| Embrace | 12 months | Cured conditions can be covered again after 12 consecutive months free of symptoms AND treatment. A named list of incurable conditions never returns, including allergies, diabetes, bone and joint problems and urinary blockages |
| Spot | 180 days | A cured condition becomes a new occurrence after 180 days free of treatment and symptoms. Chronic conditions and knee or ligament conditions are excluded from this rule |
| ASPCA Pet Insurance | 180 days | Conditions cured and free of treatment and symptoms for 180 days stop being pre-existing, except knee and ligament conditions |
| Pumpkin | 180 days | The same 180-day cure rule, with the same exception: knee and hind-leg ligament conditions never qualify |
| Lemonade | 12 months | Temporary conditions can be covered again after 12 months resolved, in most states. Knee and ligament conditions and chronic conditions never qualify |
| Figo | 12 months | Curable conditions may be covered after 12 months with no signs or symptoms |
| Pets Best | No period published | Its dog page says curable conditions stop being pre-existing once fully healed, without publishing a symptom-free period |
| Trupanion | No reinstatement rule | Its sample policy contains no route for a pre-existing condition to become covered again |
| Healthy Paws | None published | No curable exception appears in its published material |
| Nationwide | None for current plans | Its legacy policy forms carried a 6-month cured rule; no equivalent is published for the current plans |
| MetLife Pet | Not published | Its switch-in cover for pre-existing conditions applies to employer group switchers only, not to individual buyers |
| Fetch | Not published | No curable rule appears in its published material |
Dogs are symmetrical, and insurers price that fact. A bilateral condition is one that can occur on both sides of the body: cruciate ligaments, hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, cataracts, elbow dysplasia, cherry eye. Where an insurer applies a bilateral rule, trouble on one side before the policy starts excludes the same condition on the other side, even though that side was never injured. Spot's sample policy and ASPCA's California disclosure both define ligament and knee conditions as bilateral regardless of cause. Trupanion's sample policy lists the conditions it treats this way, nine of them, including cruciate damage, hip dysplasia and disc disease. Pumpkin applies the same logic to knee and hind-leg ligaments inside its cure-rule exception. MetLife is the outlier in the other direction: it states expressly that it does not apply bilateral exclusions. If your dog has already had one cruciate repaired, this section matters more to you than the premium does.
Three genuine exceptions stand out in the research. In the UK, ManyPets sells a dedicated pre-existing plan: conditions that ended three or more months ago are covered up to a 1,500 pound allowance inside its limit, and after two treatment-free years a condition stops being pre-existing altogether; chronic conditions are excluded from that plan. In Australia, Bow Wow Meow lets temporary conditions be reviewed after eighteen months with no signs or symptoms, and RSPCA's current product allows a review with exceptions possible for temporary conditions. In the US, AKC Pet Insurance describes conditions becoming eligible for cover after 365 days under its own terms, and MetLife preserves cover for pre-existing conditions when a whole employer group switches to it, a route that does not extend to individual buyers. For a standard US individual policy, though, the honest summary is: pre-existing conditions are excluded, and the best available outcome is a published cure rule that fits your dog's history.
First, get your dog's records and read them the way an insurer will. Second, match the history against the table: a dog whose only history is a healed infection is a good candidate for a 180-day insurer; a dog with one cruciate already repaired needs the bilateral section, not the premium table. Third, if an insurer offers a medical-history review after enrollment (Embrace offers one free after its illness wait), use it, so you learn what is excluded while you can still change your mind inside the free-look period. Our waiting periods page and deductible guide complete the picture, and the cost estimator will show you what cover for your breed roughly costs.
Any condition that showed signs, was diagnosed or was treated before the policy started or during a waiting period. The details are broader than most owners expect: Embrace counts a condition that was merely noticed, with no diagnosis, and Trupanion's sample policy includes conditions that were masked or controlled by treatment. A condition does not need a vet's label to be pre-existing.
At some insurers, yes, if the condition is curable and stays away long enough. The published periods run from 180 days (Spot, ASPCA, Pumpkin) to 12 months (Embrace, Lemonade, Figo). Chronic conditions, and knee or ligament problems at several insurers, are carved out of these rules entirely. At Trupanion and Healthy Paws there is no published route back at all.
A condition that can affect both sides of the body: cruciate ligaments, hips, elbows, eyes. Several insurers treat the two sides as one condition, so if your dog tore the left cruciate before the policy started, the right one is excluded too. Spot and ASPCA apply this to knees and ligaments regardless of cause; Trupanion lists the affected conditions in its policy; MetLife states expressly that it does not apply bilateral exclusions at all.
It depends on the insurer's curable rule. At an insurer with a 180-day or 12-month cure rule, a one-off infection that fully resolved and stayed away for the required period can stop being pre-existing. Allergies are different: they are chronic, and Embrace's published incurable list names them expressly, so an allergy diagnosis is effectively permanent at most insurers.
In the US market we researched, no major insurer covers pre-existing conditions as standard. Two partial routes exist: MetLife keeps cover for pre-existing conditions when an employer group switches provider (not available to individual buyers), and in the UK, ManyPets sells a dedicated pre-existing plan that covers conditions ended three or more months ago up to a set allowance. AKC Pet Insurance describes conditions becoming eligible after 365 days under its terms.
Get the vet records complete and accurate first, because insurers decide from records. Then compare the curable rules on this page: the difference between a 180-day route back and no route back is the difference between a condition being excluded for one season and excluded for life. Enrolling anyway can still make sense for everything else that has not happened yet.