Pet Insurance for pre-existing conditions

ManyPets insurance: Pre-existing conditions and exceptions

Like other providers, ManyPets has exclusions for pre-existing conditions—but past conditions don’t always prevent future coverage.

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Cured conditions may be covered after 18 months
Unrelated conditions still eligible for coverage
Pre-existing conditions don’t affect your rates

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What is a pre-existing medical condition?

A condition pre-exists your pet's accident and illness coverage if any of the following have occurred within the 18 months prior to your policy's effective date—or during your waiting period:

Your veterinarian has diagnosed or provided medical advice for the condition
Your pet has received veterinary treatment for the condition
You or your vet have noticed signs or symptoms consistent with the condition

Like other pet insurance companies, ManyPets pet insurance policies will not reimburse you for pre-existing medical conditions. But keep in mind: Even though ManyPets won't be able to cover that specific condition, other conditions that don’t pre-exist your accident & illness policy may still be eligible for coverage.*

Can you insure a pet with pre-existing medical conditions?

Yes, you can absolutely insure a pet with pre-existing medical conditions! Even though ManyPets won't be able to cover a pre-existing condition, the pre-existing condition exclusion won’t apply to any other unrelated conditions if they don’t pre-exist your pet insurance plan.

So even if your pet’s skin allergies aren’t eligible for coverage, a future round of cancer treatment might be. In fact, it’s wise to get covered as soon as possible, before even more conditions arise and you become ineligible for coverage.

What pre-existing conditions are covered?

Technically, pre-existing conditions are never eligible for coverage, but ManyPets will not consider a condition to be pre-existing in certain circumstances.

Pre-existing:	Not pre-existing:
Any illness or injury that’s been diagnosed, treated – or whose symptoms have been noticed by you or your vet – within the 18 months prior to your policy effective date or during your waiting period.	Illnesses and injuries other than cruciate ligament conditions and hip dysplasia (all states) that haven’t been diagnosed, treated, or been symptomatic for at least 18 months.
Hip dysplasia or cruciate ligament conditions that were diagnosed, treated, or symptomatic prior to your policy effective date or during your waiting period. Applies even after 18 months, and even if their previous condition was symptomatic on the opposite side of their body.	Illnesses and injuries that are judged by ManyPets (and by your vet) to be unrelated to any pre-existing illnesses or injuries, even if symptoms are similar.

By the way, your pet may be eligible for coverage after 18 months, even if they reach the 18-month mark after you purchase their plan.

Just keep in mind that pre-existing chronic conditions (like diabetes or allergies, for instance) are highly unlikely to become eligible for coverage at any point, as they continually cause symptoms and/or require treatment. That’s why it’s wise to purchase insurance before such conditions arise.

What about bilateral conditions?

A bilateral condition is any health condition that can affect both sides of your pet’s body – for example, an illness that affects your pet’s right eye after having previously affected their left eye. Unlike ManyPets, some pet insurance companies exclude coverage of all pre-existing bilateral conditions.

ManyPet excludes only two bilateral conditions if they pre-exist your policy, meaning they’ll be ineligible for coverage even if the condition was previously diagnosed on the other side of their body. These conditions are:

As we’ve mentioned, these are also the two conditions that can’t be covered even if 18 months have passed since they were last diagnosed, treated, or showed symptoms.

And there’s one other exclusion surrounding hip dysplasia (though not cruciate ligament conditions): We won’t be able to cover hip dysplasia if your pet is at least six years old on the start date of your policy. But there will never be any age-based exclusions if you insure your pet before age 6 and continuously keep them insured.

One last thing to keep in mind: If a health condition comes about while your pet is insured (and after their waiting period has passed), bilateral condition exclusions will NOT apply in the future.

All in all, it’s wise to insure your pet when they’re younger.

Be careful about lapses in coverage

Bear in mind: Any current or recent condition that’s covered by ManyPets will instantly become a pre-existing condition if you allow your coverage to lapse — even if you once again purchase insurance at the earliest opportunity.

Likewise, switching providers may immediately turn a covered condition into a pre-existing condition. So if your pet has a current or recent health condition, think long and hard before disrupting their current coverage, even briefly.

Pre-existing conditions and pet insurance—why ManyPets?

Unlike some other companies, ManyPets may not apply exclusions to conditions (other than cruciate ligament conditions and hip dysplasia) that have been cured for 18 months. And pre-existing condition exclusions won’t apply to conditions that arise after your waiting period if there’s no lapse in coverage.

Most conditions covered

if untreated and asymptomatic for 18 months

Accidents and illnesses eligible for coverage

if unrelated to a pre-existing condition

Most bilateral conditions eligible for coverage

other than hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament conditions

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Pre-existing conditions don’t affect premiums

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Frequently asked questions

Everything else you may want to know about ManyPets and pre-existing conditions.

"Pre-existing condition" means any condition for which a veterinarian provided your pet medical advice, the pet received treatment for, or the pet displayed signs or symptoms consistent with the stated condition during the 18 months before the policy's effective date or during the waiting period.

The condition is considered pre-existing even if you—and not your vet—noticed symptoms.

If your pet has a pre-existing condition, we won’t cover any treatment for that condition. By this, we mean any medications, surgeries, ongoing therapy, scans/tests, examinations, hospitalizations, or any other treatment for that condition. However, the existence of a pre-existing condition does not preclude coverage for any unrelated conditions.

Yes! Conditions (with the exceptions of hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament conditions) may once again be eligible for coverage if they have been free of diagnosis, treatment, or symptoms for 18 months!

Your best option is to insure your pet when they’re still young, before any health conditions are likely to arise. That way, you’re far less likely to run into any pre-existing condition exclusions. That being said, if your pet has a curable condition, you should look for a company (like ManyPets!) that lifts the pre-existing condition exclusion after enough time has passed.

No, they’re not! ManyPets covers hereditary conditions so long as they don’t pre-exist your coverage.

These are breed-specific conditions that your pet is prone to, like back problems in Dachshunds. As long as your pet hasn’t shown clinical signs of a hereditary illness before the effective date of your policy or during the policy waiting period, it won’t be considered a pre-existing condition.

For the most part, yes! ManyPets may continually cover chronic conditions that arise after your waiting period has passed, so long as your pet maintains continuous coverage with no lapses.

Keep in mind that hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament conditions will be considered pre-existing conditions even if they previously appeared on the opposite side of your pet’s body compared to their current diagnosis. And hip dysplasia can never be covered if your pet is six years old (or older) when they’re first insured.

When you make a claim, your insurer will ask your vet for the past 18 months of your pet’s medical records so they can see if they’ve had any previous or current injuries or illnesses.

Yes, allergies are a pre-existing condition. And since they’re generally chronic, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll ever again be eligible for coverage after the first onset of symptoms. It’s a good idea to insure your pet when they’re young!

You can always change pet insurance, but if you do, any pre-existing conditions will likely cease to be covered by any provider, even if you switch back to ManyPets. So think long and hard before switching.

Unfortunately, no. If you pause your pet’s coverage, even for one month, any current or recent conditions will be considered pre-existing when you re-enroll. If your pet has a covered condition, it’s generally wise to maintain your coverage.

If your pet has suffered from an illness or injury within the past 18 months, it’s highly likely your pet has a pre-existing condition. In addition, if your pet appears symptomatic of an illness at the time of enrollment, it’s possible they may be suffering from an as-yet-undiagnosed pre-existing condition.