Pet Life Magazine, New Zealand Pet Life Magazine Issue 6 Autumn 2018 | Page 8

Pet insurance and pre-existing conditions
Every day at Petplan, we help people to
understand how pre-existing conditions
work on a pet insurance policy. We
reassure them that even if their pet has
a pre-existing condition there’s a good
chance their pet is still eligible to get
pet insurance.
What is a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition is an illness or injury that happened
before the policy started or within the 21 day waiting period.
Because insurance is designed to protect against unexpected
things, pet insurance companies won’t cover anything that is
pre-existing.
If the pet has a condition that neither you nor your veterinarian
is aware of, then it is not a pre-existing condition. However, if
the pet has shown clinical signs of the condition either prior to
cover commencing, or within the waiting period, it is regarded
as a pre-existing condition.
How do pet insurance companies handle pre-existing
conditions?
In general, pet insurance companies will exclude any condition
that has shown clinical signs before the commencement of the
policy, this includes illnesses that haven’t yet been diagnosed
or are in remission. Applied exclusions are either temporary or
permanent. With Petplan pet insurance, we will provide
coverage for an illness or disorder that is not permanent,
or likely to reoccur, after an incident-free period of time has
passed. The period will depend on the type of condition.
Unless you have a Petplan genuine ‘Covered for Life’ pet
insurance policy, you may not have cover should your pet be
unfortunate enough to suffer a chronic or reoccurring illness
or condition. Some companies offer covered-for-life insurance
but they are only guaranteeing to renew the pet’s insurance
for life and may reset pre-existing conditions, so will not cover
any ongoing chronic or recurring illness. That means that any
illness that has been treated in the previous 12 months will
become an exclusion on renewal of the policy. This insurance
cover is referred to as a ‘12 month cover’. It is usually less
expensive than a genuine ‘Covered for Life’ pet insurance
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policy that will cover chronic and reoccurring conditions as
long as you continue to pay your premiums each year without a
gap in cover.
When researching pet insurance, you have to ask the
company if it has a limit on the time you can claim for a
condition or has a set amount you can claim for a reoccurring
or chronic illness. Not what you expected from your pet
insurance policy? This is why it is important to ask about time
limits and set condition amounts.
Petplan pet insurance pre-existing condition guidelines
There are really two types of pre-existing conditions: those that
will be cured or heal, like broken bones, and those that may
never be cured, like diabetes or chronic skin disease.
How does Petplan pet insurance handle pre-existing
conditions?
We distinguish between temporary and permanent conditions.
Just because your pet has a pre-existing condition of one sort
or another, does not mean he can’t get pet insurance.
Temporary pre-existing conditions
Our philosophy on pre-existing conditions that will eventually
heal is to place an exclusion for the condition temporarily.
Depending on the condition it may only be for three or six
months, or one to two years. During this period, any treat-
ment that is for the pre-existing condition will not be covered,
however, if your pet remains clear of this condition during the
excluded period, the exclusion will be removed for the
subsequent years.
Permanent pre-existing conditions
Pre-existing conditions that are not curable will be excluded
permanently from your policy but coverage remains for any
other conditions that the pet may get after the start of the
policy. It is important to have a policy that will continue to pay
claims to treat chronic illnesses for the whole of the pet’s life!
We designed Petplan pet insurance with chronic conditions in
mind. As long as you continue to renew your policy each year,
without a gap in your cover, we will continue to pay claims
for lifelong illnesses. You can rest easy knowing that you’re
covered.
For more information on Petplan Pet Insurance
visit petplan.co.nz.