How to Find Pet Insurance that Covers Pre-Existing Conditions

We show you how to compare pet insurance with existing conditions cover from top UK pet insurers to make sure your family’s best friend is fully protected.

With veterinary bills sometimes reaching into £100s or even £1,000s, you could face a financial headache if you don’t have the right insurance in place for your pet. If your pet has an existing condition, finding the right plan is even more important.

However, some providers don’t cover pets with existing conditions, and those that do still won’t pay out for health problems connected to those conditions. Instead, you need to establish which providers will insure your pet so that you can claim for unrelated health issues if/when you need to.

To make sure you get the right plan, consider exactly what condition(s) your pet has and compare pet insurance existing conditions cover to get the best policy:

1. Do you need hereditary or congenital pet insurance cover?

If your pet’s condition is a genetic feature of its breed, you’ll need your pet’s insurance policy to accept pets with hereditary illness - this is common amongst pedigree breeds, for example.

On the other hand, if they were born with the condition but it’s not connected to their breed your pet cover will need to allow for congenital illness. Congenital disorders can affect all pets including dogs, cats and large/small animals.

2. Do insurers cover other pre-existing illnesses?

Beyond hereditary and congenital conditions, consider if your pet currently has any further issues which you need to declare. These are usually split into two categories, ongoing and recurrent.

Ongoing health problems include previously broken bones and existing injuries; current health problems describe things like infections that are likely to reappear. Although you can’t get pet insurance pre existing conditions covered, most pre existing pet insurance will accept animals with ongoing or recurrent health problems as long as you declare them.

3. Find the best pet insurance for pre existing conditions

Once you’ve established exactly what conditions your pet has and which providers will still insure them, use our pre existing medical conditions pet insurance comparison to prioritise the different cover available.

Consider the maximum vets fees covered and any time limits for claims to find the best cover for your pet; make sure you’ll be protected financially and you’ll be able to get your pet the treatment they need. You should also take into account providers’ minimum excess charged and exclude any you wouldn’t be able to afford.

Finally, compare the features of each policy’s pet insurance existing illness cover against your pet’s needs and your budget. If you get a quote from each suitable provider you can be confident the best quote for existing condition pet insurance still gives your pet enough protection.