Here's a question that was posted as a comment on one of my blog entries on pre-existing conditions in pet insurance. It's a regular question at Embrace so I thought it worth putting it in its own entry.
Question
My eskie just tore her ACL/PCL and is home from surgery today. we took out Care Credit to pay for the surgery (zero interest for 18 mo). It got me thinking about pet insurance.
Would this injury preclude her from coverage? What if the other knee became injured at a later date? Not likely, but would it be denied?
Linda
Answer
Linda, this is a question you should get answered right up front by any pet insurance company you are thinking of dealing with.
ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears are a bilateral condition - a condition that affects both sides of the body. Once you have had one leg tear, the second leg is more likely to tear, and that generally makes it a pre-existing condition in the second leg for most pet insurers. I'd confirm with any company to specifically tell you whether the second tear is covered assuming you've had no signs there's an issue already (and if they say yes, get it in writing!).
At Embrace, your Eskie's ACL would be considered a pre-existing condition and be excluded from future coverage; however, American Eskimo Dogs are also prone to other conditions such as hip dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and assuming there have been no signs of these conditions before the end of the waiting period, they would be covered by Embrace going forward (not all pet insurers cover hereditary conditions such as these.)
How many times do you know of a dog getting just one condition over its life? It's worth getting coverage for whatever else might happen.
As an FYI, we've recently sharpened up the wording in our policy terms and conditions to clarify how bilateral conditions and other related conditions are treated and I'll blog in more detail about this shortly.
Stay tuned for that...
