Do we cover pre-existing conditions?
Unfortunately we can’t yet cover pre-existing conditions 🙁. These could be any injury, illness, behavioural problem, or other issue that started before your pet’s cover is active (including any waiting periods ⏱️). This includes any signs or symptoms you noticed, even if the condition has yet to be seen or diagnosed by a vet.
Pre-existing conditions might include hereditary or congenital conditions, as well as bilateral conditions or linked conditions which are related to other conditions.
Why can’t we cover pre-existing conditions 🤷?
Like most pet insurers we can’t cover pre-existing conditions as our cover and pricing is set at a rate that assumes your pet has a normal chance of having any issues for their breed.
We’d like to be able to give you a custom price in the future to cover pre-existing conditions, if you are interested in this please send us a quick chat 💬!
When do I find out about pre-existing conditions?
The great thing about Fetch 🐾 is our Fast Claims ⚡️process where we check any pre-existing conditions with your vets so you know this up-front. Once Fast Claims have been set up and if we’ve got your vets payment details, we can check your claims quickly and pay the entire invoice directly to your vet, so you just have to pay us your excess and contribution (including any excluded items).
Where do I see my pet’s pre-existing conditions?
You’ll be able to see these and any linked conditions in the plan section of your app
How do we determine what are pre-existing conditions?
We base this primarily on your vet notes and we look at pre-existings on a true ‘cause and effect’ basis, rather than just excluding things because they are the same sign or symptom.
Seasonal allergies 🤧 - if a pet requires treatment every spring for a seasonal skin condition, even though there is a dormant period through the remainder of the year, then this condition would be pre-existing as it is a regular and repeating issue.
Cushings disease - once diagnosed, the condition becomes ongoing, and requires treatment for the rest of a pet’s life.
Limping following a jump from a car - if the limping is found to be due to a ruptured cruciate which happened when your pet jumped from the car, the ruptured cruciate would be pre-existing.
Elbow Arthritis - even if diagnosed at an early stage when no treatment is required, the presence of arthritis in a particular location will progress so the condition is pre-existing.
Hip dysplacia - if a pet was diagnosed with hip dysplasia before taking out a plan or in wait-periods, treatment for hip dysplasia won't be covered. Conditions directly related to this pre-existing condition won't be covered either, such as arthritis developing in the hips.
Some examples of conditions which aren’t usually pre-existing:
Vomiting due to eating something on a walk - If your dog ate something on a walk and became sick before you took your pet’s plan out, then did the same thing after, we would not consider this a pre-existing condition as the cause of the vomiting is not the same.
Diarrhoea due to overeating - as long as the overeating did not lead to permanent damage (such as liver or kidney problems) we’d not consider this type of diarrhoea related if it happened before and after you took your pet’s plan out.
If there’s anything else you’d like to know, or anything we can be clearer on please let us know!