Your policy will go into effect at 12:01am on your policy effective date, subject to the below waiting periods. These dates are provided on the Declarations page of your policy documents.
Waiting Periods
Starting from the policy effective date.
- Injuries: 3 Days
- Illnesses: 14 Days
- Cruciate Ligament Events: 6 months
Here is what you need to know about waiting periods:
- We cover injuries, illnesses, and cruciate ligament events that occur after the applicable waiting period is over.
- Any claims you submit during the waiting period(s) will not be covered.
- Any injury, illness, or cruciate ligament event that occurs during the waiting period(s) will be considered a pre-existing condition, which means it won’t be eligible for coverage.
Why are there waiting periods?
Insurance providers put waiting periods in place to protect the insurance company and its policyholders from cases of attempted fraud.
Let's say you and your friend both get brand new puppies. You, as a responsible pet owner, decide to get pet insurance and every month you pay an insurance premium. That premium goes into basically a big community savings account that every policyholder contributes to based on their pet's coverage requirements.
Now your friend, on the other hand, decides not to get pet insurance because they don't want to pay the monthly premium. Then one day their pet accidentally swallows a tennis ball and has to be rushed to the hospital. They realize the bill is going to be expensive and purchases a plan on the way to the vet and submits their invoice to the insurance company the next day.
Without waiting periods, that would mean you and all of the other policyholders who have been paying their premiums would have to pay for your friend's pet's treatment. In order to recover the loss, the insurance company has to raise premiums for everyone else in case another pet has an injury or illness.
The insurance company has to protect the money the other pet owners have been contributing and
but your friend has been putting off the purchase. Then one day, both of your dogs get into a big, chocolate birthday cake sitting on the counter and have to be rushed to the vet. Your friend realizes this is going to be an expensive bill and purchases pet insurance on the way to the hospital. If waiting periods weren't in place, that would mean your dog and your friend's dogs would both be covered even though you've been paying for your insurance over the course of several months, if not years. In order to offset the loss, the insurance company has to raises everyone's premiums to cover the costs.
The waiting period not only protects the insurance company but also helps keep monthly pet insurance premiums to a minimum.