You might be wondering: Can you switch pet insurance? Can you change pet insurance mid-policy?
There are multiple reasons why you’d be thinking of changing your pet insurance. One of the most common ones is the steady increase of insurance prices at renewal.
The causes for this can vary; maybe you had an initial discount that ended, or maybe your pet’s aging; hence, the company considers it. Perhaps a claim was made, or, more generally – veterinary costs had started rising, and pet insurance costs were obliged to keep up.
Whatever the reason for switching pet insurance mid-policy, you can go through our guide and find the best way to deal with your situation!
How do I Cancel My Existing Pet Insurance?
When changing pet insurance, you first need to cat-cel your existing insurance policy.
The usual and recommended way to do it is to contact the company that provides your insurance and enquires about their cancellation procedure. They may try to persuade you to stay with them or change the terms of the contract.
If none of this works, they’ll explain how to go ahead with the cancellation.
Can I Cancel it Whenever I Want?
Technically, yes, but you’ll still need to consider certain things.
If your existing policy is not due for renewal, you may have to pay for it nonetheless.
Moreover, if your pet has a pre-existing condition, which was covered by the old pet insurance policy, you’d need to be aware that the new one may not automatically cover it.
Must I Cancel the Old Insurance Before Switching to a New One?
If you can afford and are willing to pay for the same thing two times over, then yes – you should cancel the old one before switching to the new one.
The Primary Things to Consider
1. Switching Insurance With A pre-existing Condition
The main aspect to consider is changing pet insurance with pre-existing conditions that your pet may have. This could affect the cancellation of lifetime insurance renewals.
So, basically, if your pet has never had to undergo veterinary treatment in the past, you’re free to switch to the best option when it comes to pet insurance companies.
However, if it had suffered an accident or was ill and needed to be treated while being covered for lifetime insurance by your old/existing policyholder company, this would be considered as a pre-existing condition. As long as you renew your contract with them, you will keep getting paid for it.
Once you change your pet insurance mid policy, though, the new company will probably disregard this and “start over”, so to speak.
If the new company is significantly cheaper, then sure – go for it. But know that if the condition makes a return, you’ll need to pay for the treatment yourself.
Conversely, some pet insurance companies have a limit, meaning that after a while of having the treatment covered, you would need to start paying yourself anyway. In this case, it’d be smart to switch to a cheaper insurance policy.
2. Waiting Period
Another thing to consider is that with most new policies, you can only start a claim for insurance after 48 hours (for accidents), or 14 days (for illness). This is a way for insurance companies to protect themselves from customers who know that their pet may need medical treatment and intentionally insure them immediately beforehand.
In other words, the first few days after getting the new pet insurance, your pet won’t be actually insured.
Can You Have Two Pet Insurance Policies for the Same Pet?
What often happens is that pet owners intentionally overlap their policies, so that the old one will cover those 14 days excluded from the new one.
But still, can you have 2 pet insurance policies at the same time?
Doubled costs aside, this may be problematic, as many companies wouldn’t pay a claim if they find out that your pet’s insured with another company as well.
Or else, the new company may decide to treat the medical issue during those 2/14 days as a pre-existing condition and not cover it with their future policy.
Whatever the case, you should consider all these intricacies before changing pet insurance mid-policy.
