Hey y’all, I recently got pet insurance for my kitten, but then he broke his leg just two days before the accident coverage started. I had to take him to the vet right away because he was in so much pain and had a high fever, and now Lemonade denied my claim because it happened during the waiting period. I filed an appeal, though, and I’ll update everyone once I hear back. Honestly, I think there should be some flexibility for situations like this. Does anyone else think these waiting periods are a bit unfair?
Sorry to hear that happened to your kitten . Unfortunately, though, it sounds like you didn’t fully go over the terms and conditions when you signed up. These waiting periods are put in place because some people try to get insurance only after their pet is injured or sick. Technically, you fall into that category since your insurance wasn’t active yet.
If you had checked around a bit, MetLife has accident coverage with no waiting period! Their illness coverage still has a 14-day wait, though.
Yep, and if you adopt your pet from one of MetLife’s approved shelters, they’ll even waive that 14-day illness waiting period.
Ah, I wish I’d known about MetLife earlier
First off, I hope your kitten makes a full recovery. But honestly, it sounds like the injury happened before you bought the insurance. If that’s the case, I really don’t think any company would approve your claim. It’s the same with human health insurance, you can’t buy coverage outside open enrollment periods and expect it to cover past injuries. I know it sucks, but it’s how insurance works across the board.
Actually, I had already bought the insurance! The problem is that the injury happened within the waiting period for accidents. It’s just frustrating because these waiting periods feel like they only benefit the company, not the customer. Like, they didn’t need a waiting period to take my money
Man, that’s tough. I’ve got Lemonade too, and they won’t cover anything that happens during the first two days after you sign up. Even if you had waited to get treatment, they’d still deny it. I hate to say it, but this is exactly why they have those waiting periods.
I don’t see how this is fraud, though? My kitten was seriously injured!
I think the point is that insurance companies have those policies to stop people from buying insurance only after something bad happens. It’s just bad luck your kitten got hurt during the waiting period, but I doubt there’s much you can do besides asking for a refund.
Yeah, it’s just frustrating. Like, how am I supposed to just let my pet suffer because of some arbitrary waiting period? Feels like there should be exceptions for things like this.
It’s definitely unlucky timing. I feel for you, but that’s how they avoid people taking advantage of the system. Really sucks that it happened so close to when you got the insurance.
Exactly, it’s just bad timing. I signed up before the injury, but I didn’t get through the waiting period for accidents in time.
In that case, you should be covered! The waiting period is two days after signing up, not two days after the accident. When exactly did you get the insurance, and when did the injury happen?
It was two days before the waiting period was up, but what was I supposed to do? Just let my kitten sit in pain until it ended?
No, I get that. But technically, if you had signed up before the injury, you still had to wait for those two days. Insurance fraud comes in when people try to get coverage after something’s already happened. It’s just bad luck, not fraud.
Ugh, this whole thing has just been such a mess. I was really hoping they’d make an exception.
I get it, man. That’s rough, but it’s how they stay in business. Timing just wasn’t on your side this time, unfortunately.