Should I consider reenrolling in pet insurance after my Nationwide policy got canceled? I had Nationwide pet insurance for my Great Dane through my job. When I left the company, I wasn’t sure how to enroll as an individual, so my policy was canceled in February due to nonpayment since the deductions stopped coming from my paycheck. I had been with them for about 2-3 years and made just one claim for a minor incident where she needed a suture
Now, seven months later, it seems like my dog might have a partial ACL tear. Other than that, she is in great health, almost 6 years old
From what I’ve found out, this wouldn’t be covered if I decided to reenroll with Nationwide or any other insurance company. I might be overly hopeful, but is there any advantage to returning to Nationwide given my history as a customer with a healthy pet? I’ve come across a couple of posts where people got their second ACL surgery covered by Nationwide after their dog had an ACL injury while being uninsured. From what I understand, that’s usually really hard to do since most companies classify it as a pre-existing condition
Should I start fresh with another insurance company? Would any company refuse to cover future joint issues because of this?
Most companies have what’s called a ‘bilateral exclusion.’ This means if your pet needs treatment for one side of the body and there’s no coverage, they won’t cover the other side if it needs treatment later when you do have coverage
However, I believe Nationwide covers some bilateral conditions on certain plans. They do have a 12-month waiting period, and this option is typically available only on their higher-tier plans. For example, the Major Medical plan likely doesn’t offer this. Some plans are only available through employers, while others can be purchased privately, and they can vary quite a bit by state
Unfortunately, they won’t consider your previous policy. This will be treated as a brand new application. I recommend getting a quote from them specific to your state and zip code to see if they can offer you a plan that covers bilateral conditions
It can be confusing to buy a policy from Nationwide since they have so many different plans with various riders and add-ons, so it might be worth your time to call them and explain your situation. Good luck.
I heard that Pumpkin might allow people to sign up without pre-existing condition exclusions if they’re coming from Nationwide after cancellation. I would suggest giving them a call. Another option is AKC pet insurance. They cover pre-existing conditions after 365 days. It sounded too good to be true, so I reached out and confirmed that both curable and incurable pre-existing conditions will be covered after that time