The dataset — checked Oct 20, 2026

Carrier rules, read from the policy forms themselves.

This is the dataset the Switch-Check computes from. Every row was read against binding policy-form language — not marketing pages — and every cell we have not read from a form is flagged unverified in plain sight, because a wrong date can cost a family a surgery. Forms revise yearly and state law can override them (Florida already caps waiting periods by statute), so the dataset is re-audited quarterly and corrections are logged in public.

CarrierCure rule for pre-existing conditionsKnee / bilateral ruleOrthopedic wait (new policy)PaysExam feeCell status
Spot Pet Insurance
ASPCA family (one binding form family — IAIC / United States Fire)		180 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditionsPrior knee/ligament problem → BOTH knees excluded for life0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Pumpkin Pet Insurance
ASPCA family (one binding form family — IAIC / United States Fire)		180 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditionsPrior knee/ligament problem → BOTH knees excluded for life0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
ASPCA family (one binding form family — IAIC / United States Fire)		180 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditionsPrior knee/ligament problem → BOTH knees excluded for life0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Hartville Pet Insurance
ASPCA family (one binding form family — IAIC / United States Fire)		180 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditionsPrior knee/ligament problem → BOTH knees excluded for life0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Wagmo
ASPCA family (one binding form family — IAIC / United States Fire)		180 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditionsPrior knee/ligament problem → BOTH knees excluded for life0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Embrace Pet Insurance365 symptom-free, treatment-free days for curable conditions — removal DISCRETIONARY ("may remove")Orthopedic carved out of the cure pathway0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
AKC Pet Insurance365 days of continuous coverage — curable AND incurable conditions can openKnee-wide in the newest form — lapses after 365 days of continuous coverage0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
TrupanionNo cure pathway — pre-existing stays excluded for the life of the policyUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the billNever paidVERIFIED — form read
Odie Pet InsuranceNo cure pathway — pre-existing stays excluded for the life of the policyUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Pets BestNo fixed cure period in the form — case-by-caseUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—VERIFIED — form read
Nationwide Pet InsuranceUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED12 months VERIFIEDVaries by plan — legacy Major Medical pays a benefit SCHEDULE, not a percentage—UNVERIFIED
Figo Pet InsuranceUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—UNVERIFIED
Healthy PawsUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the billNever paidUNVERIFIED
Fetch Pet InsuranceUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—UNVERIFIED
MetLife Pet InsuranceUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—UNVERIFIED
ManyPetsUNVERIFIED Not yet read from the binding formUNVERIFIED0–12 months across carriers; this carrier's figure unverifiedPercentage of the bill—UNVERIFIED

Sources: binding policy forms as audited in the WhiskerCover Fine-Print Index (documents as of July 1, 2026), cross-checked against carrier materials Oct 20, 2026; market context from NAPHIA's 2026 State of the Industry Report. "Verified" means the cure/knee cells were read from form language in that audit — your issued policy and its state endorsements control over any summary here. Corrections: the public correction log.

The variance discipline: rules differ by state, plan tier, and form edition. Where a provision is state-variant — AKC's pre-existing pathway, absent from its Florida form, is the standing example — the checker computes the variant, and this page prints it. A national average of a state-variant rule is a wrong answer with good posture.

Run your own pet's dates. The free Switch-Check takes your pet's conditions and their last symptom/treatment dates — and returns the per-carrier verdicts, the re-open dates, your earliest safe switch date, and the stay-or-switch math. Run the Switch-Check →

Included in the $39 PetCoverCheck Playbook

  • The per-carrier switch worksheets: for every carrier whose form we have read — its cure rule, its knee rule, its waiting periods, and the exact questions to get answered in writing before you switch (and the answers that mean stop)
  • The cure-window date planner: the fillable planner that turns your pet's history into dates — each condition, its last symptom/treatment date, each carrier's window, the re-open date, and your earliest safe switch date — with worked examples (the 180-day ear infection; the 365-day discretionary case)
  • The renewal-hike response: the downgrade levers that lower your price WITHOUT resetting your clocks — a higher deductible, a lower annual limit, a lower pay-out percentage — and the levers that secretly start a brand-new policy and restart every exclusion
  • The dropped-by-Nationwide re-enrollment guide: the order of moves for non-renewed owners — which conditions became pre-existing the day coverage lapsed, which pathways can still reach them (including the 365-day continuous-coverage pathway and its Florida hole), and what to get in writing
  • The claim-evidence log: the dated record structure that decides claims — symptom dates, treatment dates, which side/joint, invoices, and the records to request from every vet who has ever seen your pet — built before you need it, not after a denial
  • The denial first-steps chapter (a chapter, not the product): how to read the denial letter against the form section it cites, your carrier's own appeal window (14 to 180 days depending on the carrier — the table is inside), the records to gather, and your state insurance department's complaint door
  • The switch execution sequence: the exact safe order — written confirmation first, the new policy bound second, the old policy cancelled last — plus how waiting periods overlap and the records-transfer checklist
Get the $39 PetCoverCheck Playbook

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