Switching Pet Insurance Providers: What You Give Up, and How to Move Without a Gap

A premium that jumps at renewal is the usual reason people start looking at other pet insurers, and the quote from a rival often looks cheaper. Sometimes it is a better deal. Often it is a cheaper price for a smaller product, because the policy you would be leaving carries protections that a brand new policy does not.

The difference comes down to one fact. A new insurer is not continuing your old cover. It is writing a fresh policy on an animal it has never seen, and it reads that animal's history the way any insurer reads a first application. This guide sets out what that costs, when a switch still makes sense, and the order to do it in so your dog or cat is never uninsured. Every rule and carrier term below comes from a model law, a state regulator's guide or a carrier's own published policy or help page, read on 3 October 2026. Your own policy booklet governs your cover.

The new insurer reads the history from scratch

The NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, adopted in 2022, defines a pre-existing condition as any condition where, before the policy's effective date or during a waiting period, a vet gave medical advice about it, the animal was treated for it, or verifiable information shows the animal had signs or symptoms of it.

The California Department of Insurance's consumer guide puts the consequence plainly: where a policy excludes pre-existing conditions, the insurer will likely not pay for treatment of any condition for which the owner received medical advice or the pet received treatment prior to enrollment in a new pet insurance policy. A condition your current carrier has been paying for is, by that definition, pre-existing to the next one.

Pets Best spells out the practical result on its own guidance page about switching. If your pet has developed an incurable or chronic condition, it names cancer, allergies and diabetes as examples, you will permanently lose coverage for it by switching. It adds that even conditions that have resolved may still count as pre-existing under the new provider's policy. MetLife's switching page makes the same point: switching typically means losing coverage for new expenses related to a condition your current policy covers.

That is the whole question for an animal with a history. A dog with skin allergies treated last spring, or a cat being managed for diabetes, is not the same risk to a new insurer as it is to the one already paying the claims. For how carriers treat those conditions and which ones can come back into cover, see our guide to pre-existing conditions and older animals.

The protections that stay behind

The model act gives a policyholder real protection at renewal. A condition for which coverage is afforded cannot be considered pre-existing on any renewal, waiting periods may not be applied to renewals, and an insurer must not require a veterinary examination for a policy to be renewed. We cover those rules in how pet insurance works.

The catch is in the definition of renewal. The act defines it as a policy issued at the end of a policy period by the same pet insurer or an affiliated pet insurer, with substantially similar types and limits of coverage. A policy from a different company is not a renewal. None of those protections travels with you.

What you have now	If you renew	If you switch insurers
A condition your policy already covers	Cannot be reclassified as pre-existing (model act)	Likely excluded as pre-existing by the new insurer
Waiting periods	May not be applied again (model act)	The new policy's waiting periods start over, unless waived
Annual deductible already met	Resets at the start of the new term	Starts again from zero, because deductibles do not transfer (Pets Best)
Vet exam requirement	None to renew (model act)	The new carrier may require recent exam records
The 15-day free look	Already used	Available on the new policy until a claim is filed (model act)

Waiting periods start again, unless the new carrier waives them

Every new policy brings its own waiting periods, and anything that shows signs during them becomes pre-existing on that policy. The model act caps waiting periods at 30 days for illnesses and non-accidental orthopedic conditions in the states that adopt it, prohibits them for accidents, and requires that the illness and orthopedic waits can be waived after a medical examination. Carrier terms still vary a great deal.

Embrace. The V6 policy form on Embrace's state terms page sets a 14-day illness waiting period from the pet's original start date, and notes that it applies again whenever coverage is increased but is waived for renewals. The same form excludes four canine orthopedic conditions, cruciate ligament disease, intervertebral disk disease, patellar luxation and hip dysplasia, as pre-existing for the life of the policy if they occur or show clinical signs during the first 180 days. It also requires a vet exam in the 12 months before the start date or within 14 days after it. Without one, the policy defaults to accident-only until an exam is on record.

MetLife. Its switching page quotes a 0-day waiting period on accidents and 14 days on illnesses, with no extra waiting period for orthopedic conditions.

ManyPets. Its waiting-period guide, dated June 2024, sets 15 days for illnesses in every state it sells in, and 15 days for accidents in most of them. It will waive the waiting period in one circumstance: if you can prove your pet was covered by another valid insurance policy that was in force at least 24 hours before the new policy's effective date. It states clearly that the waiver does not change pre-existing condition exclusions.

So a continuous-coverage waiver shortens the gap, which is worth having. It does not bring an existing condition back into cover. For a dog of a breed prone to cruciate or hip problems, the orthopedic terms on the new form deserve more attention than the headline price, because a 180-day window is long enough for the first signs of a joint problem to appear and stay excluded for good.

One exception worth knowing about

MetLife says it may be able to continue coverage for pre-existing conditions that another provider already covers, but only when you switch to a MetLife policy bought through an employer. Its footnote limits this to people with active pet insurance coverage who buy MetLife as part of an employer group benefit. If your employer offers that benefit, ask for the continuation terms in writing before you cancel anything. It is not a feature of MetLife's individual policies.

When switching makes sense

Pets Best, which has every reason to keep you, lists the circumstances where switching can be the right move, and they all assume a pet that is young and healthy. A clean record is the condition that makes a switch cheap, because there is nothing for the new insurer to exclude.

Beyond that, a switch is worth considering when:

• You hold an accident-only policy and want illness cover. The jump is in product, not just price. Our comparison of accident-only and comprehensive plans explains what the cheaper plan leaves out.
• You are moving to a state your carrier does not serve, or you have lost a group benefit that came with a job. MetLife lists both as reasons people have to change providers.
• Your current carrier's claims handling has failed you. A carrier that pays slowly or refuses on paperwork costs money in its own way. The claims rules in how to file a pet insurance claim help you judge whether the problem was the carrier or the file.

When staying put is worth more than the saving

If your animal has a chronic condition the current policy covers, the arithmetic usually favours staying. A lower premium on a policy that excludes the one condition likely to generate claims is not a saving.

Before you move, try the cheaper fix. Pets Best suggests looking at whether your current carrier will let you adjust the policy instead: a higher deductible, a lower reimbursement percentage, a lower annual limit, or removing an add-on such as wellness cover. Each of those lowers the premium without resetting the history. Carriers do restrict which way you can move, but the restriction usually runs in your favour here. Healthy Paws' FAQ says you can lower the deductible or raise reimbursement only while no claims have been submitted, and that after a claim you can still lower reimbursement and raise the deductible, which are the two changes that cut the premium.

If the question is really whether to keep insurance at all, the cost arithmetic for a dog and a cat is the better starting point.

How to switch without a gap

The one rule that matters most is never to cancel first. Pets Best and MetLife both say to have the new policy active before ending the old one.

1. Get your pet's records together. Pets Best notes that most new insurers review veterinary records to decide what is pre-existing. Embrace's form looks at the 12 months before the start date. Knowing what is in those notes tells you what the new policy will exclude before you pay for it.
2. Read the new policy's waiting periods and orthopedic terms, and ask whether the carrier waives waiting periods for continuous prior coverage. If it does, find out what proof it wants and keep it.
3. Enroll and let the new policy start. MetLife suggests keeping the old policy until the new one is active and its waiting periods are over, and notes that some providers allow two policies at once, with one designated as the primary reimbursement policy.
4. Submit every outstanding claim to the old insurer. Pets Best says claims for treatment received while the old policy was active still go to the former insurer. Ongoing treatment after the switch may be treated as pre-existing by the new one.
5. Cancel in writing. Pets Best advises asking for written confirmation if you cancel by phone. Embrace's form lets you cancel at any time by stating a future cancellation date, which makes it easy to line the end of one policy up with the start of the next.

Do not let a policy lapse in between, even briefly. ManyPets warns that if you cancel and come back, the waiting period applies again, the deductible goes back to the start, and anything that developed in the gap is treated as pre-existing.

Timing: mid-term or at renewal

You can usually switch at any time. MetLife says so, and adds that you may face a cancellation fee or remaining premiums, or be refunded premiums for the rest of the term, depending on the carrier. Embrace's form refunds the full premium if you cancel within 30 days of the first policy term and have made no claim, and calculates refunds on a daily pro-rata basis after that.

The deductible is the stronger argument for waiting. Pets Best points out that deductibles do not transfer between insurers, which is why it can be cheaper to switch at the end of your current annual term. If you have already met this year's deductible, moving mid-year means paying a new one before the next policy reimburses anything.

MetLife notes that most providers renew policies automatically, so if you are switching at renewal, tell the current carrier before the renewal date. And once the new policy arrives, its free look applies. Under the model act you have 15 days to examine and return a new policy for a full refund, as long as you have not filed a claim on it. Read the declarations page and exclusions inside that window.

Check the new insurer before you sign

The California Department of Insurance publishes company profiles for pet insurers that include license and complaint history, and its consumer guide points buyers to them. Its Request for Assistance process covers issues including the cancellation or non-renewal of a policy. A carrier's record there is worth a look before you hand over an animal's whole medical history to a company you have not dealt with.

Questions people actually ask

Will a new pet insurer cover a condition my old policy covered?

Usually not. Under the NAIC model act definition, a condition a vet advised on or treated before the new policy starts is pre-existing to the new insurer. Pets Best says chronic conditions such as cancer, allergies or diabetes are permanently lost by switching. MetLife's employer-group policies are a narrow exception for people moving from active coverage.

Do I have to serve a new waiting period if I switch pet insurance?

Normally yes, because waiting periods only stop applying at renewal with the same or an affiliated insurer. Some carriers waive them for continuous prior coverage. ManyPets waives its waiting period if another valid policy was in force at least 24 hours before its policy's effective date, though that does not change pre-existing exclusions.

Does my deductible carry over to a new pet insurer?

No. Pets Best states that deductibles do not transfer between insurance companies, so you start a new one with the new policy. That is why switching at the end of your current annual term is often cheaper than switching mid-year.

Should I cancel my old pet insurance before buying a new policy?

No. Enroll in the new policy and let it take effect first, then cancel the old one in writing. MetLife suggests keeping the old policy until the new waiting periods are over, and Pets Best recommends submitting any outstanding claims to the old insurer before you cancel.

Can I get a refund if I cancel pet insurance mid-term?

Often, but terms vary. Embrace refunds the full premium if you cancel within 30 days of the first term with no claim, then refunds on a daily pro-rata basis. MetLife notes that some carriers charge a cancellation fee or remaining premiums instead, so check your policy's cancellation section.

Sources

• NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, model law 633 (2022)
• California Department of Insurance: pet insurance consumer guide, June 2023
• Embrace Pet Health Insurance: V6 policy terms
• ManyPets: what is a waiting period for pet insurance? (June 2024)
• MetLife Pet Insurance: switching pet insurance providers
• Pets Best: should you switch pet insurance providers to keep costs down?
• Healthy Paws: frequently asked questions