Pre-existing Conditions & Pet Insurance
Last updated: June 11, 2026
Pre-existing conditions are the single biggest reason claims get rejected. Every insurer in Australia excludes them. But "pre-existing" does not mean what most people think it means, and there are ways to work around it.
What Actually Counts as Pre-existing
A pre-existing condition is any illness or injury that showed signs or symptoms before your policy started. The insurer does not need an official diagnosis. If your vet noted "mild hip discomfort" in your dog's file 6 months before you bought insurance, hip dysplasia is pre-existing, even if it was never formally diagnosed.
This catches people off guard. You take your dog to the vet for a limp. The vet says "probably nothing, rest for a week." Six months later you buy insurance. A year later the limp comes back and it is cruciate ligament disease. The insurer checks your vet records, sees the note about the earlier limp, and denies the claim as pre-existing. It does not matter that the vet said it was probably nothing.
What Is NOT Pre-existing
These are NOT pre-existing
- New, unrelated conditions (cancer, accident, infection)
- Bilateral conditions on the opposite side (some insurers cover the other knee/hip/eye)
- Curable conditions that fully resolved (some insurers, with a waiting period)
These ARE pre-existing
- Any diagnosed condition before policy start
- Related symptoms noted in vet records
- Bilateral conditions on the same side
- Breed-specific conditions if already showing signs
The Most Important Advice
Insure your pet while they are healthy. Before any symptoms. Before any vet notes about limps, lumps, or lab results. Once something is in your pet's medical record, it is pre-existing forever.
The second most important thing: never lie about pre-existing conditions. If you hide a known condition and the insurer finds out, they will void your entire policy. Not just deny that claim. Cancel the whole thing. And getting pet insurance after a voided policy is nearly impossible.