Pre-Existing Conditions Are a Thing in Pet Insurance Too

California’s pet insurance regulations, which experts peg as the strictest in the country, owe their existence to a dearly departed golden retriever named Bodie. It was Bodie’s death more than a decade ago from blood cancer, and his owner’s subsequent tussle with a pet insurance company for reimbursement of medical expenses, that led to the legislation requiring California’s pet insurance rules today. But outside of the Golden State, pet insurance is governed by a loose, state-by-state set of regulations that vary widely, experts say. Mostly, they come under general insurance regulation and often are governed under the property-casualty umbrella rather than the health insurance category.That can leave consumers navigating an insurance labyrinth on their own when collecting on claims or in other disputes with the companies.“It can vary dramatically, state by state,” said Kristen Lynch, executive director of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHI), a consortium of the largest pet insurance companies in the United States and Canada. “California is the only state that has a law that guides pet insurance. Other states have tried it, but none of those has passed yet.”