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Australian pet insurance generally does not cover pre-existing conditions: any illness or injury that showed signs or symptoms before your policy started, or during a waiting period, whether or not a vet diagnosed it. Some insurers will cover a temporary condition again once your pet has been free of symptoms for a set period, commonly 12 to 18 months. Chronic conditions stay excluded.
Because the definition turns on signs and symptoms rather than diagnosis, insurers review your pet's full vet history when you claim. What matters is what the record shows, not what you remember being told.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team · Last reviewed
The PetSure-issued PDSs we reviewed (RSPCA, Bupa, Medibank and Buddy) define it as a condition whose signs or symptoms were first noticed or showed before cover started or during a waiting period, or that you or a reasonable person in your position would have noticed, whether or not a vet had diagnosed it.
Two consequences follow. A condition does not need a diagnosis to be pre-existing: an intermittent limp mentioned in a vet note can be enough. And a condition that first appears during a waiting period is treated as pre-existing, not simply delayed.
Some insurers distinguish between conditions that can be cured and those that cannot. Once a temporary condition has been symptom-free for long enough, it can be covered again.
| Product (PDS date) | Can a temporary condition be covered again? | What stays excluded |
|---|---|---|
| RSPCA, Bupa, Medibank, Buddy (PetSure-issued, 2024–25 PDSs) | Yes, after 18 months without signs or symptoms before treatment, on application with a vet-certified form | Chronic conditions |
| Budget Direct (22 July 2024) | Yes, a fully cured condition after 12 months without symptoms or treatment | Recurring, related and bilateral conditions |
| Knose (15 November 2024) | Assessed individually; the policy certificate lists which exclusions can be reviewed and when | As listed on the certificate |
Moneysmart lists bilateral conditions among the common exclusions: if a condition affected one side of the body before cover started, such as one knee, eye or ear, the same condition on the other side is often excluded too. Cruciate ligament disease is the classic example, because a dog that ruptures one cruciate has an increased chance of rupturing the other.
A hereditary condition is not automatically pre-existing. The RSPCA and Bupa PDSs cover hereditary and congenital conditions as illnesses unless they showed signs before cover or during the waiting period. That is the strongest argument for insuring a young pet of a breed prone to a particular condition, before anything appears.
Moneysmart warns that anything you have previously claimed for will be considered pre-existing by a new insurer. For a pet with an ongoing condition, switching usually means giving up cover for it permanently in exchange for a lower premium.
If your current premium has become hard to afford, first ask your current insurer about a higher excess, a lower benefit percentage or a lower annual limit. Those change the price without resetting what counts as pre-existing.
Tell the insurer about any known condition when you apply, and answer its questions accurately. Moneysmart notes that if you don't disclose a pre-existing condition, you may not be covered when your pet has an injury or illness. If a claim is refused and you disagree with how your pet's history has been read, use the insurer's complaints process first and then the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which is free. The Australian Veterinary Association's policy position is that disputed claims should be reviewed by a veterinarian registered in Australia.
Not for chronic conditions, in the policies we reviewed. Some insurers will cover a temporary condition again after a symptom-free period: 18 months in the PetSure-issued PDSs such as RSPCA and Bupa, and 12 months for fully cured conditions in Budget Direct's PDS.
They review your pet's vet history, usually when you make a claim and sometimes when you apply. The definition covers signs and symptoms, not just diagnoses, so notes in the vet record matter.
A condition that can affect both sides of the body, such as knees, eyes or ears. If it affected one side before cover started, many policies exclude the other side too.
Usually not without careful thought. A new insurer will treat anything previously claimed for as pre-existing, so switching can mean losing cover for the condition permanently.
