When Should You Get Pet Insurance? The Case for Enrolling Early

There's no law requiring pet insurance, so a lot of people wait until something happens before they look into it. The problem is that waiting is exactly what limits your options later.

Because insurers exclude pre-existing conditions, the earlier you enroll, the more your pet's future health is still an open question, not a known issue that gets carved out of coverage. A young, healthy pet is the easiest and cheapest time to get a policy in place, precisely because there's nothing yet to exclude.

There's also a waiting period after enrollment before coverage actually kicks in, which is another reason enrolling well before you need it matters more than enrolling right when a problem shows up. Waiting until symptoms appear can mean the exact issue you're worried about isn't covered by the time your policy would otherwise apply.

See our coverage guide for what a policy includes, or get a quote while enrolling is still simple.