**THE PROBLEM** Our dog is a 7 year old English Bulldog. We had been with Nationwide pet insurance since he was a puppy and LOVED them! They were absolutely outstanding but then in 2024 their premiums went up like 3x-4x out of nowhere. I looked for some new providers and SPOT came in with a decent price (although still much more expensive than we were paying before). Our policy with SPOT started in August 2024 and Nationwide was cancelled the following month so there would be no lapse in coverage. **THE BACKGROUND** In November, he started having difficultly walking. I took him to the new vet he's been going to for the last few years and said it's hip dysplasia and is recommended stem cell treatment (we have stem cells stored with Ardent from when he was a puppy). I submitted the claim for his doctor visit and associated blood work and they denied it saying pre-existing condition. Apparently, in his medical records, back in early 2021 I had taken him into our previous vet because he was vomiting. They were concerned of a blockage (maybe ate something) and took xrays. They had made an incidental mention that bi-lateral his dysplasia was noticed while checking for blockage but that was it. I didn't even know about it. He never had any trouble walking, he was never seen for it, never received any treatment for it, and was never talked about or mentioned again by his previous or current vet. **THE QUESTION** Do I have any grounds or avenues for appealing this denial of coverage? On paper, they are saying pre-existing condition which I understand but he never was seen for it, never had signs or symptoms, never treated for it, and I didn't even know about it. It was an incidental comment 4 years ago while checking for something else. Since English Bulldogs are prone to hip dysplasia, I don't think it would be uncommon to observe some level of it - He was only 3 years old at that time. I live in CA if that matters.

Hi All, Looking for some advice/experience dealing with pet insurance. I have 2 sister cats, 5 years old. I just spent an obscene amount of money on dental work for one of them and am trying to determine if pet insurance makes sense for me going forward. Cat 1 has had some eye infections in the past, at this point treated but she will flare up occasionally when she's stressed. I'm worried that will be considered a pre-existing condition and won't be covered because she's received treatment before. Cat 2 is the dental work one, and I am anticipating more cleanings in her future. Does previous dental work trigger a pre-existing condition or have you seen that in your experience? She's also getting treatment right now for an ear infection and I'm worried she's susceptible to those as well and that will also be flagged as pre-existing. I have no faith that an insurance company will deal with me fairly, so I'm wondering if it's even worth it if any of these issues won't be covered as they're what I go to the vet for usually. I have a number of options for insurance based on my employer's perk programs. I see a place like Spot will cover issues after 180 days, but then it seems like they only cover $100 on dental cleaning? That doesn't seem like much when for cats they have to sedate them anyway? I'm sort of rambling but I guess my ultimate question is - is it too late to get insurance for these cats because I've been diligent on getting them treatment in the past?

After paying $60 bucks a months for almost a year, SPOT has denied every single attempt at being reimbursed and rejected every appeal. The rejection to the appeal contained information that was absolutely not true like that the symptoms started in the 14 day waiting period, even though it was for an emergency surgery many months after we started the policy. When I asked what next steps were, since there was clearly incorrect information in the rejection, I was told there was nothing they could do. It's thousands of dollars, it's exactly what we pay insurance premiums for. It's the holidays and we are completely broke. We were counting on having this money reimbursed so that we could make rent this month. It's just pure cruelty and I don't understand how people like this sleep at night. AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Please don't fall for them . They are a scam . Besides internist personally writing to them that my cats who (needed biopsy )condition was not pre-existing sending 2 years of medical records calling emailing speaking with several people who barely know what their doing they denied my claim. Don't fall for their lying sales people . I report them to BBB I hope more people will ,Spot can't keep scamming people.

I currently have Spot but they decided to raise my premium with no real extra benefit (as most insurance companies do around this time of year). I am now getting charged around $40 a month for a $500 deductible, 90% reimbursement after deductible and no preventative care. Is this fair? Also if anyone has actually filed a claim and been satisfied with the company/experience which was it? Any company I should avoid all together? Insight would be nice! (side note: I was looking at Progressive coverage since I could bundle with auto but idk if that's a good idea)

Hiya, I adopted a kitty from my local shelter a few days ago knowing he has gingivitis and needs a dental cleaning and possible extractions which I will cover out of pocket. The more I dig into the plan the shelter pushed through Fetch, the more I’m realizing Fetch feels like an elaborate scam. I’m looking at switching to Spot as it’s one of the companies that claims they will cover curable pre-existing conditions if there’s been no occurrence/need for treatment for 180 days. Has anyone gone through this with Spot and can you confirm that they did start covering a condition after that 180 day period, or did they find a way out of it? Any other companies you would recommend that are good for this? He’s only a year old, the vet is hopeful we can get it fully treated and cured but of course there’s no way of knowing for sure.

I have a 9 y/o Bengal male who had a bout of diagnosed stress colitis three days after I took him from his long-term family and before he was covered. Now, he has diagnosed pancreatitis, which is a totally different thing, of course. However, apparently because they have similar symptoms, the stress colitis is being treated as a "pre-existing condition" for the pancreatitis by Spot. This is ludicrous, and my vet agrees. I'm going to challenge it. Does anyone have any tips about the challenge and/or the paperwork I have to submit? Has anyone successfully challenged Spot or another pet insurance? If the challenge doesn't go through, then I'm canceling Spot and just going to pay whatever I have to pay instead of giving them money each month. If they can say something is pre-existing simply because two diagnoses share symptoms, then I don't trust that I'll ever see any reimbursement of costs at all. What if my cat gets diagnosed stomach cancer, which can cause symptoms similar to stress colitis and pancreatitis? Does that mean then they won't cover it? Seems like they at least have that prerogative to do so. Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi, I recently adopted a 1 year old retriever mix and he was limping so we had to get him checked, turns out the doctor said while playing he might have hurt himself and he will recover in 2-3 months but now I was planning to get insurance from SPOT or ASPCA , they have specifically written knee and ligament conditions are pre existing forever so for example if my dog gets arthritis later in his life, would that be a pre existing condition? I am trying to find the insurance for my dog, I had pretty bad experience with FETCH so definitely no FETCH for us. Can you let me know what's the best insurance I can use to insure my dog given this curable injury is not considered pre existing for any bigger condition.

My cat is getting up there in age so now I'm trying to find a good pet insurance for her. I'm mainly looking for one that would also cover dental. I've been looking at Spot, but lots of people have said it's a scam, and from what I've heard AKC insurance doesn't cover dental.

I adopted a dog last March. I signed up with Spot for regular and preventative. Last year in May I got his teeth cleaned and they covered $150 of the cleaning, great. The new calendar year is here and I assumed like my health insurance the clock would start again at the beginning of the year. Nope. They go by the calendar year from when you started your plan so they denied my claim. Not a huge deal but if you are covered by Spot know that their preventative coverage is based on a year starting when you signed up for your policy.