Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Get helpful tips in our blog for dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens.

All FAQs

How are My Pet Insurance Premiums Calculated?

In general, your premium is based on your pet’s age, your pet’s breed, and where your pet lives. Some other factors that impact your premium are: the plan you choose, your deductible, your reimbursement percentage, if you have included preventative care coverage or not, and the discounts for which you are eligible.

View a sample policy

You can view our sample policy here: https://Spotpetins.com/sample-policy/

Can I Sign My Pet Up Anytime?

There’s no Open Enrollment period, you can buy and drop pet insurance at any time.  Your pet must be at least 8 weeks old in order to enroll in a pet insurance plan from Spot.

Do Plans Provided by Spot Have a Money-back Guarantee?

Plans provided by Spot offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so feel free to take a look and see what a SPOT plan can do for you and your pet. If, within the first 30 days of your policy you wish to cancel, you can get a full refund of the premium amount.  The 30-day money-back guarantee is available if no claims have been covered.  It’s not available in NY or ME.

Does Spot Offer a Plan for Preventive Care Coverage?

Yes, you can add preventive care coverage to your policy for a little more cost. When you add preventive care coverage, you’ll be reimbursed up to the scheduled amount for things that help protect your pet from getting sick. You don’t have to satisfy your deductible before you can be reimbursed for preventive care coverage benefits, and there is no waiting period for them either.  Find more information on preventative care coverage here.

What is the Best Age to Insure My Pet?

Plans provided by Spot don’t have an upper age limit for new enrollments or coverage. We advise all pet parents to insure their pets at a young age.  You can enroll your pet in a plan from Spot as soon as they’re 8 weeks old.  Don’t let your pet develop a “pre-existing condition” before they’re insured.

What is a Pre-Existing Condition?

 A pre-existing condition is any injury or illness which occurs or shows symptoms before coverage starts or during a waiting period. A condition is considered pre-existing whether or not it’s been officially diagnosed or treated; all that matters is when it occurred or symptoms first displayed.

Plans provided by Spot do not cover pre-existing conditions. However, with pet insurance plans provided by Spot, this doesn’t mean the condition can’t be covered in the future if the condition is curable. An injury or illness that is curable, cured, and free of treatment and symptoms for 180 days will no longer be regarded as pre-existing, with the exception of knee and ligament conditions. If a knee or ligament condition occurs before the coverage effective date or during a waiting period, any future ones won’t be covered.

What Do Pet Insurance Plans Provided by Spot Cover?

Spot Pet Insurance offers options for Accident-Only and Accident & Illness pet insurance plans. Spot plans offer an unlimited annual limit option, no per incident caps, and no lifetime caps.

Plans provided by Spot cover the eligible expenses for medically necessary veterinary treatments that are prescribed to treat your pet’s covered conditions.

You may use any licensed veterinarian in the US.

For a full list of terms and conditions, click here to view a sample policy.

What Do Spot Pet Insurance Plans Not Cover?

For a comprehensive list of policy exclusions and limitations, click here to view a sample policy.

Some common exclusions include:

  • Pre-existing conditions

  • Conditions occurring within policy waiting period(s)

  • Day care/boarding

  • Breeding Costs

  • Cosmetic procedures

  • Preventive Care

How Does Pet Insurance Work?

Once you have your custom pet insurance policy and have paid your premium on a monthly or annual schedule, you carry on as usual!

When you need to visit the vet for a covered condition, you can submit a claim for reimbursement of the eligible expenses.

DEDUCTIBLES 

Your annual deductible amount applies during each policy period. You must satisfy your annual deductible before your reimbursements start. 

PAYOUTS

You get to select your reimbursement percentage when you enroll in a plan provided by Spot. Once your deductible is met, you will be reimbursed for eligible expenses according to the reimbursement percentage you select.

PREMIUMS

This is the amount you pay for pet insurance.FETCH A FREE QUOTE to see your premium today.

WAITING PERIODS

There is a 14-day waiting period for coverage. The waiting period begins on the first effective date of the applicable coverage. Any condition that occurs during an applicable waiting period is a pre-existing condition and is not eligible for coverage.

There is no waiting period for preventive care coverage if you choose to add it to your plan. Find more information on preventative care coverage here.

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

Illness, disease, injury, or change to your pet’s health that first occurs or shows symptoms before coverage is effective or during a waiting period. This includes conditions that are related to, secondary, or resultant from a pre-existing condition.  Pet Insurance plans provided by Spot do not cover pre-existing conditions.

Visit our dog insurance and cat insurance pages for more information about plans.

What is Pet Insurance?

Pet insurance is for paw-rents seeking a financial safety net for accidents or illnesses that their pets might experience in the future.

Pet insurance plans provided from Spot have deductibles, reimbursement percentages, annual limits, and premiums.

Do Spot Plans Offer Pet Insurance Discounts ?

Yes, Spot plans offer a multi-pet discount: 10% off each additional pet that is added.

Is There a Waiting Period for Pet Insurance?

Yes, plans provided by Spot have a 14 day waiting period for coverage.

What Medical Records are Needed From My Veterinarian?

Medical records for your pet include doctor’s notes, laboratory results, and other documentation regarding any of your pet’s visits to the veterinarian. These notes are kept by your veterinarian and are not typically sent home with you. If you are filing a claim, you will need to submit the itemized invoice. Your veterinarian may also need to submit other medical records.

For additional information, please call to speak with a licensed insurance agent at 1.800.905.1595.

What if I’m Not Sure About My Pet’s Age?

If you do not know the exact date of birth of your pet, please use your best estimate based on your pet’s medical records or shelter/rescue documentation. Your pet’s correct age may be validated when reviewing your pet’s medical records.

How do I Determine if My Pet Has a Pre-existing Condition?

Plans provided by Spot do not cover pre-existing conditions.  

A pre-existing condition is any injury or illness which occurs or shows symptoms before coverage starts or during a waiting period. A condition is considered pre-existing whether or not it’s been officially diagnosed or treated; all that matters is when it occurred or symptoms first displayed.

Are there any Types of Incident or Lifetime Caps?

With accident & illness plans provided by Spot, there is no type of per incident limits or lifetime caps.

Are there Any Age Limits?

You can enroll your pet in a plan provided from Spot once your pet is 8 weeks old or older. There is no upper age limit for coverage or enrollments.

Can I Get Reimbursed for Routine Teeth Cleanings?

Base level plans provided by Spot do not cover routine teeth cleanings.  

However, Spot accident & illness plans cover treatments for dental illnesses.  The only treatment covered for dental accidents is tooth extractions. 

To get reimbursed on routine cleanings for your dog or cat’s general wellbeing, you’ll need to add preventive coverage to your base plan for a little extra cost per month. 

Does Pet Insurance Cover Exam Fees?

Not all pet insurances cover exam fees. Spot plans cover exams for covered conditions. 

Routine wellness exams are not covered by base level plans provided by Spot, and they are only covered under Spot’s Preventive Care plans, which you can add on to your base level plans for a little extra cost.

Does Pet Insurance Cover End of Life Expenses?

When your pet’s end of life is caused by a covered condition, plans provided by Spot cover expenses for euthanasia, burial and cremation only. Plans provided by Spot do not cover funeral expenses, memorial items, urns, caskets, burial plots or burial plot maintenance fees.

Does Pet Insurance Cover Spaying and Neutering?

Spot’s Platinum Preventive Care plan option reimburses up to $150 on spaying/neutering with no deductible. The Platinum Preventive Care plan is available as an add-on to your base level plan for $24.95/month and provides a total annual benefit of $450 in routine care allowance.

Base level plans provided by Spot do not cover spaying.  

See the breakdown of what Spot’s Preventive Care plan options cover:https://Spotpetins.com/sample-policy/

Can I Cancel an Insurance Claim?

Yes. If you need to cancel your claim request for any reason, you can do so by calling the call center:  1.800.905.1595.

Do I Pay Vet Bills Up Front?

With pet insurance, you pay your vet bill as you normally would, and then you submit your claim to get reimbursed for eligible expenses, based on the parameters of your coverage.

How Do I Appeal My Claim?

The number of days to appeal a claim varies by the state in which your policy was issued.

All requests to appeal your claim must be made in writing to us. Any submitted appeal should state clearly why you or your vet disagree with the initial determination and include supporting documentation.

To appeal your claim simply email your request and supporting documentation to service@customer.spotpetins.com.

Once your appeal has been received, you will receive an email confirmation. Note: Appeals may take around 30 days to be reviewed.

What Happens to My Pet Insurance if I Move?

If you move within your current state, you are able to adjust your address via the “Account Information” section in the Spot Customer Portal. You will also need to update your billing address there as well.

Note: your premium may change based on your new zip code.

If you are moving to a new state, please contact the Customer Service team at 1.800.905.1595. The Customer Service team will need to assist in updating your policy for your new state.

Can I Transfer My Policy to a New Owner?

If the ownership of your pet changes to another individual, we can transfer the policy to the new pet owner without any interruption of coverage. To process this request, you will need to submit proof of new ownership, including the new owner’s full name, address, and phone number. We will also need to update the billing portion of the policy to include the new customer’s preferred payment method prior to processing the policy transfer.

To start the transfer of ownership policy change, please reach out to Customer Service.

Can I Change My Pet’s Coverage?

For questions about upgrading or downgrading your policy — including terms and conditions — please contact Customer Service for more information at 1.800.905.1595.You can also make changes by logging into the customer portal at https://customer.spotpetins.com/portal#/login

Why Does Pet Insurance Go Up?

These necessary increases provide you the opportunity to get help offering your pet the best medical treatment options available for eligible conditions.

Additionally, your premium will be affected by your pet’s age each year, as the risk for more costly claims grows higher. SPOT strives to provide plans with coverage that continue well into your pet’s old-age by not placing upper-age limitations on coverage or enrollments. 

Your premium will not increase due to filing a claim.

How Do I Renew My Policy?

Unless you notify us that you want to cancel or we advise that your policy will not be renewed, we will automatically issue you a new policy at the end of each policy period. Coverage and rates are subject to change at renewal. Your renewal declarations page will specify the coverage and rates that apply. You accept these changes by renewing your policy. We may decide to not renew your coverage at the end of any policy period. In this case, at least 60 days before your coverage ends, we will mail written notice to you at your address as shown on the declarations page.

Can I Add Pets to My Account After I Already Enrolled?

Yes! Click the Add-A-Pet link on the home page of the Member Portal to fill in your pet’s information and select coverage. Access the member portal through our homepage. 

Additional pets added receive 10% off their premium with Spot plans’ multi-pet discount.

Do You Have a List of Veterinarians I Have to Use?

You can visit any licensed veterinarian in the US or Canada, including eligible specialists and emergency care clinics.

Should I Include My Pet’s Medical Records with a Claim?

If we do need medical records, we’ll contact your veterinarian directly, but it may speed up the process if you send them in with your claim.

How Can I Find Out the Status of a Claim?

We’ll email you when we receive your claim, if we need more information, and when it’s complete. You can also check on the status of your claims anytime by clicking on the claims icon.

How Does My Billing Work?

Your payments are processed automatically using the payment method and frequency we have on file. If you need to update your billing information, you can make changes by clicking on the Billing icon.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

You can submit a claim within 270 days from the date of treatment.

Contact Us

Questions? Let us dig up an answer. Our helpful team is just one phone paw away or you can visit the contact page.

1.800.905.1595

Mon – Fr | 8am – 8pm EST

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