Switching Pet Insurance: Free Look Periods, Refunds and Timing

Can you switch pet insurance at any time?

Yes. You can cancel or switch pet insurance whenever you want, even in the middle of a policy year. The catch is what the new insurer will refuse to cover.

MetLife’s guide to switching puts it plainly: if a condition is covered by your current policy, switching usually means losing coverage for new costs tied to that condition. Pets Best adds that incurable or chronic conditions, like cancer, allergies or diabetes, are lost permanently when you switch.

So the decision comes down to two questions:

1. Is your pet healthy right now, with nothing ongoing in the record?
2. Will the new policy save enough to justify fresh waiting periods and a new deductible?

If the answer to the first is no, switching can cost far more than it saves. If you are shopping because of price, start with our comparison guide.

What is a pet insurance free look period?

A free look period is a short window after you receive a policy when you can return it for a full refund. States with pet insurance laws typically require one, of 15 or 30 days.

The NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, adopted by insurance regulators in 2022, sets a 15-day free look. It applies only if you have not filed a claim, and the insurer must refund premium within 30 days of getting the policy back. The NAIC lists more than 20 states with related pet insurance laws, and several chose a longer window.

State or model	Free look	Claim condition	Source
NAIC model act	15 days	No claim filed	Model Act Section 4.B
Washington	15 days	No claim filed	RCW 48.205.040
Delaware	30 days	No claim filed	Del. Code tit. 18, section 8804
Ohio	30 days	No claim made	Ohio Rev. Code 3970.04
Florida	30 days	See statute	HB 655, effective January 1, 2026
California	30 days	See statute	In place since 2014

The clock starts when you receive the policy, not when you bought it. Washington and Ohio both require insurers to refund within 30 days of your notice.

Insurers often match or exceed the law. ASPCA Pet Health Insurance offers a 30-day refund window as long as no covered expenses have been applied to your deductible or reimbursed. It excludes New York and varies in a few states. Embrace gives a full refund within up to 30 days of the start date if you have not filed a claim.

Will you get a refund if you cancel after the free look?

Usually a partial one. After the free look, insurers refund premium for the time you will no longer be covered, not the time already used.

Insurer	Refund after the free look
Embrace	Pro-rated, from the day after cancellation to the end of the billing cycle
Spot	Premium already paid for any period after your last date of coverage

If you pay monthly, the refund may cover only a few days. If you paid for the year up front, you can get more back. MetLife notes some insurers may also charge cancellation fees, so ask before you cancel.

Cancelling is usually simple. Healthy Paws takes notice by mail, fax, email or phone. Embrace asks you to call. Lemonade lets you cancel from its app.

Before you cancel to save money, ask your insurer about lowering the premium instead. Embrace points customers to changing their coverage in their account. Pets Best suggests raising the deductible, the amount you pay each year before coverage starts. It also suggests lowering the reimbursement rate, the share of each bill the insurer pays, or dropping add-ons. Our deductible guide shows how much each change saves.

What happens to pre-existing conditions when you switch?

They stay with your pet, not your policy. A new insurer will usually exclude anything your pet has already shown signs of, even if your old insurer was paying for it.

A pre-existing condition is a problem a vet advised on, treated, or saw signs of before the new policy started or during its waiting period. That is the NAIC model’s definition, and insurers use similar wording. Embrace warns that pre-existing conditions follow your pet to any future policy.

This is the biggest cost of switching. Staying put protects you. The NAIC model says a condition covered on a policy cannot be treated as pre-existing at renewal. That protection only works if you renew with the same insurer.

There is a partial way back for curable conditions, those that clear up fully, like an ear infection. Many insurers cover them again after a symptom-free stretch:

Insurer	Symptom-free period
Spot	180 days (not chronic, knee or ligament conditions)
Healthy Paws	365 days
Lemonade	12 months, in most states

Incurable conditions, like diabetes or hip dysplasia, are not curable and usually stay excluded. Watch for bilateral conditions too, problems that can affect both sides of the body, like knees. Ask whether a problem in one knee makes the other knee pre-existing on a new policy.

There is one exception worth knowing. MetLife says coverage for some pre-existing conditions may continue when you switch to a MetLife policy through your employer. Ask any insurer whether it has a similar rule before you assume the worst.

Our pre-existing conditions guide has the full rules.

Do waiting periods restart when you switch?

Yes. Every new policy starts its own waiting periods, no matter how long your pet was insured before.

A waiting period is the time after enrollment before certain claims are covered. NerdWallet reports typical lengths:

Type	Typical waiting period
Accidents	1 to 15 days, sometimes none
Illnesses	14 to 30 days
Orthopedic conditions	Six months or longer at some insurers

The NAIC model caps illness and orthopedic waiting periods at 30 days and bans accident waiting periods. States that adopt that language apply those caps. Signs that appear during a new waiting period usually become pre-existing on the new policy. Our waiting periods guide explains each type.

When is the best time to switch pet insurance?

The best time is near your renewal date, while your pet is healthy, with the new policy active before the old one ends.

Here is a safe order of steps:

1. Pull your pet’s records. Look at what a new insurer will see. Anything treated in the past year is likely to be excluded.
2. Get quotes and read the exclusions. Ask each insurer how it would treat your pet’s history.
3. Enroll in the new policy first. Pets Best and MetLife both advise this to avoid a gap.
4. Keep the old policy through the new waiting periods. MetLife suggests staying covered until the new waiting periods are over.
5. Use the free look on the new policy. If something in the documents surprises you, you can still return it for a full refund.
6. Cancel the old policy before it auto-renews. Give notice before renewal so you are not billed for another term.

Timing also affects your deductible. Pets Best notes that switching at the end of your policy year can be cheaper, because a mid-year switch means meeting a brand new deductible. During any overlap, never send the same bill to both insurers. MetLife warns that can be treated as fraud.

When should you not switch?

Do not switch if your pet has an ongoing or chronic condition your current policy covers. The savings rarely make up for losing coverage on the one problem most likely to need treatment.

The same goes for older pets. Premiums rise with age, and an older pet usually has a longer list of past conditions. Our guides to senior dogs and senior cats cover what changes. If cost is the main pressure, our low-income guide lists other ways to keep vet bills manageable.

Switching makes the most sense for a young, healthy pet with a clean record, or when your current policy has gaps you discovered too late.

Bottom line

You can cancel or switch pet insurance at any time, and a free look period of 15 or 30 days gives a full refund if you have not claimed. The real cost of switching is that anything already in your pet’s record becomes pre-existing, and waiting periods start over. Switch near renewal, while your pet is healthy, and only after the new policy is active. If your pet has a chronic condition, staying with your current insurer is usually the safer choice.