Having a pet is a wonderful experience. You get the privilege of welcoming a fluffy friend to your home and caring for this precious life that brings so much joy into your own life.

However, it can often feel a bit overwhelming with all the responsibilities you have to undertake—especially financially. Should something happen to your pet, especially health-related, you could end up having to pay an absolute fortune to get your pet the care it needs.

What is worse, sometimes you could be backed into a corner and have to make a difficult decision around whether or not you can afford the medical attention that your pet needs. This is where making the decision to get pet insurance can be a real lifesaver—literally.

Pet insurance is set up similarly to our normal health insurance. You will pay a premium fee each month and in return, you will have peace of mind knowing that you will get the support your pet needs when they require medical attention.

Experts all agree that the best treat you can give your pet is a healthy and wholesome life. So you can choose from a range of pet insurance options that cover basic accidents and illnesses, routine wellness care and around the clock customer care support. So whether they are sick or healthy, their health insurance will be there to support you both.

But one thing to keep in mind when shopping for pet insurance is understanding what the pet insurance waiting period actually is. If you’re new to the pet insurance world, don’t worry. We’ve rounded up the top things you should know when it comes to health insurance for your pets and what this waiting period actually means.

Defining a Waiting Period

So a waiting period for your pet insurance is really what it sounds like—an actual waiting period. Depending on what pet insurance provided you sign up with, you will have different periods of time where you have to wait for the policy coverage to actually kick in.

Waiting periods were set up to ensure that people did not cheat the insurance system and actually helps prevent fraud. By having a waiting period, it ensures that there is no chance to scam the system or lie about pre-existing conditions.

How Does a Waiting System Work

It is common practice for pet health insurance to have waiting periods—in fact, pretty much all of them require it. The standard waiting period is two weeks when it comes to illness and around 2 days for accidents. Of course, depending on the provider you choose, this can vary slightly.

There are also ways to sometimes waive the waiting period or at least reduce it, depending on the specific circumstances. That is why it is so important to discuss this information upfront with a potential provider and understand their specific waiting periods for your individual pets and their conditions.

The waiting period will kick in on the same day that your policy starts. It is important to note that during this time if any conditions do arise they may then be considered as pre-existing. The reason for this is to not inconvenience you or your pet, but more to prevent a pet owner from signing up for coverage and then the very next day using it to get their vet bill waived.

Pet insurance exists to help cover the unexpected, rather than the expected. So the waiting period aims to balance that out. But again, every situation is different. So it is always important to talk to a customer service person upfront to fully understand this further.

Other Parts of Pet Insurance to Understand

In addition to evaluating the waiting periods on pet insurance policies, you will also want to understand what other parts of the plan will be of value to both you and your pet. For example, you will want to see if there is an age limit or breed exclusions for pet coverage. The best policies do not have this, but some out there do. So it is certainly important to double-check that.

You will also want to ensure that your pet insurance policy enables you to bring your pet to any licensed US or Canadian veterinarian, regardless of where your actual home base is. This means that no matter where you go, you should be eligible to get reimbursed for 90% of the veterinarian bill.

The other aspect you want to consider is if there is a wellness and preventative inclusion in pet insurance policy plans. The best way to keep your pet healthy long term is by being proactive and making sure they get the care they need upfront before things get bad.

So what are you waiting for? Sign your pet up for health insurance now so that the waiting period can finish and you can be protected against the unexpected.