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Can pre-existing conditions in pets be insured in Germany?

In short

Usually no. The insurer picks one of four routes: acceptance with no restriction, which is rare, acceptance with the condition and all its consequences excluded, acceptance with a premium loading of about 10 to 50 percent, or refusal. Chronic conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes or allergies normally stay out for good, even after years without symptoms.

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Can pre-existing conditions in pets be insured in Germany?

What it costs

Guide figures from published tariff overviews and from the official German vet fee schedule (Gebührenordnung für Tierärzte).

Example	Typical range
Young dog with no findings, surgery cover	about EUR 8 to 25 a month
Young dog with no findings, full cover	about EUR 20 to 70 a month
Dog aged 2 to 6, full cover	about EUR 35 to 55 a month
Dog aged 8 or over, where still accepted	from about EUR 50 a month
Cat, surgery cover only	about EUR 10 to 30 a month
Cat, health cover including outpatient treatment	about EUR 25 to 60 a month
Premium loading for a mild finding, where offered at all	about 10 to 50 percent on the premium
Cruciate ligament surgery on a dog, diagnosis, operation and aftercare	about EUR 2,500 to 4,500
Joint procedure at one to three times the base rate of the fee schedule	hip about EUR 274 to 823 net, elbow about EUR 463 to 1,390 net
Dental clearance under anaesthetic	about EUR 300 to 2,000

Guide values as of September 2026 from publicly quoted tariff overviews and the official fee schedule. The total for a joint operation including anaesthetic, clinic and aftercare is a guide value from our quoting practice. Whether an insurer offers a loading at all is decided case by case. We obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Crossbreed, 6 years old, one episode of lameness two years ago in the file

The same application, three insurers, three answers. That is exactly why you ask more than one.

Insurer A	accepts, right hind leg and its consequences excluded
Insurer B	accepts with a 30 percent loading, the lameness stays covered
Insurer C	declines
Full cover premium without a loading	about EUR 45 a month
Premium at insurer B with the 30 percent loading	about EUR 59 a month

The loading costs roughly EUR 170 more a year and buys back exactly the risk that insurer A would exclude. Surgery on that leg runs into several thousand euros, so it pays for itself with a single operation.

The four routes the insurer can take

An application with a finding never gets a simple yes or no. The insurer reviews the file and picks one of four routes. The most common is an exclusion (Ausschluss): the animal is insured, the known condition and everything that follows from it is out, everything else is covered.

A premium loading (Risikozuschlag) exists but is the exception, and it is usually limited to mild, well controlled findings. Severe chronic illness or treatment that is still running leads to refusal. Watch the wording: some insurers exclude only the diagnosis, others the whole affected part of the body including the neighbouring joint.

Finding	Usual reaction of the insurer	What stays covered anyway
Stomach infection that healed years ago	acceptance, sometimes with no restriction after a symptom-free period	as a rule everything
One episode of lameness, no diagnosis	acceptance with the affected leg or joint excluded	all other parts of the body
Food allergy	the allergy and its consequences are excluded	accidents, teeth, other illnesses
Cruciate ligament tear on the left, operated	left knee excluded, in some tariffs the right one too	the rest of the body, depending on the wording
Hip dysplasia visible on an X-ray	hip and consequences excluded, often refusal for large breeds	accidents and other illnesses
Epilepsy, diabetes, kidney disease	permanent exclusion or refusal	depending on the insurer, accident cover only
Tumour, treatment still running	usually refusal	nothing, only your own savings are left
Mild, well controlled finding	premium loading of about 10 to 50 percent	the finding itself as well, where the loading applies

What counts as a pre-existing condition

Not only an illness that is still running. Anything recognised or recognisable before the contract started and written into the patient file counts: a healed finding, a symptom without a diagnosis, an odd blood result, an X-ray finding nobody ever discussed again.

Breed-typical predispositions come on top. Hips and elbows in large breeds, airways in short-nosed dogs, the kneecap in small breeds. Some tariffs exclude these groups across the board or require a longer symptom-free period, even if your pet has shown nothing so far. In a dispute the insurer asks the vet for the file. What is written there decides, not how you remember it.

The disclosure duty and what a wrong answer costs

Under section 19 of the German Insurance Contract Act you must answer every question the insurer puts to you in writing truthfully and completely. The application asks about illnesses, treatments, operations and often about the last visit to the vet. Answer with the file in front of you, not from memory.

If a finding is left out, the consequence depends on fault. With intent or gross negligence the insurer can withdraw from the contract and then owes nothing in a claim. With simple negligence it can terminate on one month's notice or change the contract retroactively, adding a loading or an exclusion after the fact. These rights lapse five years after the contract is concluded, and only after ten years in cases of intent or deliberate deception.

What actually works when the file is not empty

First, insure as early as possible, ideally as a puppy or kitten. That is no comfort for the case in front of you, but it is the only route that avoids the question altogether. Second, put the same application to several insurers. Underwriting rules differ a lot, and a finding that means refusal at one insurer can end as a narrow exclusion at the next.

Third, surgery cover (OP-Schutz) as a starting point. It is usually easier to get than full cover and it catches the big bills for everything that is not excluded. Fourth, savings instead of a policy. If all that is left is a high loading with a wide exclusion, put the same amount into an account of your own every month.

The limits, stated plainly

No tariff insures a known illness retroactively. If an offer advertises that it asks no health questions, read the exclusion list: it normally says that everything which existed before the start date is excluded. Same result, visible later.

And switching with a pre-existing condition almost always makes things worse, because the new contract knows the finding while the old one may not have. If you hold an older policy without that exclusion, keep it, even when the premium looks higher than a new offer.

Step by step

Ask your vet for the full patient file and read it before you apply.
Declare every diagnosis, finding and symptom in the application, healed ones included.
Put the same application to several insurers, because underwriting rules differ.
With an exclusion, check the wording: only the diagnosis, or the whole part of the body?
If nothing affordable is left, move a fixed amount into your own account each month.

Checklist

Patient file read in full and declared in the application
Wording of the exclusion checked, diagnosis or whole body region
Clarified whether the second knee counts as pre-existing after surgery
Loading weighed against the cost of the operation you expect
Older policy without that exclusion not cancelled in haste
Written acceptance in hand before the old contract ends

Common mistakes

Leaving out a finding because it healed: it is still in the file
Trusting an offer that asks no health questions without reading the exclusion list
Cancelling the old contract before the new one has confirmed in writing
Skimming the exclusion and missing the follow-on conditions inside it

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

What counts as a pre-existing condition in a pet?

Any illness or injury recognised or recognisable before the contract started. The entry in the patient file decides, healed findings included.

Is there pet insurance with no health questions?

A few tariffs ask none. In exchange the conditions exclude everything that existed before the start date, so the result is much the same.

How big is a premium loading?

Where an insurer offers one at all, it is usually 10 to 50 percent. That normally applies only to mild, well controlled findings.

What happens if I do not declare an illness?

Under section 19 of the Insurance Contract Act the insurer can withdraw, terminate or change the contract. After a withdrawal it owes nothing in a claim.

Can an exclusion be lifted later?

Sometimes for one-off, healed matters after a long symptom-free period. Chronic conditions normally stay out for good.

Are accidents covered despite a pre-existing condition?

Yes, as long as the accident has nothing to do with the excluded condition. That is what makes surgery cover a useful starting point.

Does the second knee count as pre-existing after a cruciate ligament tear?

Some policies exclude the other knee, others do not. Ask before you apply and get the answer in writing.

Is a policy still worth it when a lot is excluded?

Weigh the premium over the remaining years against what would still be covered. If little is left, your own savings pot is the better route.