Pet insurance in Delaware

In force since 31 August 2023

Delaware’s pet insurance law is 18 Del. C. §§8801–8809, Chapter 88, the Pet Insurance Act. It was enacted by HB 156 of the 152nd General Assembly and signed by the Governor on 31 August 2023 as 84 Del. Laws, c. 184. The act has no separate effective-date section, and the bill record gives an Effective Date of 8/31/23. The Department of Insurance gave insurers until 1 December 2023 to refile already approved policy forms.

Section 8802 applies the chapter to policies issued to Delaware residents, sold or offered in the state, and delivered in the state. The rest of the insurance code also applies, but Chapter 88 prevails in a conflict. Under §8803(a)(5), pet insurance is property insurance.

As of 11 November 2026, the current text of every section in the chapter cites only 84 Del. Laws, c. 184: it has not been amended. The Title 18 Administrative Code list contains no Department rule under §8808.

Waiting periods: none for accidents, up to 30 days for illness

Section 8805(b) sets these rules:

An insurer that uses a waiting period must include a contract provision allowing it to be waived after a medical examination. The insurer may require a licensed veterinarian to perform the examination after purchase and may specify what it includes. Those specifications may not unreasonably restrict the waiver. The policyholder pays unless the policy says otherwise. Waiting periods and their requirements must be disclosed before purchase. No veterinary examination may be required for renewal — §8805(c).

The examination has a downside. If one is required to start coverage, the insurer must warn that its records may lead to a pre-existing-condition exclusion — §8804(f).

Pre-existing conditions and renewal

A condition is pre-existing if, before the policy took effect or during a waiting period, a veterinarian gave medical advice about it, the pet was treated for it, or verifiable sources show signs or symptoms directly related to the condition claimed — §8803(a)(6). No diagnosis is needed. There is no limit on how far back the insurer can look.

The insurer must prove that the exclusion applies — §8805(a)(1). A condition the policy covered cannot become pre-existing on renewal — §8805(a)(2). Under §8803(a)(7), a renewal is a new policy at the end of the period from the same or an affiliated insurer with substantially similar types and limits of coverage. Switching to another company does not carry the history over.

Delaware’s law has no “no break” requirement. The Pets Best, ASPCA and Figo samples add one: renewal protection applies so long as there was no break. The law does not limit the types of exclusions — §8803(c).

A separate disclosure document and 30 days to return the policy

Section 8804 requires disclosure of exclusions for pre-existing, hereditary, congenital and chronic conditions; waiting periods, deductibles, coinsurance and limits; and whether the price rises with age, after claims or after a move. The insurer must also describe its payment formula, any benefit schedules and its basis for usual and customary fees if it uses them, and say if the underwriter differs from the brand.

A summary of all these provisions goes in a separate Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions document. It is linked from the main page of the website, and a copy in at least 12-point type comes with a new policy. The Department of Insurance’s contact details are also included at issue, in 12-point bold — §8804(k).

The return right — §8804(b):

1. You may return the policy within 30 days after receiving it, without giving a reason, if no claim has been filed.
2. The insurer refunds the full premium within 30 days after it receives the returned policy, to whoever paid it. The policy is void as if never issued.

Notice of this right is printed on or attached to the first page of the policy.

Wellness programs may not be marketed as insurance, and buying one may not be a condition of buying insurance — §8806. Violations of the chapter are penalized under §329 (§8809): up to $50,000 per violation for insurance companies.

Rates are filed 60 days ahead, forms 30 days

Chapter 25 covers casualty, plus fire, marine and inland marine insurance. It does not separately name property, while Chapter 88 calls pet insurance property insurance. The Department does not say which category it applies to pet rates. Its 2023 bulletin, however, is addressed to property and casualty insurers.

Under §2504(a), every insurer files its rates, rating plans and rules. The exception is inland marine risks that by custom are not written according to manual rates or rating plans. Regulation 2101, which details the marine and inland marine risks subject to rate filing, lists Live Animal Floaters among them. Whether the exception covers any particular program has not been established. We found no exemption order under §2505.

Section 2506(c): a rate is filed at least 60 days before its proposed effective date. After 60 days it is deemed to meet the law unless, within 45 days, the Commissioner disapproves it or gives notice that review will take longer. An extension runs up to 90 days after receipt, longer only if the insurer agrees. In its October 2025 instructions, the Department calls Delaware a prior approval state for rates.

Under §2712, forms are filed at least 30 days before delivery. Without a decision, a form takes effect after 30 days; the Commissioner may extend this by another 30. For forms, the Department says Delaware is a file and use state with the authority to disapprove. Specially rated inland marine risks are exempt from form filing.

Three provisions matter to owners:

• Section 2718(b): a policy provision that conflicts with the code is read as though it complied.
• Section 2521: an insured affected by a rate may ask the insurer in writing for “all information as to such rate”, for a reasonable charge.
• Section 2507: a disapproved rate does not affect policies issued before the date set in the order.

The Department’s property and casualty filing form asks for the statewide percent change, the classes and territories where the filed rates would produce increases of 15% or more above that average effect, and the dates and statewide average rate-level changes from revisions effective in the 60 months before the filing. We did not open any individual pet filing.

Who can get filings

Section 2504(b) opens a filing and its supporting information to inspection by parties in interest once the filing takes effect. The law does not define “parties in interest”. The Department says filings are available to the public free of charge through SERFF; we did not open SERFF ourselves.

Section 314(b) refers to the public records law. 29 Del. C. §10003 says access shall not be denied to any citizen. In Opinion 16-IB20, the Attorney General read this to mean that agencies are required to comply only when the requester is a Delaware citizen; in all other cases they may, and are encouraged to. The response is due within 15 business days; the first 20 pages are free, then $0.10 a sheet; staff time over one hour is billed after a written estimate. Trade secrets are exempt.

In Opinion 25-IB13, the Department said under oath that it had no metadata records because the databases, including NAIC’s SERFF, are run by third parties. The request concerned database metadata, not filings. The Attorney General found no violation.

Claims: general deadlines

Regulation 902 prohibits an insurer, when it happens often enough to be a general business practice, from failing to meet these deadlines:

An explanation of a denial is given on request; a verbal one must be recorded in the claim file. Regulation 903 requires payment of a settled claim within 30 days — for example, from the date all documents have been received and the investigation is complete. No fee may be charged for electronic payment. Neither regulation gives the owner a right to sue; violations are for the Commissioner.

Section 2722 requires an insurer to supply proof-of-loss forms on written request. Under §4102, a court awards reasonable attorneys’ fees to a plaintiff who wins a judgment on a policy of property insurance as defined in §904: insurance on real or personal property against loss or damage. We did not check whether courts apply this to pet policies.

Cancellation and non-renewal

Subchapter III of Chapter 41 requires 30 days’ notice of cancellation (10 for non-payment), limits cancellation after 60 days to listed reasons and requires 30 days’ notice of non-renewal with a reason. But it covers property insurance other than inland marine on homes and on personal property inside a residence. Whether a veterinary expense policy falls within it has not been established. Until that is settled, the only notice periods that clearly apply are those in the contract — see below.

Delaware sample policies

On 11 November 2026 we checked the documents of six brands. We did not check Spot, Trupanion, Nationwide, Lemonade, Pumpkin, Fetch or accident-only policies. A sample does not prove that such a policy is issued today or that new enrollment is open.

Healthy Paws. The amendment removes waiting periods for accident-related conditions and sets 15 days for illness, injury not resulting from an accident and orthopedic conditions other than hip dysplasia, and 30 days for hip dysplasia. A complete clinical examination waives them. The required enrollment examination becomes a recommendation; under the general form, failing to have it may void the policy. You can also cancel the policy verbally. The amendment does not change item II.5.b of the general form: for a pet enrolled at six or older, illness related to hip dysplasia is not covered at all. The Delaware disclosure lists the 30-day hip dysplasia wait but does not mention this exclusion, only that other exclusions may apply. Three other things are also unchanged: the return period counted from the policy effective date; claim disputes decided by a veterinarian the insurer appoints, whose decision is final and binding on all parties; and the insurer’s right to cancel on 90 days’ notice without giving a reason.

Pets Best. In the middle of the booklet, the general form still states a 3-day waiting period for injuries, 6 months for cruciate ligaments and a 30-day trial period from the effective date. The Delaware amendment at the end sets 0 and 30 days and deletes the trial period. The right to return the policy within 30 days of receipt is given in a separate notice at the front of the booklet. Read the policy together with the amendment.

ASPCA. A 14-day waiting period for illness. The examination to waive it must take place between 3 days before and 7 days after the policy starts, and the form must arrive within 30 days of the examination. The waiting period ends no earlier than the day after the examination. Claims must be submitted within 270 days of the date of service, and a lawsuit brought within 24 months after the claim settlement date.

Figo. 14 days for illness and 30 days for orthopedic illness, none for injuries. The examination must take place within 7 days of the start date, and the veterinarian’s form must arrive within 7 days of the policy effective date; the insurer gives its decision within 30 days. Non-renewal notice with a reason: 60 days.

The market

NAIC 2025 Market Share Report, section 09.2 Pet Insurance: Delaware pet premium written was $17.163 million, premium earned $16.495 million, and the loss ratio 64.18%. That is a single calendar-year result, not a measure of profitability. Groups are not brands. The table shows the ten largest groups.

The three largest groups hold 58.95% of the market. As far as we found, the Department does not publish its own pet market data.

Traps

• 15 days to return instead of 30. The law gives 30 days from receipt. Figo’s Delaware disclosure says 15 days, although the Figo policy itself says 30. Embrace’s general V6 terms, where the Delaware choice leads, also say 15. Healthy Paws counts 30 days from the policy effective date; the attached notice repeats the statutory wording but says the policy prevails in a conflict. The ASPCA sample refunds the premium only if you cancel within 30 days of the first effective date and nothing has been applied to the deductible or reimbursed. MetLife gives the return right only for the first one-year policy. Under §2718(b), a provision that conflicts with the law is read as complying with it. Note the date you received the policy. See policy papers that contradict state law and refund lost after an early claim.
• A disclosure that omits the return right. The Healthy Paws and ASPCA Delaware disclosures do not mention it; those of Pets Best, Figo and MetLife do. Section 8804(h) requires a summary of every provision required by subsections (a)–(g), and subsection (b) is the return right, so by our reading it belongs in the disclosure. We did not find a regulator’s position on this.
• A narrow window to waive the waiting period. The Department’s bulletin says an owner can avoid the waiting period by having the pet examined right away. In the samples the window is days: ASPCA, from 3 days before the policy starts to 7 days after; Figo, 7 days; MetLife, 7 days before the start for a full waiver and 5 days after for a partial one. Pets Best waives it if the examination meets our review criteria. Pets Best, Figo and MetLife warn that anything found at the examination may become pre-existing.
• Embrace: 180 days for four orthopedic conditions. Under V6, cruciate ligament disease, intervertebral disc disease, patellar luxation and hip dysplasia in dogs that appear in the first 180 days are excluded for the life of the policy. Delaware law limits orthopedic waiting periods to 30 days. Whether a 180-day exclusion counts as a waiting period under §8805(b) or as an exclusion that §8803(c) allows has not been established. Whether the set issued in Delaware includes an amendment has not been established. V6 also turns the policy into accident-only cover if the pet was not examined in the 12 months before the start or within 14 days after. See lifetime orthopedic and spine exclusions.
• A break wipes out the protection. Pets Best, ASPCA and Figo protect a condition on renewal only so long as there was no break. Pets Best requires cancelling the policy and taking a new one to raise the limit or add a benefit; ASPCA may treat a change as a new enrollment; with Figo, a coverage increase restarts the waiting period. For a new policy, the whole history becomes pre-existing. See change the plan and start over.
• The order of the calculation changes the payout. For a $1,200 bill, a $100 deductible and 90%, Healthy Paws pays $980: percentage first, then deductible. ASPCA describes subtracting the deductible first: $990 by our arithmetic. With Figo the order depends on the plan. See the payout shrinks.
• The insurer’s vet decides the dispute. Healthy Paws sends a dispute to its own veterinarian and then to an independent one it appoints itself; that decision binds everyone. The Delaware amendment does not change this. At Pets Best the decision binds only the insurer, but disputes about exclusions, timing and wording are not reviewed. See disputes decided by a vet the insurer picks.
• Cancellation and non-renewal by contract. Healthy Paws may cancel on 90 days’ notice without a reason. ASPCA may decline to renew at the end of any policy period in accordance with your state’s requirements. Whether Chapter 41’s general notice periods apply to pet policies has not been established. See cancelled for any reason.
• Contract deadlines longer than the regulation’s. Healthy Paws pays within 60 days after the claim form is completed unless state law requires less; Regulations 902 and 903 call for a decision within 30 days of proof of loss and payment within 30 days of settlement. But only the Commissioner enforces them, and only against a general business practice; they give no right to sue. A lawsuit against Healthy Paws must be brought within one year after the loss unless state law allows longer. See claim deadlines and suit limits.
• “Typical” charges. Figo reserves the right to dispute charges above those typical in your area. If payment is based on usual and customary fees, §8804(e) requires the basis to be described in the policy and on the website. We did not find it in Figo’s Delaware disclosure.
• Broader than the statutory definition. Figo excludes allergies if earlier signs were consistent with an allergy, not directly related to it as in the statutory definition. Cancer of the same type is excluded if it was diagnosed at any time before the start or before the waiting period ended. But §8803(c) does not limit the types of exclusions.
• Records may be closed to non-residents. In the Attorney General’s reading, the duty to answer a request is owed only to Delaware citizens. Separately, in a 2025 request for database metadata (not for filings), the Department said under oath that it had no such records because the databases, including SERFF, belong to NAIC and other third parties.
• The Department’s card promises too much. Its 2022 rack card lists wellness check-ups and spaying and neutering among the types of coverage. The base cover in the samples excludes them. Pets Best, ASPCA, Figo and MetLife documents mention a separate preventive-care add-on. Embrace offers Wellness Rewards, which it says is not insurance. The Healthy Paws sample mentions no add-on.