Pet insurance in New York

The pet insurance bill is still a bill

As checked on 1 November 2026, A11164, paired with S10225, has passed both houses. The official action history ends on 2 June 2026; it records neither delivery to the governor nor a signature.

The bill would prohibit accident waiting periods, cap illness and orthopedic waits at 30 days, require an exam waiver and put the burden of proving a pre-existing exclusion on the insurer. These are proposed protections, not current rights established by that bill. Its predecessor, A1433A, was vetoed on 16 October 2025.

There are also proposals to ban pre-existing exclusions: A724 and A3052. Both remain in Assembly Insurance, with their latest recorded action on 7 January 2026.

General insurance law already protects continuity

For a household pet that is not used in the conduct of a business, New York applies the personal-lines rules in Insurance Law §3425. The regulator’s 2001 interpretation says the §3425 cancellation provisions override conflicting policy provisions that give less protection. Insurance for animals used in a business follows different rules.

Section 3425 generally gives personal-lines policies a three-year required policy period, counted from “the date as of which a covered policy is first issued or is voluntarily renewed”. A voluntary renewal after that period starts the next three-year period; annual renewals within an existing period do not restart the clock. DFS’s worked example shows successive periods. During a required period, nonrenewal or renewal with reduced limits or eliminated cover generally needs a statutory cancellation ground. An annual policy can therefore carry obligations beyond its printed one-year term. This is not a promise of lifetime renewal.

DFS addresses illness directly in its 2002 pet insurance interpretation. An insurer cannot treat a serious illness or injury covered by the policy as an uninsurable physical change justifying cancellation. The exception concerns a specifically excluded condition that develops during the policy term and makes the pet uninsurable under objective, uniformly applied underwriting standards in effect at issue or the last voluntary renewal, as §3425(c)(2)(E) requires. The opinion also permits lawful nonrenewal consistent with underwriting guidelines after the three-year period. This is narrower than a guarantee that every condition remains covered through all future renewals.

Notices and reasons matter

The DFS cancellation questionnaire generally limits cancellation after the first 60 days to the grounds in §3425(c)(2). They include nonpayment, fraud or material misrepresentation and certain other statutory grounds. For a renewal, the restrictions apply from its effective date. The opening of §3425(c) also allows a superintendent-approved program when continuing the insurer’s premium volume would endanger policyholders, creditors or the public.

For nonrenewal, or renewal conditioned on changed limits or eliminated cover, the insurer must generally mail or deliver notice 45 to 60 days before expiry, with specific reasons. If reduced cover replaces an otherwise permitted cancellation, the notice period is at least 20 days. These rules protect continuation and notice; they do not fix the renewal price. Sources: DFS questionnaire, §3425(c)–(e).

If you receive a notice, keep it and its envelope, check the dates and stated reason, and ask the insurer how §3425 applies. You can file a consumer complaint with DFS, attaching the policy, notice and correspondence.

A sample policy: Healthy Paws

On 1 November 2026, the New York document page links a Westchester Fire base policy and two endorsements. These are dated samples; we have not verified current enrollment availability or an individual customer’s contract.

The base form LD-51186 (08/18), pp. 1–3, has 15-day accident and illness waits, a 12-month hip dysplasia wait, no hip dysplasia cover for pets enrolled at 6 or older, and no exam-fee cover.

The NY amendment LD-51188 (01/19), pp. 1–3, permits repricing only on the policy anniversary, with 60 days’ notice. Claims experience cannot change the premium or coverage. It replaces the base cancellation provision with specified grounds after 60 days; the base wording alone is incomplete.

The separately linked claims-process endorsement PIM-52552 (08/19), p. 1, lets the insurer ask for the written enrollment-exam record when you claim. If you do not provide it, the waiting period ends on the later of two dates: the end of the longest applicable waiting period, or the date of the exam for the condition that led to the claim. The claim is then not processed, because the policy does not cover illness or injury that occurs during the waiting period. Ask which endorsements apply to your policy and keep that record. This is a policy term, not a New York statutory waiting period.

What we know about rates

Pets Best: a three-year term with annual repricing

The Pets Best selector, checked on 1 November 2026, links New York to an American Pet Insurance Company sample: APIC-PBI0001-ILL with NY amendment APIC-PBI0004-AE-ILL-NY, both dated December 2015. A separately accessible IAIC file is not proof that it is the policy offered in New York.

The amendment, PDF pages 23–25, gives a three-year term with annual premium adjustments for age and the cost of care, with 30 days’ notice. Three years of continuity is not three years at one price. Base §3.A excludes repricing based on the pet’s individual claims.

Base §3.B.3, page 9, requires cancellation and a new policy when adding a supplemental benefit or raising the annual limit, restarting waits and the pre-existing-condition review. The NY amendment does not replace that clause. These dated samples do not establish current availability or how the clause would apply to your issued contract. Ask for written confirmation before changing cover. See plan changes and continuity.

Individual rate filings remain outstanding

New York’s rate standard, §2303, prohibits excessive, inadequate and unfairly discriminatory rates. It sets no numerical annual pet-premium cap.

DFS’s personal inland-marine checklist expressly includes Pet Insurance Plans, code 09.0004, and describes prior approval of rates and forms. The statute is less clear-cut: §2305(a) generally does not require prior approval of rates, and inland marine is not among the lines for which §2305(b) requires it. The law also provides an informational filing route for rates outside prior approval. A11367, signed as chapter 150 of the laws of 2026, extended both rules through 30 June 2029. We have not resolved how the checklist and the statute apply to a particular pet filing, and we have not reviewed an individual New York filing to establish its procedure, rate change or age factors. There are no verified New York premium calculations or brand comparisons here yet.

How to obtain the documents

The DFS records page links some property/casualty rate, rule and form filings through SERFF Public Access. It also accepts Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. We have not checked which pet filings are visible in that search.

For a request, identify the legal insurer on your declarations page, the product, New York and the relevant dates. Ask for the policy form and state endorsements, rate manual, actuarial support, revisions, objections and disposition. DFS says whole filings generally cannot be designated confidential, although particular documents may be withheld under applicable law.

Before buying or changing cover, get the actual New York policy wording on waiting periods, pre-existing conditions and conditions first covered during the policy. The pending bills do not substitute for those terms.