Pet insurance in Wyoming

Which rules have been established

As of 11 November 2026, this review found no pet insurance law in Wyoming. All six specific guarantees in our state data remain unknown. General insurance rules and the terms of the contract apply.

The NAIC Summer 2026 chart shows No current activity for Wyoming. Title 26 of the Wyoming Statutes (the Insurance Code; the file on wyoleg.gov was updated on 8 May 2026) does not contain the words pet or pet insurance. A search of wyoleg.gov found no pet insurance bill; this is not a full search of every bill.

The closest the law comes is the list of kinds of insurance. §26-5-106(a)(xiii) puts insurance on livestock and services of a veterinary for those animals under casualty: that is farm animals. §26-5-106(a)(i)(B) names any loss, liability or expense resulting from or incidental to ownership, maintenance or use of any vehicle, aircraft or animal. The law does not expressly assign a policy for a cat’s or dog’s veterinary bills to any kind.

The Wyoming Department of Insurance treats it as inland marine. Its inland marine form filing checklist (code 9, revised 9 April 2025) has a separate line, Pet Insurance Plans, coded 9.0004. That is a classification for filings, not a set of owner rights.

On its consumer page the department itself warns that if your pet is treated for a covered condition, some companies may consider the condition to be pre-existing and will exclude coverage for the condition when the policy is renewed. We found no law that prohibits this. Renewal protection exists only in contracts: Pets Best and Embrace state it expressly; the Healthy Paws, Figo and ASPCA samples count pre-existing conditions from the start of coverage but do not say how renewal affects this.

Rates are not filed with the regulator

The rates chapter, Chapter 14, applies to every kind of insurance except those listed in §26-14-102(a): life, disability insurance (insurance on human beings, §26-5-103), reinsurance, aviation, title insurance, annuities, worker’s compensation and marine insurance as distinguished from inland marine. Inland marine, and with it pet insurance as the department classifies it, stays within the chapter.

The key provision is §26-14-102(b): No insurer shall be required to file any rates with the commissioner other than those for insurance not subject to this act or defined as noncompetitive in this act…. A market is presumed competitive unless the chapter provides otherwise (§26-14-104). In a competitive market an insurer only maintains its rates and supplementary rate information and makes them available to the commissioner upon his request (§26-14-107(a)). The law gives an owner no such right. The department’s checklist says the same: Companies must provide Rule or Manual information upon request.

In a competitive market the regulator has almost nothing to challenge a price with:

• excessive: In a competitive market rates shall not be considered excessive (§26-14-103(a)(iii));
• unfairly discriminatory: in a competitive market, only classification by race, color, creed or national origin (§26-14-103(a)(xii));
• the procedure for disapproving a rate in §26-14-108 is written only for noncompetitive markets.

A market becomes noncompetitive if fewer than five insurers are actually issuing the line (as determined by the commissioner), three insurers write more than 90% of the business, two write more than 80%, or there is reasonable evidence of collusion (§26-14-103(a)(vii)(D)). Rates are then filed at least 30 days before they take effect; the commissioner may extend that by up to 30 days; unless disapproved, the rate takes effect (§26-14-107(b)).

According to the 2025 NAIC report (details under “The market”), the two largest groups wrote 54.15% of pet insurance premium in Wyoming and the three largest 66.78%. The table lists ten groups, which together account for 98.67%. NAIC counts groups; the law counts insurers. An insurer’s share cannot exceed its group’s, so by our reading the 80% and 90% thresholds are not reached, and at least eleven insurers wrote premium. How many of them are actually issuing policies in the sense of the law has not been established. Nor is it clear what counts as the “line”: pet insurance on its own or all of inland marine. We found no determination by the commissioner that the market is noncompetitive; the department’s orders were not systematically searched.

What this means for an owner:

• the department may hold no pet insurance rates at all, unless the commissioner has asked for them;
• a large increase is not by itself a ground for disapproval;
• the commissioner must investigate a market at the request of at least 10% of the insureds in it, or of an organization representing them, but for the same line not more than once in three years (§26-14-106(d)–(e));
• an insurer may not charge more than the premium specified in the policy and fixed by the insurer itself (§26-13-121(a)(iii));
• the main protection, by our reading of Chapter 35, is the notice period: renewal at a higher rate or on less favorable terms must be announced 45 days ahead (see below).

No individual rate, pricing factor or size of any increase was established in this review.

Where a rate can be obtained

• From the department. Everything provided to the commissioner under Chapter 14 is open: All information provided to the insurance commissioner under this chapter shall be open to public inspection; copies are available on request for a reasonable fee (§26-14-107(c)). The department’s other records and filings are also open unless the Code provides otherwise (§26-2-113(b)). Rates will be there only if the commissioner asked for them; whether any such pet records exist has not been established.
• Under the Public Records Act (§§16-4-201 to 16-4-205) records are open to any person; the text contains no residency requirement (§16-4-202(a)). A readily available record is released immediately; others no later than 30 calendar days from acknowledged receipt of the request, unless there is good cause; a dispute can go to the ombudsman or the district court (§16-4-202(c)). Trade secrets are withheld unless otherwise provided by law (§16-4-203(d)(v)). By our reading, §26-14-107(c) is such a provision; how the department handles a claim of trade secrecy was not checked.
• A request goes through the form on the Legal page: name, email, organization if any, what you want and for what period. The form names no fee. It also says it is not to be used for licensing information, administrative actions and information on insurance company ratings; the request field says insurance company information. The Legal page sends licensing, administrative-action and other general questions to its Contact Us form. Whether a request for rate or form filings falls under that exclusion is unclear. We sent no requests.
• From the insurer. The law gives an owner no right to see the rating manual. If the price goes up or the terms get worse, by our reading you receive your own premium for the next term 45 days before renewal (§26-35-204), and once every 12 months, within 30 days of a written request, information on your claims and reserves (§26-3-131).
• SERFF was not opened. Whether Wyoming pet rates appear there has not been established.

Forms are easier: they are filed and approved (next section), so an approved contract can be requested from the department. The checklist names one more record: by 1 June each year an insurer submits a list of the forms filed or used in Wyoming in the previous year (Insurance Regulation Chapter 11, Section 6).

Policy forms are approved in advance

§26-15-110: a basic policy form, an application form that becomes part of the policy, riders, endorsements and renewal certificates may not be delivered in Wyoming until filed and approved. A form is filed at least 45 days before delivery. If the commissioner neither approves nor disapproves it within 45 days, it is deemed approved; the period can be extended by another 45 days. The exceptions include specially rated inland marine risks. The department’s inland marine checklist says without qualification: Prior approval required. By our reading, a standard pet insurance program does not fall within the exception.

The grounds for disapproval are in §26-15-111: the form violates the Code; it contains inconsistent, ambiguous or misleading clauses; its title or heading is misleading; it is illegible. Two more grounds, that benefits are unreasonable in relation to the premium and that rates are excessive, sit in one paragraph (ii), which says: This paragraph does not apply to any policy form for insurance except those lines of insurance deemed noncompetitive…. By our reading, in a competitive market a form cannot be disapproved for giving too little for its price.

A provision of an issued policy that does not comply with the Code is applied as if it did comply (§26-15-118(b)). Since 16 September 2025, a department rule has required a previously approved form that conflicts with later changes in statutes or rules to be updated and filed again before further delivery (memorandum of 24 September 2025).

Cancellation, nonrenewal and renewal on worse terms

Chapter 35 (§§26-35-101 to 26-35-204) contains general rules, not pet-specific ones. Its Article 2 applies to all property and casualty insurance as defined in W.S. 26-5-104 and 26-5-106 (§26-35-201). The department treats pet insurance as inland marine, and in the statute inland marine falls under a separate kind, marine and transportation insurance (§26-5-107). But the department’s inland marine checklist requires compliance with §§26-35-202 to 26-35-204, the Wyoming amendments of Healthy Paws and ASPCA follow these rules, and Figo’s Wyoming form reproduces §26-35-204 (its cancellation reasons are broader, see below). By our reading, these rules apply to pet policies; we found no court decision on the point.

Notices are delivered in person or mailed, to you and to the agent; a mailed notice is deemed given when deposited in the mail (§26-35-101). Trap: the 45 days run from mailing, not from receipt.

A notice may also be delivered electronically, but only if you affirmatively consented after the disclosures the law requires (§26-3-502(b)–(c)). Embrace V6 treats paying the premium as agreement to delivery by email, except for documents required to be delivered by another method; whether that meets §26-3-502 has not been established.

When it cancels or nonrenews for a reason other than nonpayment, the insurer must tell you, with the notice, that you have a right to request information about your claims (§26-3-131(b)). That section is also written for property and casualty insurance under §§26-5-104 and 26-5-106; the inland marine checklist cites it.

Claims: 45 days

§26-15-124(b): Claims for benefits under a property or casualty insurance policy shall be rejected or accepted and paid by the insurer or its agent designated to receive those claims within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the claim and supporting bills. The department’s inland marine checklist repeats the rule and adds: Payment cannot be contingent upon agreement, appraisal or judgment. Like Chapter 35, the rule is written for property and casualty insurance; by our reading, it also covers pet policies.

If a court finds that the insurer’s refusal to pay the full amount was unreasonable or without cause, it may award a reasonable attorney’s fee and interest at 10% a year (§26-15-124(c)). This is a power of the court, not an automatic penalty.

The unfair claims settlement practices law (§26-13-124) prohibits the following when committed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice:

• failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly on communications about claims;
• refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation;
• failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed;
• requiring a preliminary claim report and then formal proof of loss forms containing substantially the same information;
• failing to promptly give a reasonable explanation of the policy basis for a denial or a compromise offer.

We did not check the department’s rules for specific response deadlines: the rules database at rules.wyo.gov was not opened.

Some more general rules:

• on written request, the insurer furnishes proof-of-loss forms (§26-15-126);
• once every 12 months, within 30 days of a written request, the insurer reports claims closed in the last two years, open claims and reserves (§26-3-131(a));
• under the department’s policy, no policy in Wyoming may contain a mandatory arbitration clause, and arbitration results may not be binding without the right of appeal unless the parties agree to that by a separate agreement; arbitration is held in Wyoming (checklist, citing the Wyoming Constitution).

Time to sue. For a written contract, §1-3-105(a)(i) allows 10 years. The department’s checklist, citing the same §1-3-105, gives four years; in the text of the section four years applies to other actions, such as injury to personal property. The Healthy Paws and ASPCA amendments allow 48 months (Healthy Paws adds unless state law requires a longer period), Embrace V6 three years. Whether a contractual limit shorter than the statutory one is enforceable in Wyoming has not been established.

Complaints go to the department’s Consumer Affairs section.

The market

According to the NAIC 2025 market share report, page 256, direct written premiums for pet insurance in Wyoming were $4,275 thousand and direct earned premiums $4,103 thousand. Direct losses incurred were 51.21% of earned premium, against 68.10% for all states and territories in the same report (68.07% including Canada and aggregate other alien). NAIC notes that these loss ratios are calendar-year results, not measures of profitability. The three largest groups, JAB Holding Co Grp (29.96%), Trupanion Grp (24.19%) and Nationwide Corp Grp (12.63%), wrote 66.78% together. NAIC is an association of regulators; these are not the Wyoming department’s own figures. As far as we found, the department publishes no figures of its own for this market.

What the sample policies show

On 11 November 2026 we opened five brands’ document pages for Wyoming. Three have Wyoming forms or amendments.

The insurers in the samples: for Healthy Paws, Westchester Fire Insurance Company (the site’s general note names five Chubb companies; which one issues Wyoming policies has not been established); for Pets Best, Figo and ASPCA, Independence American Insurance Company; for Embrace, a company of the American Modern group. A sample does not establish that such a policy is issued today or that a new policy can be bought. Check your issued set: the declarations, the form and every endorsement.

What these samples show:

• The Wyoming amendments narrow cancellation. After 60 days Healthy Paws may cancel only for the four statutory reasons, with 45 days’ notice (20 days for nonpayment); in the general form the insurer could cancel with 90 days’ notice and no reason. After 59 days ASPCA keeps three reasons, with 45 days’ notice (10 for nonpayment), and gives 45 days’ notice of nonrenewal with the reason. Figo gives 60 days’ notice of cancellation after 60 days and of nonrenewal, with the reason and a copy to the agent.
• Notice periods in Embrace’s general form are shorter than Wyoming’s. V6: after 60 days, cancellation for a reason other than nonpayment on 30 days’ notice, nonrenewal on 30 days’ notice; the law requires 45 (§§26-35-202(b), 26-35-203). Its cancellation reasons include failure to provide requested information, a new policy with the same or an affiliated company, and a determination by the department; §26-35-202(a) contains no such reasons; §26-35-106 only lets a policy be transferred without a cancellation or nonrenewal notice to an affiliated insurer under common management and control after a merger, acquisition or restructuring, or if the coverage stays the same or broader. V6 has a clause conforming its terms to state statutes. Whether an issued Wyoming policy carries an amendment has not been established. This is our reading, not a finding of a violation. Figo’s list of reasons is also broader than the statute’s. See cancellation without cause.
• Only two of five state how far ahead a new price is announced. Figo: at least 45 days before any premium change, with the right to cancel the renewal, almost word for word §26-35-204. Healthy Paws: 60 days. ASPCA: You accept these changes by renewing your policy, no period stated. Embrace: You will be notified of changes in writing. Pets Best states no period. Figo may also change the premium mid-term for changes in your address, your pet’s details or other Policy parameters. See renewal changes.
• Two state a payment period. The Healthy Paws amendment: within forty-five (45) days after completion of the claim form (60 days in the general form). Figo: 30 days after receiving all necessary documentation. The others state none; §26-15-124(b) applies.
• Healthy Paws: the Wyoming wording on a veterinarian’s decision contradicts itself. In the general form, the decision of an independent veterinarian appointed by the insurer is final and binding on all parties. The Wyoming amendment keeps that sentence and adds: Both parties must agree to mediation/arbitration in writing in order for the decision to final and binding (sic). By our reading, the decision binds you only if you agreed to it in writing. At Pets Best the independent veterinarian’s decision binds the insurer, and arbitration is voluntary and non-binding. See disputes decided by the insurer.
• Embrace excludes orthopedic conditions for good. If signs of cruciate ligament disease, IVDD, patellar luxation or hip dysplasia appear in a dog in the first 180 days, the condition is pre-existing for the life of the policy. For bilateral conditions, signs on one side exclude the same condition on the other. See lifetime exclusions.
• Injury waits run from none to 15 days. An injury on day 10 is covered neither by ASPCA (14 days) nor by Healthy Paws (15 days). Embrace V6 says no waiting period applies to accidents, but its coverage clause covers conditions that started after the Illness Waiting Period, and conditions arising during that period are treated as pre-existing; how an accident in the first 14 days is handled has not been established.
• Fees. The law treats any fee in consideration for an insurance contract as part of the premium (§26-1-102(a)(xxii)), and the department’s checklist says: No policy fees, underwriting fees or paper fees. ASPCA’s Wyoming form keeps a non-refundable transaction fee for monthly payment; the enrollment fee in its New Mexico form is absent. Figo’s general form has installment and reinstatement fees; its Wyoming form has neither. Embrace V6: A reinstatement fee may be charged. Whether such fees are permitted in Wyoming has not been established.
• Early cancellation. Embrace and Figo: if you submitted a claim in the first 30 days, the premium for the first month is fully earned. Pets Best, on cancellation in the first 30 days, voids the policy from the start and denies pending and not-yet-submitted claims. See refund lost after an early claim.
• No exam record, no illness cover. The Healthy Paws CPE moves the end of the waiting period if you do not provide the enrollment-exam record. Without an exam in the 12 months before the start or within 14 days after it, Embrace V6 turns the policy into accident-only cover. See missing records move the waiting period.
• Healthy Paws excludes what “could have been detected”. Item II.4.h of the general form excludes abnormalities with clinical symptoms before the policy started: This includes conditions that are detectable by a routine physical exam by your veterinarian. See pre-existing because it would have been detectable.
• Raising coverage restarts the waiting period. For a higher limit Pets Best issues a new policy with a new pre-existing-condition review, Embrace V6 redetermines waiting periods and pre-existing conditions as of the date of the change, and Figo applies the waiting period again. See plan changes.
• Paid claims can be taken back. Embrace V6 and Figo reserve the right to recover payments made in error and to apply the terms retrospectively to paid claims. See paid claims taken back.
• Claim deadlines differ. Pets Best: 180 days from treatment. Figo: 180 calendar days or as soon as reasonably practicable. ASPCA: 270 days. Embrace V6: notice of loss within 60 days after the policy end date or renewal. See claim deadlines.

What to do

• Before buying, ask in writing which form and which Wyoming endorsements your policy will be issued on. On the pages we opened, Embrace and Pets Best show no Wyoming amendments.
• Keep the date you sent the claim with the bills. If after 45 days there is neither payment nor denial, write to the insurer citing W.S. 26-15-124(b).
• Check the date of the renewal notice. If a higher price or worse terms were announced less than 45 days ahead, you may cancel the renewal policy within 45 days after receiving them and pay for the time covered at the old price (§26-35-204(c)).
• If the insurer cancels or nonrenews, the notice must state the precise reason. Ask in writing for information about your claims: the answer is due within 30 days (§26-3-131).
• Do not sign an agreement making a veterinarian’s or arbitrator’s decision binding until you understand what you are giving up (Healthy Paws, Wyoming amendment, III.11).
• To find out whether the department holds rates or approved forms, send a request through the form on the Legal page: name the insurer, its NAIC code, the Pet Insurance Plans line (9.0004) and the years. If the department redirects you, use its Contact Us form.
• Complaints go to Consumer Affairs, telephone (307) 777-7402.