Cancelled for any reason, or on short notice

From Pet Insurance Wiki · last updated 19 Oct 2026
One of the most dangerous traps. Every example below comes from an insurer or regulator document, linked next to the quote. All traps

An insurer can cancel your policy or decline to renew it. If that happens once your pet is already sick, the next insurer will exclude that illness as pre-existing. In Texas, Fetch, Healthy Paws, Figo and Embrace may cancel a new policy for any reason in its first 60 days. In New Jersey, Healthy Paws may cancel a policy at any time on 90 days’ notice and does not have to give a reason. Below is where each of these is written.

How it works

An insurer can end a policy in three ways.

  1. Cancellation, in the middle of the policy term. Many policies allow it without limits in the first 60 days. After 60 days it is usually limited to a list of reasons: non-payment, fraud, breach of the policy terms. Some policies have no list.
  2. Non-renewal, at the end of the term. What matters is how many days’ notice the insurer must give and whether the reasons are limited.
  3. Cancellation for non-payment. If a payment fails and you don’t notice, the policy can be cancelled and the bills from the gap are not paid.

From the cancellation date the pet has no cover. The next insurer will exclude the conditions already in the vet record as pre-existing. Chronic conditions stay excluded for good. Some insurers cover curable ones again after a symptom-free period. Waiting periods start over. Why this is so is explained in the pet insurance trap and pre-existing conditions.

What the documents don’t show. None of the clauses on this page makes an honest claim a reason to cancel: claims come up only where they are fraudulent or misrepresented. Only Nationwide’s names the pet’s health, and only a risk that existed before the policy started. But “any reason” does not rule out a claim or a new diagnosis either. We show what the policy text allows. Whether a brand actually cancels policies this way, the documents don’t say. Policies that do name the pet’s health or claims as a reason are covered in dropped or downgraded after the pet gets sick.

The rules depend on the state. In Washington and Illinois, general insurance law limits cancellation or non-renewal, and in Pennsylvania it very likely does. In Texas we found no such law for pet insurance. The state laws are summarized in pet insurance laws by state.

Examples

Texas: any reason in the first 60 days

In Texas, Fetch, Healthy Paws, Figo and Embrace may cancel a new policy for any reason in its first 60 days, for example right after the first claim. This applies only to a new policy’s first term. After 60 days, and at Fetch, Figo and Embrace also on a renewed policy, cancellation is allowed only for listed reasons. More on the state: Texas.

  • Fetch (AXIS Insurance Co.). “If this policy has been in effect for 60 days or less, we may cancel for any reason.” The only exception: the policy cannot be cancelled solely because the policyholder is an elected official. Notice: 10 days. After 60 days, only for listed reasons, but the list includes “Your use or threat of violence or aggressive behavior” and “Your use of foul or abusive behavior”. Fetch may decline to renew for any reason other than the same elected-official one: the Texas endorsement does not limit the reasons. It must give 60 days’ notice. If the notice is late, the policy stays in effect until the 61st day after it was sent. Source: Fetch, Texas sample policy, GPTM 050 1125 A with endorsement GPTM 100-TX 0124 A, section V, PDF pp. 19–20.
  • Healthy Paws (Westchester Fire Insurance Co.). The same wording: “If this policy has been in effect for 60 days or less, we may cancel for any reason.” The Texas endorsement states no notice period. It replaces the base-policy clause that let the insurer cancel at any time on 90 days’ notice. The policy renews every month and has no separate non-renewal clause. Source: Healthy Paws, Amendatory Endorsement – Texas, LD-51409 (11/18), section C, p. 1.
  • Figo (Independence American Insurance Co.). “We may cancel this Policy at any time within the first sixty (60) days of the Policy period.” No reasons are listed. Notice: 30 days. For non-renewal Figo gives 60 days’ notice and states the reason. If the notice is late, cover continues until 61 days after it was sent. The same 60-day clause is in Figo’s policies for Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. Source: Figo, Texas policy, IAIC FPI POL AI TX 1025, Part VI, “Cancellation” and “Nonrenewal”.
  • Embrace. “We may cancel this policy at any time within the first sixty (60) days of the policy period.” Notice: 10 days. For non-renewal Embrace gives only 30 days’ notice: “Notice, including the reason for nonrenewal, will be mailed at least thirty (30) days before the end of the policy period.” Fetch and Figo give 60 days in Texas. The V6 text is not Texas-only: Embrace’s site sends Texas, 46 other states and Washington, D.C. to it. Source: Embrace, policy terms V6, Part VI, “Cancellation” and “Nonrenewal”.

What the law says. We found no Texas law that limits these clauses for pet insurance. The rules on 60 days, listed reasons and notice in Insurance Code chapter 551, Subchapter B (§§551.052–.054), apply to liability and commercial property insurance. Fetch, Healthy Paws and Figo copied them into their policies voluntarily. The rules for personal policies (Subchapter C, §§551.104–.105, and 28 TAC §5.7007) cover auto, homeowners, farm and a few other kinds of policies, not pets. The only rule that clearly applies to pet policies is §551.152: a policy cannot be cancelled or non-renewed solely because the policyholder is an elected official. So we found nothing in Texas law that overrides Embrace’s 30 days or the 60-day “any reason” window.

Pennsylvania: each brand has its own rules

More on the state: Pennsylvania.

  • Nationwide (National Casualty Co.). In the Pennsylvania Modular (VS-G-15-PA) and Whole Pet (VS-G-11-PA) forms the insurer may cancel by written notice sent ten days ahead “or at the time required by the law of your state of residence”. There is no requirement to give a reason. The Modular form also lists reasons to cancel or non-renew, and one of them is: “An increased risk associated with your pet’s health that existed before the original policy inception date, of which we were unaware at the original policy inception date.” The owner need not have hidden anything; it is enough that the insurer did not know. The Whole Pet form has no such clause. The same clause is in the Modular forms for Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, Alaska, Delaware, Nebraska, Ohio, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Sources: Nationwide, Modular Pet Insurance Coverage Form VS-G-15-PA (9-24), p. 10, §17 B and C; Nationwide, Whole Pet Coverage Form VS-G-11-PA (9-24), p. 6, §10.B.
  • Embrace and Figo. In the first 60 days: at any time, no reason needed. Embrace gives 10 days’ notice, Figo 30. After 60 days or on a renewed policy: only for listed reasons. Embrace: “After this policy is in effect for more than sixty (60) days, or if this is a Renewal or continuation policy, we may only cancel for one or more of the following reasons”. Both lists include non-payment, fraud or misrepresentation, moving the policy to an affiliated company, a regulator’s ruling, and breach of the policy terms. Embrace’s list also includes failing to provide requested information and a claim made on false information to defraud the insurer. The pet getting sick is not on either list. Sources: Embrace, V6, Part VI, “Cancellation”; Figo, IAIC FPI POL PA 0424, p. 11, “Cancellation”.
  • Healthy Paws and ASPCA. The policy can be cancelled if “there has been a substantial change or increase in hazard in the risk assumed by us subsequent to the date the policy was issued”. Notice: at least 30 days. At Healthy Paws the notice must state the specific reason. It sounds alarming, but it is word for word from the state statute, and that statute uses the list to restrict the insurer, not to widen its rights. The policies do not define “hazard”. No document says a new diagnosis counts as an increase in hazard. At Healthy Paws, the Pennsylvania endorsement replaced the base-policy right to cancel for any reason on 90 days’ notice. ASPCA’s form gives no right to cancel for any reason in the first 60 days. Spot’s and Fetch’s Pennsylvania policies use the same “hazard” wording. Sources: Healthy Paws, Amendatory Endorsement – Pennsylvania, PI-50810 (09/24), p. 2, §D; ASPCA, Accident & Illness Policy, PET-P-20000-PA-0425, p. 9, “When We Cancel”.

What the law says. Pennsylvania’s Unfair Insurance Practices Act, §5(a)(9) (40 P.S. §1171.5), covers policies on the personal property of individuals that have been in force 60 days or more. Such a policy can be cancelled or non-renewed only for misrepresentation or concealment, a substantial change or increase in hazard after issue, an increase in hazard caused by the insured, non-payment, or another reason the Insurance Commissioner approves. Notice must go out at least 30 days ahead, state the specific reason, and tell the insured they can ask the Commissioner to review the decision within 10 days. The first 60 days of a new policy are not protected (§5(c)(3)). Pennsylvania’s pet insurance law (40 Pa.C.S. chapter 47) defines a pet policy as “a property insurance policy” but has no cancellation rule of its own. That §5(a)(9) applies to pet insurance is our inference, though a strong one: Healthy Paws, ASPCA, Spot and Fetch copied its list into their policies word for word. If it does, Nationwide’s 10-day, no-reason cancellation does not meet the law once a policy has been in force 60 days (the form itself defers to state law). The clause about a risk “of which we were unaware” is also in doubt: the statute has no such reason. Text of the Act, PDF p. 4.

New Jersey: Healthy Paws, 90 days’ notice and no reason

Healthy Paws (Westchester Fire Insurance Co.) may cancel for non-payment on 20 days’ notice. Beyond that: “Otherwise, we may cancel this policy by providing you at least ninety (90) days written notice.” There is no list of reasons and no requirement to give one. The New Jersey endorsement (LD-50807 (07/18)) changes only the fraud clause, so this clause stands as written.

The same policy makes a promise: “Your coverage, coinsurance, and deductible will not change due to your pet’s claims experience.” You could argue that this rules out cancelling over claims. But the cancellation clause itself has no such exception. As written, the insurer could drop a pet with a costly chronic illness, and the next insurer would exclude it as pre-existing. Whether Healthy Paws does this, the documents don’t show. The policy renews every month while premiums are paid, and the deductible runs over 12 months.

Source: Westchester Fire, Pet Health Insurance Policy (sample), LD-50812 (07/18): IV.2.a on p. 4, III.1 on p. 3, I.6 on p. 1. This is the sample Healthy Paws links on its New Jersey documents page.

What the law says. We found no limits. New Jersey’s pet insurance act (N.J.S.A. 17:46D, in force from 1 January 2027) says nothing about cancellation. N.J.S.A. 17:29C-1 only lets the Commissioner require 30 days’ notice, and 90 is more. We did not check the state’s regulations (N.J.A.C.). More on the state: New Jersey.

In other states. The same 90-day, no-reason clause stands unchanged in Arizona, California and Ohio. In Washington it stays, but the notice must state the reason. In Texas, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia the endorsements replace it. In Texas, Illinois and New York only listed reasons are allowed after 60 days; in Pennsylvania only listed reasons, with 30 days’ notice. Georgia’s endorsement does not limit the reasons and shortens the notice: 10 days in the first 60 days, 45 days after that.

Washington: Spot and ASPCA, any reason as long as it is stated

Spot and ASPCA accident-and-illness policies in Washington are written by United States Fire Insurance Company. The base form has five reasons for cancellation and 30 days’ notice. The Washington endorsement deletes that list. In its place, apart from non-payment (10 days), it says: “Otherwise, we may cancel this plan by providing you at least 45 days written notice, stating the reason for cancellation.” A reason must be stated, but the policy puts no limit on what it can be.

What the law says. Since 1 July 2025, for policies issued or renewed on or after that date, Washington law requires at least 60 days’ notice and the insurer’s actual reason (RCW 48.18.290 as amended by SSB 5798). The endorsement’s 45 days is below that minimum. The policy’s Conformity to State Statutes clause raises it to 60. The statute does not limit the reasons, so the right to cancel for a stated reason stands. The published samples still carry the 2018 endorsement. We did not check whether the insurer has filed a newer one.

The same policy says: “Coverage and rates are subject to change at renewal. Your renewal declarations page will specify the coverage and rates that apply. You accept these changes by renewing your policy.” The policy renews automatically. Under RCW 48.18.2901(2) the insurer must, at least 20 days before the term ends, send written notice of any premium increase and explain any change in the contract. If it doesn’t, it must renew on the old rates and terms.

Source: United States Fire Insurance Co., Accident and Illness Coverage, PET-P-20030-0124-USFWA-(3), pp. 8–9, with endorsement PET-AE-20060-WA-0918 (PDF p. 10) (Spot sample); the same text in the ASPCA sample. Spot’s and ASPCA’s Arizona policies (Independence American) keep the five-reason list and 30 days’ notice.

Illinois: non-renewal on 30 days’ notice

Pets Best (Independence American) and Embrace promise only to mail a non-renewal notice, with the reason, at least 30 days before the term ends. Pets Best: “If We elect to non-renew, We will mail You and Your agent, if applicable, advance written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of the Policy Renewal Date.” Embrace: “Notice, including the reason for nonrenewal, will be mailed at least thirty (30) days before the end of the policy period.” The Illinois policies of Spot and ASPCA (also Independence American), Fetch and Figo promise at least 60 days.

If the policy is not renewed, the next insurer will exclude the conditions already in the vet record as pre-existing and start new waiting periods. The shorter the notice, the less time you have to find cover.

What the law says. For notices sent through 31 December 2026, 30 days is the Illinois minimum for personal policies (215 ILCS 5/143.17(a)), and the reason must be stated (143.17(e)). From 1 January 2027, Public Act 104-0534 raises the minimum to 60 days. The 30-day wording will then fall short of the law, and the statute will control. Embrace’s own policy conforms to state law: “When this policy’s provisions conflict with the statutes of the state in which this policy is issued, the terms and conditions are amended to conform to such statutes.” If an insurer does not comply, the policy ends only when the insured gets similar insurance elsewhere (143.17(c)). One caveat: the legislature’s website also shows versions of 143.17 from P.A. 104-752 and 104-753 (from 1 July 2027) that still read 30 days. Those Acts amend only subsection b-5, on the renewal-premium notice. We read them together with 104-0534 and take the 60-day rule to stand. This is our reading; there is no court ruling. More on the state: Illinois.

For comparison: Pets Best’s base policies for Texas and New Jersey (Independence American) have no non-renewal clause at all. They say the policy “will remain in force until cancelled and will renew automatically every year as long as your premium payments are current.” In Illinois it is the endorsement that adds an explicit right not to renew. In Washington (American Pet Insurance Company) the base form has no such clause either, but the state endorsement requires at least 60 days’ notice, with the actual reason, of a cancellation or non-renewal for any reason other than non-payment.

Sources: Pets Best, Illinois policy IAIC-PB10001-ILL with endorsement IAIC-PB10001-AE-IL, item G (new Section 10.D), PDF p. 18; Pets Best, Washington sample policy, endorsement APIC-PBI0004-AE-ILL-WA, item 3, PDF p. 27; Embrace, V6, Part VI, “Nonrenewal” and “Conformity to State Statutes”; Public Act 104-0534.

Non-payment: backdated cancellation and an unpaid gap (Pets Best and Healthy Paws, Washington)

  • Pets Best (American Pet Insurance Company). If a premium is unpaid, Pets Best may cancel by sending a notice, with the reason, at least 30 days ahead. If you still have not paid by the cancellation date, “the Company will cancel your policy back to 10 days after the date to which your premiums were pre-paid.” And “No coverage is provided for any treatment costs or losses incurred during times your policy is not in force.” So bills from that date on, including those run up during the notice period, are not paid. The first 10 days after the paid-through date are covered. Getting the policy back is at Pets Best’s option: you must ask within 15 days of the effective date of cancellation and pay the full past-due premium, and the policy goes through underwriting review. If it is refused, a new policy means new waiting periods and new pre-existing exclusions. In California the same base form backdates the cancellation to the paid-through date itself, with no 10-day buffer. Pets Best’s Independence American form for Texas gives 15 days’ notice and also cancels back to the paid-through date.
  • Healthy Paws (Westchester Fire). “When you have not paid the premium, we may cancel this policy. We will let you know at least twenty (20) days before the date cancellation takes effect.” The notice goes only to your last known email address. “No coverage will be provided for any claim with a date of veterinary treatment between the premium due date and the cancellation date, unless the premium payments are current.” Healthy Paws does not backdate the cancellation, but it refuses claims from the unpaid gap until payments are brought up to date. The same text is in the LD-50812 samples for Louisiana and Texas.

The loss can be avoided: pay the overdue premium before the cancellation date (Pets Best) or bring payments up to date (Healthy Paws). The real risk is a failed payment you don’t notice or can’t fix in time.

What the law says. Washington’s pet insurance law (RCW 48.205) says nothing about non-payment. The general code (RCW 48.18.290(1)(c)) requires at least 10 days’ notice of a non-payment cancellation; Pets Best (30) and Healthy Paws (20) give more. One question is open: if Pets Best mails the notice after the paid-through date, does a cancellation backdated to 10 days after that date still meet the law? We found no statute, rule or ruling that answers it, and we do not claim a conflict.

Sources: Pets Best, Washington sample policy: base form APIC-PBI0001-ILL (12/2015), sections 4.B and 4.F (PDF p. 13), endorsement APIC-PBI0004-AE-ILL-WA (06/2025), item 2 (PDF p. 26); Healthy Paws, Washington sample policy, LD-50812 (07/18), Section III, item 1 (PDF p. 4); Healthy Paws, Washington endorsement LD-50798 (09/23), which leaves III.1 unchanged; the email notice is in its item E, Section IV, item 2.a (p. 3).

What it looks like, day by day

The documents give no prices, so these examples use days only. The dates are illustrative.

Embrace in Texas, cancellation in the first 60 days.

  1. The policy starts on 1 May.
  2. On 10 June, day 41, you file your first claim.
  3. As the policy is written, the insurer can send a cancellation notice the same day. The policy can then end as early as 20 June, ten days later.
  4. The next insurer excludes the illness from that claim as pre-existing and sets its own waiting periods.

Pets Best in Washington, a failed payment.

  1. Premiums are paid through 1 March. The next payment fails.
  2. In early March, Pets Best sends a notice: the policy will be cancelled in no less than 30 days.
  3. You miss the notice and don’t pay by the cancellation date.
  4. The policy is cancelled back to 11 March. A vet visit on 5 March is covered. A visit on 20 March is not, even though the notice period was still running.
  5. Pets Best may reinstate the policy at its option, if you pay the full past-due premium and ask within 15 days of the effective date of cancellation.

What to do

  • Read the sample policy for your state, not the general page. Look for the “Cancellation” and “Nonrenewal” sections. Check four things: whether the policy can be cancelled in the first 60 days without a reason; whether there is a list of reasons after that; how many days’ notice is given; whether the notice must state a reason.
  • Before buying, ask in writing: “Can you cancel or decline to renew my policy because of claims or a new diagnosis?” Keep the answer.
  • Compare brands in your state. In Illinois, Spot, ASPCA, Fetch and Figo give 60 days’ notice of non-renewal; Pets Best and Embrace give 30. In Pennsylvania, after 60 days Embrace and Figo can cancel only for listed reasons, and the pet’s illness is not one of them. Healthy Paws’ 90-day, no-reason cancellation applies in New Jersey, Arizona, California and Ohio; in Texas, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania stricter rules replace it; in Georgia the notice is shorter.
  • The first 60 days are the most exposed. Embrace’s V6 terms (used in most states) and Figo’s policies for Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania let the insurer cancel at any time during this period, with no list of reasons. In Texas so can Fetch and Healthy Paws. Don’t cancel your old policy until this period and the new policy’s waiting period have passed.
  • If you get a notice, check the period. In Washington, for policies issued or renewed from 1 July 2025, a cancellation other than for non-payment needs at least 60 days’ notice and the actual reason. In Illinois, from 1 January 2027, non-renewal needs at least 60 days’ notice. In Pennsylvania, once a policy has been in force 60 days, and if the law applies, the notice must give 30 days and a specific reason from the statute’s list, and you can ask the Insurance Commissioner to review it within 10 days. If the notice is shorter, cite the law and complain to the state regulator.
  • Don’t miss payments. Keep a backup card on file and watch your email: Healthy Paws sends non-payment notices only by email. Pay the overdue amount before the cancellation date. If the policy is cancelled, ask Pets Best to reinstate it at once: the request must come within 15 days of the effective date of cancellation.
  • Keep copies of the policy and every notice. Without them you have nothing to show the regulator.

Sources

History

  1. First published