Claim in the first month, lose the refund

In the first 30 days you can cancel a policy and get all your money back. But only if you have not claimed. At most insurers one claim in the first month, even a denied one, and the full refund is gone: Figo and Embrace keep the first month’s premium. At Pets Best only a paid claim counts, but the full refund comes with a denial of pending and not-yet-submitted claims.

How it works

Every insurer on this page gives you a window to return the policy: a “free look”, a “Money Back Guarantee” or a “trial period”. It is usually 30 days from the policy start date. Cancel within it and you get all the premium back.

The right has a condition: no claims. What counts as a “claim” differs by insurer:

• Figo and Embrace: a claim was submitted. Whether it was paid or denied does not matter.
• Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin: a claim was submitted, or a covered vet bill was applied to your deductible. Even if the insurer paid nothing.
• Healthy Paws: a claim was submitted.
• Pets Best: a claim was paid. This is the mildest condition, but it has its own price (see below).

You lose the 100% refund, but at most insurers part of the premium still comes back:

• Figo and Embrace keep the first month’s premium and refund what you paid for later months.
• Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin refund the premium for the days after your cancellation date.
• Pets Best refunds unearned premium pro rata.
• The Healthy Paws form does not say what is refunded after a claim.

That is why this trap is rated low: usually about one month’s premium or less is at stake. The harder part is elsewhere. Pets Best’s 100% refund costs you the policy: it is treated as void from the start, and pending and not-yet-submitted claims are denied.

The claim condition is legal in the states we checked. In the NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act, on which many state pet insurance laws are based, the right to return the policy itself depends on there being no claim (§4B(1): “Unless the insured has filed a claim…”). Pennsylvania’s and New Jersey’s laws are written the same way. Texas and Illinois have no pet insurance law at all.

Examples

Figo, Texas

The “Cancellation Refund” section of Figo’s Texas policy. A full refund requires written notice within 30 days of the Original Start Date and no claim. If there was a claim:

“If You have made a Claim within thirty (30) days of the effective date, the premiums paid for or allocable to the first month of Coverage become fully earned upon the submittal of the Claim, and You will only receive a refund for any premiums paid for periods beyond the first month.”

The key words are “upon the submittal”. The outcome of the claim plays no part. If you pay monthly, by then you have usually paid only for the first month, so nothing comes back.

Texas has no pet insurance law. Pet insurance there is a non-regulated line (inland marine), and the state does not approve policy forms. More on the Texas page.

Source: Figo, Independence American Insurance Co. policy, form IAIC FPI POL AI TX 1025, Texas, Part VI General Provisions, “Cancellation Refund”, p. 9.

Figo, Pennsylvania, Illinois and other states. Washington is different

The same sentence, word for word, is in Figo’s policies for Pennsylvania (IAIC FPI POL PA 0424, p. 11), Illinois (IAIC FPI POL IL 1025), Arizona (IAIC FPI POL AZ 1025) and Indiana (IAIC FPI POL AI IN 1025).

In Pennsylvania the law expressly allows this condition: the 30-day right to return the policy “shall not apply if the individual is an insured who has filed a claim” (40 Pa.C.S. §4704(b)). Figo is no stricter than the law: it still refunds premium beyond the first month. More on the Pennsylvania page. Illinois has no pet insurance law.

Figo’s Washington policy (IAIC FPI POL WA 0724 AI2) does not have this paragraph. It has two rules: a full refund within 30 days if there was no claim, and a pro-rata refund after 30 days. It says nothing about a claim filed in the first 30 days. More on the Washington page.

Sources: Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL PA 0424, Pennsylvania, Part VI, “Cancellation Refund”, p. 11; Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL IL 1025, Illinois, Part VI; Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL WA 0724 AI2, Washington, “Cancellation Refund”, p. 10.

Embrace, most states

Embrace uses one set of terms for 48 states: “Embrace Pet Health Insurance V6” (insurer American Modern). The state selector on Embrace’s site leads to V6 for Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania alike. Its “Cancellation Refund” section has the same sentence as Figo’s:

“If you have made a Claim within thirty (30) days of the effective date, the premiums paid for or allocable to the first month of Coverage become fully earned upon the submittal of the Claim”

It goes on: “you will only receive a refund for any premiums paid for periods beyond the first month.”

The V6 cover sheet has a second right: to return the policy within 15 days of receiving it, “as long as you have not filed a claim”. Same condition.

For Pennsylvania there is a gap with the law here. The law gives 30 days to return the policy (40 Pa.C.S. §4704(a)), while the V6 cover sheet gives only 15. In practice the “Cancellation Refund” section still gives a full refund within 30 days if there was no claim, so the gap does not change this trap.

Version V5 (Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina) has the same text. The “fully earned” paragraph is also in the Embrace policy in California rate filing 26-812 (2026).

Source: Embrace Pet Health Insurance V6, Part VI Other Terms and Conditions, “Cancellation Refund”; cover sheet.

Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin, Texas

In the samples we read, Spot, ASPCA and Pumpkin sell policies from the same insurer, Independence American (IAIC), on one form, PET-P-20000. The “Money Back Guarantee” section:

“we will refund the premium paid if no covered expenses have been applied to your deductible or reimbursed. If you submitted a claim during this time period, we will refund any premium in accordance with the When You Cancel section below.”

And “When You Cancel” says:

“We will refund any premium that you have already paid for any period after your last date of coverage.”

Two things end the guarantee here: a submitted claim, or a covered vet bill applied to your deductible or reimbursed. If the bill only went toward your deductible, you received no money, but the guarantee is already gone. On the other hand, Spot does not keep the whole first month: it refunds the premium for the days after your cancellation date.

Spot’s Texas amendatory endorsement (PET-AE-20000-TX-0723) changes the renewal terms, claim deadlines and cancellation by the insurer. It leaves the Money Back Guarantee and “When You Cancel” unchanged.

The same wording is in the samples for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

Source: IAIC, Accident & Illness Policy PET-P-20000-1024, Texas sample V47, with endorsement PET-AE-20000-TX-0723, “Policy Cancellation” (Money Back Guarantee and When You Cancel), p. 7 of 8.

ASPCA, Pennsylvania and Illinois

ASPCA’s Pennsylvania sample (PET-P-20000-PA-0425) has the same guarantee on p. 8: “we will refund the premium paid if no covered expenses have been applied to your deductible or reimbursed.” If there was a claim, the refund follows “When You Cancel” on p. 9: premium for the time after coverage ends. Pennsylvania law (§4704(b)) allows this condition.

The Illinois text is the same (Spot PET-P-20000-IL-1024, p. 7; ASPCA’s Illinois sample matches). The Illinois amendatory endorsement PET-AE-20000-IL-0723 does not change it. The same guarantee is in ASPCA’s samples for Florida, Texas (V47) and New Jersey (V45).

Sources: ASPCA, Accident & Illness sample policy PET-P-20000-PA-0425, “Money Back Guarantee”, p. 8; “When You Cancel”, p. 9; IAIC V47 sample for Illinois, p. 7.

Pets Best, Texas, Illinois, Arizona and New Jersey

Section 1.B “New policyholder trial period”:

“You can cancel your policy for any reason within 30 days of the Policy Effective Date and the company will refund 100% of any premium paid as long as no claims have been paid. This will void the policy form from the beginning, and any pending or not yet submitted claims will be denied.”

Pets Best’s condition is milder than the others’: you lose the full refund only after a paid claim. But the full refund has a price. The policy is voided from day one, and the insurer denies pending and not-yet-submitted claims. The choice is:

• take 100% of the premium and lose the payout on the open claim;
• or cancel the ordinary way and get a pro-rata refund under section 10.B: “Any unearned collected premium will be refunded pro rata upon policy cancellation.” Section 10 says nothing about denying claims filed earlier.

If a claim has already been paid, only the pro-rata refund is left.

Section 1.B is word for word the same in the samples for Texas, Illinois, Arizona and New Jersey. The Illinois amendatory endorsement IAIC-PB10001-AE-IL does not change it. The California form (IAIC-PBI0001-ILL (02/2023)) also says: “This will void the policy from the beginning.”

Where 1.B is not in force. In Florida and Pennsylvania, Pets Best’s endorsements delete 1.B. In its place is the state-law right to return the policy: 30 days, and the policy is void as if never issued. But the condition there is stricter: “as long as you have not filed a claim”, meaning any claim filed, not only a paid one. In Washington, Pets Best’s policy comes from another insurer, American Pet Insurance Company (APIC). It has the same trial-period clause (section 4.I), but the Washington endorsement replaces it with the same state-law right: 30 days from receiving the policy, “as long as you have not filed a claim”.

New Jersey from 2027. On 1 January 2027 the state’s pet insurance law (P.L. 2025 c.224) takes effect. It gives 30 business days to return the policy from receiving it, longer than the policy’s 30 calendar days from the start date. The right is lost once any claim is filed (N.J.S.A. 17:46D-7b(1)). So on the claim condition, Pets Best is more lenient than the law. The policy itself says terms that conflict with state law are reformed to comply (section 11.A). So from 2027 the longer statutory window should apply. More on the New Jersey page.

Sources: Pets Best, Accident and Illness sample policy IAIC-PB10001-ILL, Texas, with notice IAIC-NOTICE-TX-2023, section 1.B, p. 3; section 10.B, p. 12; the same, Illinois, section 1.B, p. 3; the same, New Jersey, section 1.B, p. 3; sections 10.B and 11.A, p. 12.

Healthy Paws

Westchester Fire policy LD-50812 (07/18), section IV.5 “Free Look Period”:

“If you are not satisfied with this policy within thirty (30) days of the Policy Effective Date, you may cancel your insurance. We will refund your premium in full, as long as you have not submitted a claim.”

This is the same form for Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The endorsements for those states do not change section IV.5.

The form does not say what is refunded after a claim. It has no separate clause refunding unearned premium on an ordinary cancellation (Healthy Paws bills monthly). The form used in New Jersey says you cancel by written notice, by mail, fax or email, “at least fourteen (14) days in advance of your next premium payment” (section III.2). In Pennsylvania the endorsement replaces this rule: you can cancel in writing or verbally, with no 14-day notice. In Illinois the endorsement rewrites the separate cancellation condition (IV.2) and asks for advance written notice by mail.

Source: Healthy Paws, Westchester Fire, Pet Health Insurance Policy LD-50812 (07/18), section IV.5, p. 5; section III.2, p. 3 (linked from the New Jersey documents page).

One more consequence of an early claim: Healthy Paws

At Healthy Paws, the first claim closes more than the full refund. You can ask in writing to raise your deductible and your share of the bill at any time. Lowering them is only an application the insurer must approve, and you can apply only if you have never filed a claim for that pet (section III.7): “You may apply to lower the deductible or coinsurance amount applicable to your pet provided you have not previously filed a claim with us for that pet.” After one claim, even in the first month, you can no longer apply to lower them. More in the trap on changing your plan.

Source: Healthy Paws, LD-50812 (07/18), Pennsylvania sample, section III.7, p. 4 of 6. The Pennsylvania endorsement PI-50810 (09/24) does not change III.7.

Wellness add-ons: a bill when you cancel early (Pumpkin, Embrace)

This is not about claims, but it costs money in the same situation: you cancel in the first months. Embrace and Pumpkin sell wellness plans next to their insurance, and these plans are not insurance. Embrace’s is Wellness Rewards, an add-on to its insurance. Pumpkin has two: Preventive Essentials, only for pets insured with Pumpkin, and the standalone Pumpkin Wellness Club. You can use the whole year’s benefit early and pay for it through monthly fees. If the plan ends mid-year after paying you more than you have paid in fees, you can be charged the difference.

Pumpkin Preventive Essentials ends together with the insurance (customer agreement, section 6(c)):

“Pumpkin Preventive Essentials shall automatically terminate at any time immediately upon termination or expiration of your Pumpkin Pet Insurance policy or if your Pumpkin Preventative Essentials Fees are unpaid for a period of sixty (60) days.”

The bill is not the cost of what you used but the difference between what the plan paid you and what you paid in. If you cancel the plan yourself, “you will owe Pumpkin an Outstanding Balance equal to the actual amount refunded to you for any Preventive Essentials Claims during that plan year less the aggregate amount of Fees paid by you during that plan year” (section 6(a)). Pumpkin’s own example: $75 paid out, $15 paid in fees, $60 owed. When the plan ends automatically with the insurance, the agreement says you “may owe” this balance. So cancelling Pumpkin insurance, for example to switch insurers, can bring a bill for the wellness plan. Pumpkin Wellness Club has the same rule for members who pay monthly (“Outstanding Fees”); members who paid for the year get no refund.

Embrace’s wording is softer: “if you use more Rewards than you’ve paid into the program for membership dues and cancel early, we may collect any outstanding balance.” Embrace’s terms do not say whether Wellness Rewards ends when the insurance is cancelled.

None of these documents has an exception for a pet that has died. Pennsylvania law (40 Pa.C.S. §4708) regulates how insurers sell such plans: buying one cannot be a condition of buying insurance, and the buyer must get a notice in bold type that it is not insurance. It does not limit charges on cancellation. Preventive Essentials is not sold in California, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington; Wellness Rewards is not sold in Rhode Island.

Sources: Pumpkin Preventive Essentials Customer Agreement, version 4.0, eligibility terms, sections 6(a) and 6(c); Pumpkin Wellness Club Membership Agreement, version 1.4, section 6(a); Embrace, Wellness Rewards Terms of Service.

What it looks like for an owner

1. You buy a policy. On day 10 your dog has an ear infection. You see the vet and file a claim.
2. On day 20 you find a policy that suits you better and want to cancel the first one.
3. Figo or Embrace. The insurer keeps the first month’s premium, even if the claim was denied. If you paid for the year up front, you get the other months back. If you pay monthly, you get nothing back.
4. Spot, ASPCA or Pumpkin. You get back the premium for the days after your cancellation date. You still pay for the 20 days you were covered. The same applies if the bill was only applied to your deductible.
5. Pets Best, claim not yet paid. You can take 100% of the premium, but then the ear claim is denied. Or you cancel the ordinary way, get a pro-rata refund and keep the claim.
6. Pets Best, claim already paid. Only a pro-rata refund.

There are no dollar amounts in this example: the documents we read give no prices, and we will not make them up. The order of magnitude is about one month’s premium.

What to do

• Decide whether to keep the policy before your first claim. If you are unsure, read the whole policy in the first days. How to read a policy and what to check before buying is in the guide on how to choose.
• Find the refund section in your policy. Look for “Cancellation Refund”, “Money Back Guarantee”, “trial period” or “Free Look”. Check what ends the full refund: a submitted claim, a bill applied to the deductible, or a paid claim.
• At Pets Best, compare before you cancel how much you would get on the open claim and how much premium. If the claim is worth more, cancel the ordinary way (section 10.B), not under the trial period (1.B). Ask the insurer to confirm in writing which section the cancellation is processed under.
• Cancel in writing and on time. At Figo, a full refund needs written notice within 30 days of the start date. At Healthy Paws in New Jersey: in writing, at least 14 days before the next payment.
• At Healthy Paws, pick your deductible before the first claim. After it you cannot lower it.
• Before cancelling insurance that has a wellness add-on, check the add-on’s balance. Pumpkin’s Preventive Essentials ends with the insurance. If it has paid you more than your fees that plan year, you can be billed the difference.
• If you are in New Jersey and bought the policy on or after 1 January 2027, the law gives you 30 business days from receiving the policy, not 30 calendar days from the start date, provided there was no claim.

Why it matters most to choose the right insurer the first time is in the pet insurance trap: after the first entry in the vet record, any new insurer will exclude what is already in it.

Insurer pages: Figo, Embrace, Spot, ASPCA, Pumpkin, Pets Best, Healthy Paws.

Sources

• Figo, Independence American Insurance Co. policy, IAIC FPI POL AI TX 1025, Texas: DOCX. Part VI General Provisions, “Cancellation Refund”, p. 9.
• Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL PA 0424, Pennsylvania: PDF. Part VI, “Cancellation Refund”, p. 11.
• Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL IL 1025, Illinois: DOCX. Part VI, “Cancellation Refund”. The same wording is in IAIC FPI POL AZ 1025 and IAIC FPI POL AI IN 1025.
• Figo, policy IAIC FPI POL WA 0724 AI2, Washington: PDF. “Cancellation Refund”, p. 10; no first-month paragraph.
• Embrace Pet Health Insurance V6 (American Modern): web version. Part VI Other Terms and Conditions, “Cancellation Refund”; cover sheet (15-day return).
• IAIC, Accident & Illness Policy PET-P-20000-1024 (Spot, ASPCA, Pumpkin), Texas sample V47, with endorsement PET-AE-20000-TX-0723: PDF. “Policy Cancellation”, p. 7 of 8.
• ASPCA, sample policy PET-P-20000-PA-0425, Pennsylvania: PDF. “Money Back Guarantee”, p. 8; “When You Cancel”, p. 9.
• IAIC, V47 sample for Illinois (Spot PET-P-20000-IL-1024, with endorsement PET-AE-20000-IL-0723): PDF. P. 7.
• Pets Best, Accident and Illness sample policy IAIC-PB10001-ILL: Texas (with IAIC-NOTICE-TX-2023), Illinois (with IAIC-PB10001-AE-IL), New Jersey, Arizona. Section 1.B, p. 3; sections 10.B and 11.A, p. 12. For comparison: Florida and Pennsylvania (1.B deleted by endorsement), California (IAIC-PBI0001-ILL (02/2023)), Washington (American Pet Insurance Company, APIC-PBI0001-ILL; endorsement APIC-PBI0004-AE-ILL-WA replaces section 4.I).
• Healthy Paws, Westchester Fire, Pet Health Insurance Policy LD-50812 (07/18): general sample, Pennsylvania sample, New Jersey documents. Sections III.2, III.7, IV.5. Endorsements LD-50807 (New Jersey), LD-50818 (Illinois) and PI-50810 (Pennsylvania) do not change sections IV.5 and III.7; the Pennsylvania endorsement replaces III.2, and the Illinois one replaces IV.2 (cancellation).
• Pumpkin Preventive Essentials Customer Agreement, version 4.0: PDF. Eligibility terms; sections 6(a) and 6(c). Pumpkin Wellness Club Membership Agreement, version 1.4: PDF. Section 6(a).
• Embrace, Wellness Rewards Terms of Service: web page.
• Pennsylvania: 40 Pa.C.S. §4704(a)–(c) and §4708 (Act 2024-19).
• New Jersey: P.L. 2025 c.224, N.J.S.A. 17:46D-7b(1); takes effect 1 January 2027.
• NAIC, Pet Insurance Model Act, §4B(1).