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Does pet insurance cover respiratory infections?

By the WhichPetPlan editorial team · Last verified 2026-08-24
Short answer

Yes. Respiratory infections are covered as ordinary illnesses on every plan we review once the illness waiting period passes, typically about 14 to 15 days after enrollment. Healthy Paws names respiratory infections among its curable pre-existing examples, so even an earlier resolved bout can be re-covered later by insurers with reinstatement paths.

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What a policy pays for

Treatment for a new respiratory infection, the exam, diagnostics, and prescribed antibiotics or supportive care, claims under illness terms on all eight plans we review. Illness waiting periods run about 14 days at Lemonade (accidents from 2 days or immediately in many states), Embrace, Spot, Figo and Pets Best, up to 15 days at Fetch and Healthy Paws, and 30 days at Trupanion.

These infections move fast, which makes the waiting period the whole decision for newly adopted pets. A sniffle documented during the wait is not payable and goes on file as pre-existing.

Curable history is not a life sentence

Respiratory infection is another condition insurers cite in their own curable-condition examples: Healthy Paws lists it (with conjunctivitis and kennel cough) among conditions that may be re-covered after full resolution for a continuous 365 days, and Embrace’s 12-month symptom-free path applies. Lemonade offers a curable path in most states.

The exception is chronic respiratory disease. Ongoing conditions such as feline asthma stay excluded once documented, and repeated infections attributed to that underlying problem can be denied under its exclusion.

Related questions

Is cat flu covered by pet insurance?
Upper respiratory infections in cats claim under illness terms like any other new condition, subject to the illness waiting period and pre-existing rule on the plans we review.
My puppy had kennel cough at the shelter. Will it be excluded?
That episode is pre-existing initially, but it falls squarely in the curable-condition reinstatement language insurers publish (365 resolved days documented by Healthy Paws, 12 months in Embrace’s process).
Are diagnostic tests for coughing covered?
Yes, diagnostics such as x-rays and bloodwork are covered as part of working up a covered illness claim on the plans we review.

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Some links (currently Lemonade) may earn a fee; it never changes the premium and never changes a ranking. Other insurers listed here do not pay us. Premium figures are illustrative starting estimates, not quotes. See our methodology for how scores are set.