Does Spot pet insurance have a waiting period?
Lemonade Pet is not sold in every state.
Yes. Spot applies a 14-day waiting period to both accidents and illnesses, with next-day accident cover in select states. Uniquely in our lineup, there is no separate orthopedic or cruciate wait beyond that same 14 days, which is why Spot is often the pick for joint-risk breeds despite mid-table pricing.
Get a Lemonade quote
Lemonade is the one insurer on this site we can send you to for a live quote. That does not make it the right plan for every pet. As of October 2, 2026, Lemonade Pet is not yet available in Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming.
Get a quote from LemonadeThe exclusions cheat sheet
A plain-English guide to waiting periods and key exclusions across eight insurers, with links to the full reviews.
One clock, including joints
Most competitors hold cruciate injuries, hip dysplasia or IVDD for 6 months (Embrace, Figo, Pets Best; Lemonade currently advertises 30 days for orthopedics, subject to your state policy) or 12 months (Healthy Paws hips in most states). Spot applies only the standard 14-day period to all of it, with next-day accident cover in select states.
For breeds our catalog flags for joint risk, that timeline difference decides claims: a cruciate injury surfacing in month three is covered under Spot’s terms where longer-hold policies would still be waiting.
Pre-existing rules and the linked-knee caveat
Signs shown before enrollment or during the 14-day window are pre-existing. Two Spot-specific caveats from our review data: both knees are treated as linked, so a prior cruciate injury on one side excludes the other side entirely, and the wide limit menu makes it easy to under-buy coverage if configured carelessly.
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