Having a pet creates a lot of good times, but part of being an owner means facing some hard times as well. One of the worst is hearing the dreaded word ‘cancer’ from a vet. Just like humans, dogs get cancer too, and the consequences can be just as upsetting. While it’s never nice to think about money during times like this, you might be wondering if insurance covers cancer in dogs, and whether there are any exceptions.

Table of contents

What is Cancer?

Briefly, let’s discuss what cancer in dogs is. 

Most body cells reproduce by division to grow the body, replace worn out cells, or heal wounds. This ability is inside every cell’s genetic code (DNA). External cell factors control when and how often cells divide. Every time a cell divides, its DNA is replicated to create an exact copy in the new cell. Sometimes, tiny mutations occur in the genetic code. Often these mutations do nothing, sometimes they may provide benefits to cells and the organism as a whole (this is roughly how evolution works), and sometimes the mutations are detrimental.

Detrimental mutations may cause cells to divide rapidly and ignore the body telling them to stop. These are cancer cells. When enough cancer cells grow together they form a tumour. Tumours may be benign, staying in their local area, or malignant, and spread to other parts of the body. 

Cancerous cells occur all the time, and the body is constantly fighting to destroy the cells. If this defence fails, the symptoms of cancer may start to occur. Almost every type of body cell can form cancer. In dogs, some of the most common cancers include lymphoma (cancer of white blood cells), osteosarcoma (cancer of the bones), mast cell tumour (cancer of immune cells), and soft tissue sarcomas (cancer of soft tissue). It is commonly reported that almost half of dogs over the age of 10 will get cancer in their life. 

The Symptoms of Cancer

Because there are so many different kinds of cancer, there are many different symptoms that owners may spot as warning signs. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all. Many of the symptoms are seen with other common diseases as well, making diagnosis difficult. This is why we recommend regular health checks with your vet, especially as your dog gets older.

Some common symptoms of cancer include physical lumps on your dog, breathing difficulties or increased sound when breathing, coughing, weight loss, going off their food, pain or lameness, lack of energy, pale gum colour, a foul smell, wounds that do not heal, vomiting, diarrhoea, increased drinking and urination, and many more. If you spot any of these signs, while they may not indicate cancer, you should get them checked by your vet. 

Investigating and Treating Cancer

This next section is relevant to insurance, as it will explain why you might want to claim for your dog’s cancer.

Diagnosing cancer may require a variety of steps

First, your vet will perform a clinical exam to fully assess your dog. They may even spot symptoms you haven’t noticed yourself. Again, this is why regular check-ups are important. 

If they are suspicious of a lump, they might want to sample it using a needle, which could give clues as to whether it is cancer or not. This is not a foolproof method of diagnosis. They may also recommend a biopsy of the lump is taken under local or general anaesthetic, or even surgical removal of the whole lump for diagnosis. 

Other tests that can be useful are a variety of blood tests that may show clues there is cancer, as well as identify other diseases that could affect treatment. Urine and faecal testing can rule out other diseases as well. 

Imaging is very useful to identify cancer

Radiography, ultrasonography, CT and MRI scans may all be recommended to view places where cancer may occur. Many cancers spread to the lungs, so if cancer has been identified, chest CT or radiography is important to see if it has already spread. Ultrasonography can be used in a similar way to identify spread to the liver or spleen. Many of these tests require sedation or a general anaesthetic.

Once cancer has been confirmed, you will understandably be keen to treat the problem

Treatment varies from cancer to cancer; but may involve surgical removal of the cancer, chemotherapy with advanced drugs, radiation therapy, or other drugs. Treatment can sometimes take months, or even years, and is not always curative. During this time, we will also want to treat any associated symptoms, such as nausea with anti-emetics, anorexia with appetite-stimulants, and pain with analgesia. In some cases, treatment is not possible, and a dog will receive palliative care instead. In many cases, we should consider euthanasia where a dog is suffering.

All of these investigations and treatments will cost you money, and some advanced options could run into thousands of pounds or more. For many people this is unaffordable. That’s where insurance comes in. Insurance can help cover the costs of some or all of your dog’s veterinary care; enabling you to give them what they need in their battle with cancer. But will your dog be covered?

Types of Insurance

We’ve discussed this before, so we will quickly outline the main types of insurance you may have. 

Accident only insurance does what it sounds like. Covers your dog for accidents, such as a broken leg or a cut paw. Though each insurer will vary on what ‘accident’ means to them, diseases such as cancer are likely to be excluded. 

Time-limited insurance covers your dog for most conditions over a time-period, usually one year. This means if your dog gets cancer 3 months into the policy, the insurer will cover the rest of their care for another 9 months (up to your cover limit). After 12 months have elapsed, the policy expires and you will find it very difficult to get your dog insured for cancer again, as it will be an ongoing condition. Remember that treatment for cancer can take months or years, so time-limited insurance may not be appropriate in the long-term.

Maximum, or per condition insurance, means that each condition has a pot of money you can draw from with no time-limit. If this is £10,000, for example, you can claim up to £10,000 on your dog’s cancer treatment, but no more. If they then hurt their leg in an unrelated way, you will have another £10,000 to claim for that condition. The difficulty comes with how your insurer distinguishes between conditions.

Finally, lifetime insurance is the most comprehensive insurance. You can claim for the same condition multiple times, though there is still often a maximum cost or time limit per condition. With higher limit insurance, you may be able to draw from a large pot for each condition for the duration of the dog’s life.

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Will My Insurer Cover My Dog for Cancer?

Finally we get to the question we asked at the beginning – is your dog covered for cancer? The answer to this question can only be answered by your insurer, so we strongly advise you to contact them and review your policy information. But here are some reasons your insurer might not cover your dog’s cancer.

First is having no, or accident only, insurance

Obviously, if you don’t have insurance covering for cancer, you cannot claim for any veterinary care related to cancer. Even associated accidents, such as a broken leg due to weakening of the bones due to cancer, may not be included, depending on your policy.

Next is taking out insurance after cancer has been diagnosed, also known as trying to claim for a pre-existing disease

Few insurers will allow you to claim on a problem that was present before you took out the claim. Insurers will look through your pet’s clinical records to check this, and if you are suspected as having not declared a condition, your policy may be void – never mislead insurers. Unfortunately, this means that taking out insurance after your dog gets cancer is not likely to help you. Your insurer may even reject a claim if you noted a ‘lump’ a few years before the policy was taken out that only recently became cancerous. The only way to avoid this is getting lumps tested when your vet recommends it. 

It may be a pre-existing exclusion on your insurance small-print

We know that certain breeds of dog are more likely to get certain forms of cancer. For example, large breed dogs are more likely to get osteosarcomas, while staffies are prone to mast cell tumours, and Golden retrievers get lymphoma. It is unlikely an insurer would refuse a claim based on breed, but you may find certain dogs have higher insurance premiums because of this, or coverage for cancer treatment may be less. Always read the fine print of each policy and ensure it is comprehensive to your dog. 

You may also face the problem of your insurance maxing out, either on time or money

Unless you have a good lifetime policy, you may run the risk of using up your insurance on your dog’s veterinary care for cancer. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it at all, but you may have to pay for the remaining treatment from your own finances. Always remember this, particularly if the care is going to be prolonged or expensive – can you afford the whole care? Some care is always better than no care, but how much you have access to may affect what options you pick. 

Finally, consider the other exceptions and costs of cancer care

Your insurance may pay out for the investigation and drugs for your dog’s cancer, but will they pay for a physio when your dog loses weight due to the cancer? Will they allow you to claim from multiple practices? It is unlikely you can be reimbursed for any time taken off work, travel costs, kennelling, hospital stays, prescription foods and other hidden costs of cancer care. Some insurers allow claiming back for euthanasia, others do not – this should be considered for dogs on palliative care. Even if you have great insurance, it is a good idea to have a pot of money set aside too for these extra bills. 

Final Thoughts

A dog having cancer is a horrible situation for everyone involved, and worrying about the costs can make it even worse. Luckily, if you have good insurance, you are likely to be covered for some or all of the care; meaning you can spend your effort looking after your ill friend. We recommend that all dogs should have the most comprehensive insurance you can afford, and take it out when they are young. A small payment each month may ensure your dog gets the treatment they need to beat cancer.

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