Until What Age Can You Insurance Your Dog: You have a dog and want to insure it, but your dog may already be older. You’ve heard that dogs can only be insured up to a maximum age. Different pet insurance have different maximum ages.
My name is Joost and I have been studying insurance since 2008. Below I will tell you everything about the maximum age at which a dog can be insured. I show what limits the different insurers adhere to. I also provide insight into the premium differences between young and older dogs.
Why do insurers look at the age of the dog?
Insurance is all about the risk of having to pay out. If your dog becomes ill – and incurs medical costs – the insurer may have to reimburse these costs.
Because young dogs, for example, 1 or 2 years old, are less at risk of health problems than older dogs of 7 or 8 years old, it is more economical to insure them.
For a 1-year-old dog, the chance of health problems is a lot smaller than a 7-year-old dog or a 12-year-old dog. The chance that the insurer will have to reimburse medical costs is therefore much greater for older dogs, which increases the risk for the insurer.
Because, inevitably, a dog will eventually become ill and die (can also be hit by a car), and the insurer must reimburse medical costs, there is an age limit at which dogs can be insured.
Age limit for dog insurance per insurer
We have many pet insurers in the Netherlands.
Below are all insurers that offer dog insurance with the limit at which a new dog insurance policy can be taken out:
| Insurer | Age limit |
| Aegon | Up to 6 years |
| Figo | No age limit |
| Inshared | Up to 6 years |
| OTHER | Up to 7 years |
| Petsecur | Up to 7 years |
| University | Up to 8 years |
Insurance pets over 7 years old
You see that many insurers make it possible to take out new dog insurance for a dog up to 5 or 6 years old. At Unive, it is possible to insure an older dog of 7 years.
Figo, a new pet insurance, is an exception. With this pet insurance, it is also possible to insure dogs of all ages, including older dogs over 7 years old.
Young dogs are also cheaper to insure
The age of the dog not only determines whether it is possible to take out dog insurance, but also how expensive dog insurance is.
Because younger dogs have a smaller chance of illness or conditions, it is often cheaper to insure them. Older dogs are more at risk of health problems, so the premium may be higher
Below is an example calculation of Aegon’s premiums for all ages.
You can see that it is €3.52 more expensive per month to insure a 5-year-old dog compared to a young 1-year-old dog. This makes it 21.73% more expensive to insure an older dog.
Automatically higher premium
Insurers where the age of the dog influences the amount of the premium often increase the premium annually.
When your dog becomes a year older, the premium can be automatically increased. Your dog insurance therefore becomes more expensive as your dog gets older.
For example, Aegon states the following: “The premium goes up because your dog or cat gets a year older every year.”
Waiting time for (older) dogs with existing conditions
Older dogs may have pre-existing diseases and conditions. Although these existing diseases and conditions are usually excluded from coverage, it is also possible that they are unknown (or not disclosed when taking out dog insurance).
No coverage in the first 30 days
To prevent insurers from having to reimburse medical costs for existing complaints, they often have a waiting period on dog insurance.
It means that your dog is not insured during this waiting period, for example, the first 30 days after the dog insurance takes effect.
Immediate coverage possible
You see that all insurers have a waiting period of 30 days. If veterinary costs are incurred within 30 days after taking out dog insurance, these insurers will not reimburse the costs.
This waiting period does not only apply to old dogs, but to all dogs – including dogs of 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years.
Peter is the only insurer that has no waiting period. You are therefore generally immediately entitled to reimbursement of medical costs from this insurer.
Is it wise to insure an older dog?
You may have an older dog that can still be insured, but you are unsure whether this makes sense.
To determine whether it is wise to take out dog insurance, you can look at the financial risk of veterinary costs, your financial position, your risk appetite, and the coverage of the dog insurance.
Existing dog insurance upon reaching the maximum age
Most insurers therefore have an age limit, but existing dog insurance policies usually continue automatically.
So if your dog turns 7 or 8 years old, but it is already insured, the insurance will continue as normal. The insurer usually does not cancel the dog insurance when your dog reaches the maximum age.
Switching to another insurer can be difficult. When the dog insurance has been canceled, it can become more difficult to take out new insurance, because there is only one provider who wants to insure dogs of all ages.