Fetch Pet Insurance Review: Petplan's Successor, Terms Checked

Fetch is the insurer that used to be Petplan: founded in 2003, rebranded in 2022 with no change to the insurance, underwritten by AXIS Insurance Company and administered by Fetch Insurance Services. The terms below come from Fetch’s pages, three policy forms (California, a countrywide form, New York), and 17 state notices, read on 2026-10-28 through Fetch’s own publishing host because www.fetchpet.com blocks automated fetches from outside the US. Terms vary by state; the last section lists what we couldn’t confirm.

No wait for accidents, 15 days for the rest, and a six-month orthopedic clock

The forms set a 15-day waiting period for illness, behavioral disorders, and injuries from normal activity, and say that “Accidents or injuries resulting from an unexpected event do not have a waiting period.” One FAQ says “up to 15 days” for accidents too; the policy wording binds. The waiting period guide and pet insurance with no waiting period put that next to the other insurers.

Two waivers exist. The California form and the California and Washington notices waive the 15 days after a comprehensive exam in the first 15 days whose record notes no pre-existing conditions; the countrywide form lacks that sentence. All three forms waive the wait for a newly adopted pet’s kennel cough, upper respiratory infection, conjunctivitis, and a few other shelter conditions noted at the first exam; see pet insurance for rescue dogs.

The orthopedic rule is the one to read twice. The forms exclude orthopedic conditions that occur in the first 180 days as “pre-existing conditions for the life of the policy” unless the condition results from an accident; a vet exam inside those 180 days that notes no knee problems keeps knee conditions covered, and only the knees. Fetch’s FAQ pages give that exam window as 180 days on one page and 30 on another; the form says 180. The definition covers hip and elbow dysplasia, disc degeneration, patellar luxation, and cruciate ruptures, and cruciate disease and IVDD “will not be covered as accidents”. Notices for eleven of the seventeen states we read replace the 180 days with 30; California, Ohio, and four others keep 180. So: six months in the policies we read, 30 days in some states. The hip dysplasia and IVDD surgery guides show what that clock does to a young dog.

Co-pay first, then the deductible: the Fetch payout order

The deductible is annual. Fetch’s FAQ says the quote shows three recommended deductibles that “can range between $250 to $2,500”; Fetch’s examples use $300, $500, and $700. The co-pay comes off the covered charges first and the deductible is subtracted from what’s left, the order Figo and Lemonade also use. Fetch’s published example: a TPLO invoice of $3,991 plus $79 and $15, the 20% co-pay removed to leave $3,268, a $300 deductible applied, $2,968 back.

Reimbursement is 70%, 80%, or 90%. The standard annual limit options are $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000, plus a no-limit option; there is no lifetime limit. Seven special coverages sit outside that arithmetic, each with a $1,000 annual sublimit, no co-pay, and no deductible: behavioral care, telehealth, lost-pet advertising, boarding while the owner is hospitalized, theft or straying, death of the pet, and vacation cancellation.

Exam fees, dental, and the clauses most owners ask about

Exam fees for a sick visit are on the base policy. Dental disease and injury in adult teeth and gums are covered with no dental sublimit; dental conditions with signs before the policy or during the wait are excluded, and a cleaning without disease is a Fetch Wellness benefit. Hereditary and congenital conditions are covered when not pre-existing, with no breed restrictions and no separate hereditary exclusion in the forms.

Prescription food is excluded outright, while prescription medication is covered in quantities of 90 days or less. Behavioral care and telehealth each carry the $1,000 sublimit, with training classes excluded, and Fetch Online Vet, powered by Vetster, adds four video calls a year in select locations. Physical therapy and acupuncture are covered when a veterinarian administers them. Fetch Wellness, in Essentials, Advantage, and Prime plans, pays set annual amounts toward routine care with no deductible, co-pay, or wait, sold only with the base policy; pet insurance with wellness coverage compares the structure.

Pre-existing, curable, and bilateral: the rules written into the forms

Pre-existing means vet advice, previous treatment, or clinical signs “based on information from verifiable sources” before the policy or during a waiting period, and a covered condition can’t become pre-existing at renewal. The owner’s own account counts as a verifiable source, and anything “observed or recorded during the first exam” is excluded; a first exam is required at your expense if the pet hasn’t had one in the 12 months before or 30 days after the start.

The curable rule runs on 365-day periods. A curable condition seen in the year before the policy, or during the wait, is excluded for 365 days from the start date; if it never recurs and an annual exam after that period confirms it, it becomes coverable. A recurrence starts a second 365-day period, and a recurrence in the second period excludes the condition, in the form’s words, “for the life of your pet”. Fetch’s examples: curable, a urinary or respiratory infection; incurable, allergies, arthritis, diabetes. The bilateral rule is explicit: an orthopedic condition on one side before the end of the wait makes the other side pre-existing, and IVDD signs before the end of the wait mean no IVDD coverage.

Ages, claims, discounts, and the senior caveat in Fetch’s own words

Enrollment starts at 6 weeks with no upper age limit; senior wellness testing is expected at renewal for dogs of 8 and cats of 10, and the death benefit skips an illness death at age 6 or older. Fetch’s own pages say, in its words, that “if you’re looking to enroll a senior pet … Fetch is probably not the best choice for you”; pet insurance for older dogs covers the alternatives.

Fetch doesn’t pay the vet; you pay, claim, and get a check or direct deposit. The claim deadline is 90 days on Fetch’s pages and in the countrywide and New York forms, one year in the California form, and 180 days in the Rhode Island notice; check your state. Fetch says claims are “typically processed in less than 10 days”, its figure; the form allows 30 days. The free look is 30 days with a full refund if no claim was filed, pro rata after that. Fetch’s claims page says it won’t cancel a policy over claims history, while its state notices say premiums may rise with the pet’s claim history.

Discounts are capped at 10%: military, AARP members, and Fetch’s breeder program each get 10% off, and there is no multi-pet discount. After more than 50 paid claims for one pet, the California form says, Fetch may withdraw a promotional discount. Fetch puts its average premium at $35 a month for dogs and $22 for cats, its own figure. Not covered, condensed: pre-existing conditions, prescription food, breeding, routine care, boarding at a vet, training, grooming, elective procedures including spaying, and vaccine-preventable diseases in an unvaccinated pet.

What we couldn’t verify

The deductible menu shown at quote; the states with the no-limit option; the 50 state policy PDFs we didn’t open; whether the exam waiver exists outside the California form and the California and Washington notices; the Vetster states; the Pet Rx terms; and www.fetchpet.com itself, read only through Fetch’s publishing host. Before you buy, open your state’s sample policy from Fetch’s terms page and check its waiting-period and exclusions sections against the table above; the coverage page and waiting-period FAQ carry the plain-language versions.

This article is general information, not insurance or veterinary advice. Coverage, prices, and terms vary by insurer, pet, and location. Always read the policy and confirm details with the provider before buying.