Pet Insurance for Havanese: Knees, Cataracts, and a Murmur
The Havanese is Cuba’s small, silky, people-loving companion dog, and most of them get through life with little more than grooming bills and a dental or two. But the breed’s own health surveys and parent club point at a short list of hereditary problems, and nearly everything on that list is the kind of thing a cheap policy excludes. For a Havanese, the question isn’t how much the premium is. It’s whether the hereditary clause is there.
Patellar luxation: the Havanese’s most common orthopedic claim
Slipping kneecaps are the small-dog orthopedic condition, and the Havanese gets its share. In mild grades the kneecap pops out and back on its own and the dog skips a step; in severe grades it stays out, the leg bows, and surgery is the fix, often on both knees over time. Ohio’s pet insurance statute lists patellar luxation in its definition of orthopedic conditions, which tells you how uniformly insurers treat it as a separate category with its own rules.
Those rules are about waiting. Lemonade applies a 30-day orthopedic wait. Embrace applies six months for dogs, cut to 14 days if a vet completes its Orthopedic Report Card after purchase, with anything noted on that exam becoming pre-existing. Figo names patella alongside cruciate in its six-month orthopedic wait, with a waiver in the first 30 days. And the bilateral clause looms: a knee noted before enrollment can exclude the other side. The luxating patella surgery page walks through grades, costs, and the clause.
Hereditary cataracts and the Havanese eye list
Hereditary cataracts are the breed’s signature eye problem, and they can appear in young dogs, not just seniors. A cataract clouds the lens; when it progresses, the treatment is phacoemulsification by a veterinary ophthalmologist, which is specialist surgery and priced as such, and often needed in both eyes. Progressive retinal atrophy, cherry eye, and dry eye are also reported in the breed. Breeders typically screen eyes annually, which is good practice and a timing issue for insurance: an eye exam that finds early lens change before the policy starts makes the cataract pre-existing.
Coverage turns on the hereditary clause. Embrace covers breed-specific, genetic, and congenital conditions on its standard plan with no rider; Pets Best, ASPCA, and Spot all describe hereditary conditions as covered when they aren’t pre-existing. Our cataract surgery page covers the second-eye question and why a low annual limit struggles with two eyes in one year.
| Condition | Why it matters / cost driver |
|---|---|
| Patellar luxation | Slipping kneecap; surgery when severe, often both knees; orthopedic waits |
| Hereditary cataracts | Ophthalmologist referral, surgery on one or both eyes; hereditary clause |
| Chondrodysplasia | Short, sometimes bowed forelegs; mostly cosmetic, occasionally joint pain |
| Mitral valve disease | Murmur, then cardiology rechecks and lifelong medication; chronic clause |
| Congenital deafness | Diagnosed by BAER test; no treatment cost, but a congenital note on the chart |
| Dental disease | Small crowded mouth; extractions under anesthesia; dental caps |
Chondrodysplasia, short legs, and the cosmetic line
The Havanese standard calls for a dog slightly longer than tall, and the breed carries a tendency to chondrodysplasia: forelegs that are shorter or bowed, sometimes with a visible curve. In most dogs it’s cosmetic. In a few it stresses the elbows and wrists and leads to arthritis or lameness that needs management. The condition is hereditary and present from puppyhood, which puts it in the congenital column.
That creates a gray zone. A bowed leg noted at a puppy check with no symptoms isn’t a claim, but it is a note, and if the same leg develops joint pain years later the insurer may trace it back. Policies also typically exclude anything they judge cosmetic. The practical move is the one the pre-existing conditions guide describes: know what’s in the record, and ask the insurer in writing how it treats a conformational note with no symptoms before you rely on it.
Heart murmurs and deafness: the two congenital questions
Mitral valve disease, the degeneration of the valve between the heart’s left chambers, is reported in the Havanese as in many small breeds, though far less dramatically than in the Cavalier. It starts as a murmur at a routine check, and if it progresses, it means cardiology rechecks and daily medication for life. The clause that pays is the chronic one: Pets Best and ASPCA say chronic conditions continue to be covered at renewal, and California, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania require it. A murmur on the chart before enrollment makes the heart pre-existing.
Congenital deafness also occurs in the breed and is diagnosed with a BAER hearing test, often done by breeders on whole litters. There’s no treatment to insure, so the condition itself costs little. What matters is that a BAER result is a congenital finding in the file; it won’t affect claims for other conditions, but it’s one more reason to know what a puppy’s paperwork says before you enroll.
What a Havanese premium looks like next to the average
NAPHIA’s 2026 report puts the US average accident-and-illness premium for a dog at about $70 a month. Our cost by breed tool places the Havanese in the moderate tier, an illustrative $40 to $70 a month for an adult on mid settings. It’s a rough range; the cost calculator narrows it for your ZIP code and the dog’s age.
A small dog with surgical risks on both knees and both eyes argues for a comfortable annual limit and a moderate deductible. Dental is the other line to read, since small mouths lose teeth: Embrace caps dental illness at $1,000 a year, and our dental coverage guide explains the conditions other insurers attach.
Enrolling a Havanese before the first eye exam
The breed’s screening culture is the reason to move early. Eye exams, BAER tests, and knee checks all generate notes, and a note is a sign of a condition. Enroll the puppy before the first ophthalmology exam, confirm hereditary, congenital, and chronic coverage in the policy wording, and if the insurer offers an orthopedic exam waiver, get it done while the knees are clean. Then keep the policy continuous into the senior years, when the murmur and the cataracts tend to arrive.
Frequently asked questions
How much is pet insurance for a Havanese?
Roughly $40 to $70 a month for an adult on an accident-and-illness policy with mid-range settings, around or below the NAPHIA dog average of about $70. The breed is small, which keeps surgery and medication costs down, and generally long-lived.
Does pet insurance cover cataract surgery for a Havanese?
Hereditary cataracts are covered by most accident-and-illness policies that include hereditary conditions, as long as no cloudiness was noted before enrollment or during the waiting period. Surgery on both eyes can approach a low annual limit, so the cap matters.
Does pet insurance cover luxating patella in Havanese?
Yes on standard policies, subject to the orthopedic waiting period, which runs from 30 days at Lemonade to six months at Embrace and Figo unless an exam waiver shortens it. If one knee was noted before enrollment, many policies treat the other as pre-existing too.
What health problems do Havanese have?
The established ones are patellar luxation, hereditary cataracts and other eye disease, chondrodysplasia (short, sometimes bowed legs), mitral valve disease, and congenital deafness. Most Havanese are healthy; these are the conditions to read a policy against.
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.