Pet Insurance in Delaware: Costs and the Chapter 88 Rules

Delaware is one of the smallest pet insurance markets NAPHIA tracks, its premiums run below the national average, and it’s one of the states that wrote the NAIC model terms into its own code, as the Pet Insurance Act in Title 18, chapter 88. It’s also the home of one of the ten largest dog claims paid anywhere in North America in 2025, in Middletown. A small market, a statute that fixes the waiting periods, a year-round tick season, and no veterinary college: that’s the shape of the Delaware decision.

Delaware’s small market and below-average premiums

NAPHIA’s industry data gives the 2025 national anchor: the average US accident-and-illness premium was $836 a year for a dog, about $70 a month, and $435 a year for a cat, about $36 a month, up 11.5% and 12.6% in a year. The statistics page has the full series.

Delaware holds 0.4% of insured US pets and 0.3% of US written premium. A premium share below the pet share means a lower-than-average premium per insured pet, so per NAPHIA’s distribution data, average premiums in Delaware run below the national average. That puts it on the opposite side of the line from Maryland and Pennsylvania next door, which both run above it. NAPHIA publishes no Delaware dollar figure, and this page won’t guess one.

Inside the state, insurers rate by ZIP code because vet fees differ by location, so a Wilmington quote and a Sussex County quote for the same pet won’t match. Run yours through the cost calculator, and read how much pet insurance costs for the settings that move the number.

What 18 Del. C. chapter 88 requires of a Delaware policy

As of October 2026, the NAIC’s Summer 2026 tracker lists Delaware as a “model adoption” state. The law is the Pet Insurance Act, Title 18, chapter 88 of the Delaware Code, sections 8801 to 8809. The chapter text we read carries no effective date, so this page doesn’t give one.

Under section 8805, a Delaware policy must meet these terms:

• A waiting period may not exceed 30 days for an illness or orthopedic condition not resulting from an accident. A waiting period for accidents is prohibited.
• The policy must allow the waiting period to be waived on completion of a medical examination. The insurer may require a licensed veterinarian to perform it after purchase, and the policyholder pays for it unless the policy says the insurer must.
• A waiting period may not be applied to a renewal of existing coverage, and no veterinary examination may be required for renewal.
• The insurer has the burden of proving that a pre-existing condition exclusion applies to the condition in the claim.
• A condition the policy covers may not be considered pre-existing on a renewal.

Nothing in the sections we read caps premiums or renewal increases or lists which exclusions an insurer may use. The waiting period guide shows what the same clauses look like in states with no cap. Complaints about an insurer go to the Delaware Department of Insurance at insurance.delaware.gov.

Delaware’s 30-day free look and the exam that waives the wait

Section 8804 gives a buyer 30 days: return the policy within 30 days of receiving it and the premium comes back within 30 days, unless a claim has already been filed. The statement has to be on or attached to the first page of the policy, so look for it there. That’s twice the 15 days Louisiana and Washington give.

The exam waiver has a catch worth knowing before you book the appointment. The exam that clears your waiting period produces a record, and anything noted in it before coverage starts can be excluded as pre-existing. The statute makes the insurer prove the exclusion applies; it doesn’t stop the exclusion. The pre-existing conditions guide explains how that review works.

Ticks are active year-round in Delaware

The Delaware DNREC Tick Program says Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in Delaware, that five species of tick are commonly found in the state, that ticks here can be active year-round, and that tick-caused diseases also affect domestic animals. For a dog, Lyme and the other tick-borne infections are illness claims. The diagnostic panel, the antibiotics, and any follow-up for complications are a standard claim on most accident-and-illness policies once the illness wait, capped at 30 days here, has passed and if the diagnosis came after enrollment. Year-round activity means there’s no safe month to be inside the wait.

Does pet insurance cover Lyme disease covers the claim and the trap of a positive screening test already on file. Tick preventives and the Lyme vaccine are routine care, outside the core policy; the vaccinations guide covers whether a wellness add-on is worth it for a dog with heavy exposure.

A $43,600 heart claim in Middletown, Delaware

NAPHIA’s 2026 report lists the largest claims its members paid in 2025 across North America, and one of the ten largest dog claims came from Middletown: $43,600 for valvular heart disease in a 13-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. A small dog, a senior, and a chronic heart condition, which is the kind of claim that runs for years rather than weeks.

Does pet insurance cover heart disease explains the chronic clause and the annual limit a claim like that depends on. It’s also the argument for enrolling before any murmur is written down, because a murmur on file before the effective date can make heart disease pre-existing, and chapter 88 doesn’t change that.

No veterinary college in Delaware, and the limit that has to travel

Delaware has no AVMA-accredited veterinary college, so referral cases that need a teaching hospital’s cardiologist, surgeon, or oncologist go out of state. For the policy, that changes nothing: none of the insurers we’ve reviewed publishes a provider network, so a bill from a hospital in another state is claimed like one from your local practice. Does pet insurance work out of state covers the paperwork.

What the referral does test is the annual limit, which chapter 88 doesn’t touch, along with the deductible and reimbursement rate you chose; the reimbursement calculator shows the split on a Middletown-sized bill. The statute read the waiting-period clause for you. The exclusions and the cap you still pick yourself, and how to switch pet insurance explains what changing insurers later costs you under the pre-existing rule.

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.