This bill (H-2925.2 Substitute House Bill 1078, 69th Legislature, 2026) amends existing Washington law at RCW 48.205.050. It modifies pet insurance rules to allow insurers to issue policies excluding one or more preexisting conditions if they provide appropriate disclosure, and places the burden on the insurer to prove a preexisting condition exclusion applies to a claim. The amendment permits waiting periods up to 30 days for illnesses or non-accident orthopedic conditions but prohibits waiting periods for accidents and forbids applying waiting periods to renewals. Policies using a permitted waiting period must include a provision allowing the waiting period to be waived if the policyholder obtains a medical examination; the exam may be required to be conducted by a licensed veterinarian after policy purchase, the cost is the policyholder’s responsibility unless the policy states the insurer will pay, and insurers may specify required examination elements and documentation provided such specifications do not unreasonably restrict waiver. Insurers may not require a veterinary examination for policy renewal. The bill also makes procedural and coverage changes: prescriptive, wellness, or noninsurance benefits included in a form become part of the policy contract and must comply with the insurance code; eligibility to buy a policy cannot be conditioned on participation in a separate wellness program; insurers may not cancel or refuse to renew coverage based on a pet’s age, the detection or development during a covered period of certain chronic, orthopedic, congenital, or hereditary conditions, or the detection of a preexisting condition as defined in RCW 48.205.020. When a policyholder is moved between affiliated companies, the replacement company must honor existing policies through expiration, offer insurance to current policyholders, and may not impose waiting periods, require veterinary exams to issue or renew, or cancel/refuse issuance or renewal for the reasons barred above. The text provided does not include the statutory definition of “preexisting condition” found in RCW 48.205.020, does not define terms such as “affiliated company” or “prescriptive, wellness, or noninsurance benefits,” and does not specify an effective date or whether additional sections of the bill make related changes.

If enacted, the bill gives pet insurance companies more explicit ability to exclude one or more preexisting conditions and to impose short waiting periods (up to 30 days for illnesses or non-accident orthopedic conditions) only when a policy is first issued, but it also requires insurers to prove any preexisting-condition exclusion they try to apply and allows policyholders to waive those waiting periods by completing a medical exam (usually by a licensed veterinarian) which the policyholder must pay unless the insurer agrees to pay. Consumers gain stronger protections against cancellations or nonrenewals based on a pet’s age, the development or detection during a covered period of chronic, orthopedic, congenital, or hereditary conditions, or detection of a preexisting condition; moving policies between affiliated companies must honor existing contracts and cannot add waiting periods, require new exams, or use the listed grounds to cancel or refuse coverage. The groups most affected are pet insurers (they face new documentation and proof obligations, limits on when they can decline or nonrenew coverage, and potential administrative costs in offering waiver exams and honoring transfers), policyholders (who get more stability and some control over waiving waiting periods but may have to pay for exams), and veterinarians (who may be asked to perform post-sale exams). The bill leaves key details unclear here—most importantly the statutory definition of “preexisting condition,” meanings of terms like “affiliated company” and “prescriptive/wellness benefits,” and no effective date—so how strictly some protections apply and how insurers will adjust pricing or practices is uncertain.