Suspected Knee Ligament Damage & Insurance

[Mary_Tickle]

Hello,

I have a 2 year old black lab called Ruby. A few weeks ago, after a long off lead walk, she was limping when she woke up. She seemed to 'walk it off' after a few minutes and after a few days she was fine. We rested her for a few weeks (only lead walks) and she has been fine! This weekend we let her off lead for the first time since, and she had the same limp.
We took her to the vets and he had a feel of her back legs and noticed her left knee is a little swollen - he suspects the start of a knee ligament problem that is likely to get worse and she may eventually need an op if it tears.
She is on reduced walks and anti inflammatory's for 1 week.

The problem I have is with her insurance, as I checked her policy and she has a 12 month policy (not a lifetime policy). The vet recommended we get a lifetime policy incase she needs the Op in the future.
I checked the T&C's of a lifetime policy and it states that no pre existing conditions will be covered.
My question is, will she be covered if she needs the Op in the future (if i take a lifetime policy now) because she has seen the vet about her knee before the policy starts? The vet hasn't made a definite diagnosis, he just felt her knee and had a 'guess' based on common problems.

Has anyone had problems with claiming because of a relating consultation? Is it classed as a pre-existing condition if the vet doesn't do any further tests to 'be sure'?

At the end of the day, if I can't claim, it's not the end of the world - she's worth it and i'd do anything to put her right if she's in pain. She's a little star and would be worth every penny!

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks folks

[javasmom]

Generally, yes. It would be considered a pre-existing condition because she has seen the vet already for this specific reason-a torn ligament.
So......I doubt it would be covered.

[tammyhuffman]

The policy I have required I take my dog to the vet to have his elbows cleared, within 30 days of the effective date of the policy, in the event of future problems. If I had not done this and had it noted in his file and he developed an issue with his elbows in the future they would have not covered any treatment. i found it odd that they did not require x-rays and did not do the same with hips. I think Gina is correct that they would consider it pre-existing. Can you have it treated now?