AKC Pet Insurance
AKC Pet Insurance's stated plan terms, checked October 22, 2026. Facts only: no rating, ranking, or price.
- Accident and illness
- Accident only
- Wellness add-on
- Dogs
- Cats
- Wellness add-on available
- Hereditary conditions such as hip dysplasia need the HereditaryPlus option
- Exam fees need the ExamPlus option
- 180 day cruciate and IVDD wait in sample form
- Pets over nine eligible for accident cover only
- Pre-existing conditions may become eligible after 365 days
The stated facts
| Company and underwriter, as the company states it | AKC Pet Insurance. The North Carolina sample policy (form IAIC PPI AI POL 007 NC 0421) names Independence American Insurance Company as the underwriter; your declarations page shows the insurer on your own contract. |
|---|---|
| Species covered | Dogs, Cats |
| Plan types offered | CompanionCare accident and illness plan; Accident coverage for pets over nine; Optional Defender and DefenderPlus wellness add-ons; Optional ExamPlus, HereditaryPlus, and SupportPlus coverages |
| Accident waiting period, as stated | 1 day for injuries in the North Carolina CompanionCare sample form, except cruciate ligament related conditions, which carry their own 180 day wait. Other states use other forms, so read the period printed in your own policy. |
| Illness waiting period, as stated | 5 days for illnesses in the North Carolina sample form, except IVDD, which has a 180 day wait in that same form. |
| Orthopedic, cruciate, and other special waiting periods | 180 days for cruciate ligament related conditions and 180 days for IVDD in the North Carolina sample form. HereditaryPlus, if bought, starts after its own 30 day wait. Pre-existing conditions need 365 days of continuous cover before they can become eligible. |
| Eligibility, as the company states it | Dogs and cats. AKC's FAQ says some states may require a puppy to be at least 8 weeks old and a kitten at least 10 weeks old, that there is no maximum enrollment age, and that pets over nine years of age are only eligible for Accident coverage. |
| Deductible, reimbursement, and limit options, as stated | Your deductible, coinsurance percentage, annual limit, and any per incident limit appear on the declarations page under the sample form. Optional coverages named in that form include ExamPlus for exam fees, HereditaryPlus for listed congenital and inherited conditions, SupportPlus for final expenses, and the Defender and DefenderPlus wellness schedules. |
| Wellness or preventive option | Defender and DefenderPlus are optional coverages inside the policy, paid from a fixed schedule. AKC's wellness page says the plans have no waiting period and are not subject to the deductible, coinsurance, or annual limit. The North Carolina schedule lists, for example, a $50 wellness exam on both tiers and spay or neuter or teeth cleaning at $0 on Defender and $150 on DefenderPlus. |
| Pre-existing condition rule, as stated | In the North Carolina form, anything that showed symptoms before coverage or during a waiting period is pre-existing, and such a condition can only become eligible after 365 days of continuous coverage, for treatment after that point. Bilateral conditions that showed on one side are treated as pre-existing on both sides. |
The HereditaryPlus line in the AKC sample form
The clause most worth reading for a pedigree dog sits in the exclusions list of the North Carolina CompanionCare form. It excludes congenital and inherited conditions, naming elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, OCD, osteoarthritis, spondylosis, luxating patella, and diabetes, unless the policyholder buys the optional HereditaryPlus coverage. The rider pays only after its own 30 day waiting period.
For a Labrador, a German Shepherd, or a toy breed prone to kneecap luxation, that changes the question from which plan to which options. A base plan bought without HereditaryPlus could leave the very conditions the breed is known for outside the contract. Ask AKC to confirm in writing which inherited conditions your state form lists and whether the rider is on your quote.
Knees and spines: two 180 day clocks
The same form sets a 1 day injury wait and a 5 day illness wait, but both have carve-outs. Cruciate ligament related conditions wait 180 days even when they look like an injury, and IVDD, including slipped or herniated discs secondary to it, waits 180 days on the illness side.
In practice a Dachshund enrolled on March 1 that shows disc pain in July sits inside that window, and the episode would be read as pre-existing for that dog. A Rottweiler that tears a cruciate in month four is in the same position. The form also defines a bilateral condition with cruciate ligament as its first example and treats a condition that has shown on one side as pre-existing on both sides, so an earlier left knee problem can shut out the right knee too.
Exam fees, age, and the 365 day route back
Physical examination fees, including telephone consultation, are excluded unless ExamPlus is purchased. The ExamPlus text adds that it does not pay for annual wellness office exams, so the routine visit sits with the Defender schedule, not with the rider.
AKC's FAQ says there is no maximum enrollment age, but pets over nine years of age are only eligible for accident coverage. A ten year old Boxer can still be enrolled, though illness cover is off the table from the start. The FAQ footer also states that premiums may increase or decrease with age, species, breed, and home address.
The 365 day pre-existing provision is unusual: the form allows a pre-existing condition to become eligible after a year of continuous cover, for treatment after that year. It does not say every condition will qualify, so ask how the rule would apply to a named condition in your dog's record.
Filing deadlines printed in the CompanionCare form
The claims conditions ask for a completed claim form within 180 calendar days, or as soon as practicable, of the treatment date. A reconsideration request must reach the company within 60 days of the decision, in writing on its redetermination form. Keep invoices and records together from the first visit so a later orthopedic claim can show when signs began.
Questions worth putting to AKC before enrolling a large or long-backed breed: is HereditaryPlus in the quote, which state form applies, and how is a cruciate claim treated if the other knee had any earlier lameness.