Because localised demodicosis is common in puppies and often noted at an early check, it is a frequent source of pre-existing exclusions on skin claims later in life. It is treated as an ordinary illness by all three policies here, with no separate waiting period and no bilateral rule attached. What matters is whether the first patch of thin fur was written down before the policy started.
What is demodectic mange, in plain terms?
Demodex mites live on almost every dog without causing trouble. When a young or immune-compromised dog cannot keep them in check the population grows and the coat thins, usually starting around the eyes and muzzle. Localised cases in puppies often resolve on their own. Generalised cases need months of medication and can look alarming, with widespread hair loss and secondary skin infection, though the mite itself is not contagious to people.
At what age does it usually appear?
The localised form is a puppy problem, typically between three and twelve months, and shows as a small bald patch near an eye or on a foreleg that an owner may not even mention. The generalised form arrives later, often in a dog under two, and looks far worse. Because the puppy version is so mild and so common, it is frequently noted in passing at a routine visit, and that passing note is what an insurer later points to.
Which clause should you check before you buy?
Ask what is in the puppy notes before anything else, because a single line about a bald patch is what this hinges on. In the policy, check whether parasitic conditions are excluded as a category, since some documents group mites with fleas and worms under routine care rather than illness. Then check the curable pre-existing clause: the localised form genuinely does resolve, so a policy that lets a cured condition return to cover after a symptom-free period is worth more here than a short waiting period.
Do insurers treat both sides of the body as one condition?
Not listed among the bilateral conditions in Trupanion policy form TRU-00001 (08/11), Definitions 7.c; read 2026-09-01
Demodicosis: how long before an insurer will pay for it?
Also called demodectic mange. Each insurer's waiting period and second-side rule below, from its own policy document.
Which insurer covers demodectic mange soonest, and which makes you wait?
Demodicosis falls under the dermatological class at most US insurers. The table below gives each insurer's waiting period and its rule for the second side of the body, taken from the insurer's own policy document.
| Insurer | Waiting period | Second side of the body | Hereditary and congenital | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figo | 14 days Fourteen days for illnesses generally. Anything that occurs during the waiting period is excluded afterwards as a pre-existing condition, which is the standard mechanism in this market. | Not stated in the document | Covered | Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13; What We Cover, Illnesses including Genetic Conditions, page 4 of 13 |
| Lemonade | 14 days 14 days for illnesses. Waiting periods can be waived after a comprehensive vet exam plus a Waiting Period Waiver Form submitted within 2 days, but anything found at that exam may then count as pre-existing. This policy defines a Bilateral Condition as a chronic condition affecting both sides; that is a test on the condition, not on illness as a class, so no bilateral rule is recorded here. | Not stated in the document | Covered | Waiting periods; Pre-existing conditions; Definitions page 14 |
| Spot | 14 days The same 14 day waiting period applies to illnesses, and Exclusion f makes anything that occurs during a waiting period a pre-existing condition. On the second side of the body this policy has two mechanisms and only one of them bites. Exclusion c removes cover for "bilateral conditions of pre-existing conditions", which needs a pre-existing condition to already exist. The clause that turns one side into a pre-existing condition for the other names ligament, patella, meniscus and knee soft tissue, and illness in general is not in that list. | Not stated in the document | Covered | WAITING PERIODS, page 4; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and f, page 5 |
| Trupanion | 30 days Illnesses that occur or recur within the first 30 days from the policy enrollment date are not covered, unless waived by endorsement. An illness during those 30 days is then treated as a pre-existing condition. Separately, any condition whose evidence or symptoms already existed at, or in the 18 months before, the enrollment date is excluded. | Not stated in the document | Not stated in the document | Exclusions & Limitations 5.b(2) and 5.c(1); page 3 of 9 |
The waiting period for demodectic mange is the number that decides whether a claim in the first year is paid at all, and it is the figure insurers vary most quietly. Each row below states the section of the policy it came from.
Every row cites the policy form code and the section it was read from, with the date we read it. Oldest check date on this page: .