What does the Lemonade policy say about waiting periods, hereditary conditions and the second side?
Read from policy form LEM-PET (09-23), underwritten by Lemonade Insurance Company. Every row below cites the section it came from.
The Lemonade rules, by condition class
These are the four rules that decide whether a claim is paid in the first year: how long the waiting period runs, what happens to the second side of the body, whether hereditary conditions are covered, and when a cured condition becomes insurable again.
| Condition class | Waiting period | Second side of the body | Hereditary and congenital | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| other-illness | 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 |
| hereditary-congenital | 14 days Hereditary and congenital conditions are excluded only where clinical signs or symptoms were present before the start date or before the end of a waiting period. Otherwise they fall under the 14 day illness waiting period. The pre-existing clause names congenital, hereditary and bilateral conditions in one sentence, so a hereditary condition that is also chronic and two-sided is caught by the bilateral test as well. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Covered | Definitions, Hereditary Condition, page 14; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 14: "a chronic condition that affects both sides of your pet's body, even if clinical signs or symptoms do not present at the same time"; Pre-existing conditions, which names congenital, hereditary and bilateral conditions together and excludes them where signs were present before the start date or before the end of a waiting period |
| orthopedic | 30 days 30 days for orthopedic conditions, which this policy defines as including elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. The second-side rule comes from the definition of a Bilateral Condition rather than from the orthopedic clause: it is a test on the condition, which has to be chronic and affect both sides, and not on the class. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Covered | Waiting periods; Definitions, Orthopedic Conditions, page 14, which names elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 14: "a chronic condition that affects both sides of your pet's body, even if clinical signs or symptoms do not present at the same time"; Pre-existing conditions, which excludes bilateral conditions whose signs were present before the start date or before the end of a waiting period |
| cruciate-ligament | 30 days Ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments are named in the definition of orthopedic conditions, so the 30 day orthopedic waiting period applies rather than the 14 day illness one. The second-side rule comes from the separate definition of a Bilateral Condition, which tests whether the condition is chronic and affects both sides. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Covered | Definitions, Orthopedic Conditions, page 14, which names ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 14: "a chronic condition that affects both sides of your pet's body, even if clinical signs or symptoms do not present at the same time"; Pre-existing conditions, which excludes bilateral conditions whose signs were present before the start date or before the end of a waiting period; Waiting periods |
| accident | Not stated This document lists waiting periods for illnesses and for orthopedic conditions only. It states no separate waiting period for accidents. | Not stated in the document | Not stated in the document | Waiting periods, page 5; read against the summary on the last page |
Everything on this page comes from the policy document Lemonade publishes itself. We have not bought this policy and we have not filed a claim under it.
Source: Lemonade policy form LEM-PET (09-23), read on 2026-09-01. Section references are given per row. Oldest check date on this page: .
What stands out in the Lemonade policy document?
The split clock is the thing to understand here: 14 days for illnesses and 30 for orthopedic conditions, with orthopedic defined broadly enough to swallow most of what an expensive breed actually gets. The definition names elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. So the shorter of the two numbers does not apply to the conditions most likely to generate a claim. The waiver offer deserves a second read as well. Remaining waiting periods can be lifted after a comprehensive veterinary examination plus a form submitted within two days, and the same clause adds that anything found at that exam may then be treated as pre-existing. It is a fair trade rather than a free upgrade: you exchange time for scrutiny. Hereditary and congenital conditions are covered here unless their signs predate the policy.
What does this document leave unsaid?
This document lists a waiting period for illnesses and one for orthopedic conditions, and says nothing at all about accidents. The reasonable reading is that accident cover begins immediately, and that is how the product is generally described, but the specimen does not state it, so our accident row records no number rather than a zero we inferred. The second silence is about breeds. There is no breed-specific exclusion anywhere in the text, which is good news for owners of the breeds that usually attract them, though it also means nothing in the document rules out an underwriting decision made at the quote stage instead. Finally, no symptom-free period is given for curable pre-existing conditions, so a resolved problem has no stated route back into cover.
Who actually pays a Lemonade claim?
Underwritten by Lemonade Insurance Company, based in New York. Here the brand and the underwriter share a name, which is less common in this market than you might assume and does make the paperwork easier to follow. The specimen we read is dated 2023 by its form code, so it is one of the newer documents in this register. As with every insurer here, the specimen is a national sample rather than the contract you will be issued: the version delivered in your state can differ, and where a state amends a clause it is the state version that governs.