Anything your pet showed signs of, was diagnosed with, or was treated for before the policy started.
Anything your pet showed signs of, was diagnosed with, or was treated for before the policy started (or before a specific waiting period ended). Pre-existing conditions are almost always excluded. The differences between NZ pet insurers is whether that exclusion is permanent, or whether it can clear after your pet goes a set period (commonly 18 months) without any signs or treatment.
Some insurers apply a, guaranteed time-based clearance rule. Others only offer a discretionary, case-by-case underwriting review, which sounds similar but isn't a guarantee of anything. And even where a clearance path exists, it often carves out a list of conditions (cruciate ligament, hip dysplasia, endocrine disease) that can never use it, no matter how long the pet stays symptom-free.