Pet Insurance in New York: Cost, Coverage & the Twice-Vetoed Bill (2026)

New York stands out from every other state guide on this site for a different reason than a regulatory gap or a signature disease — it's the only state where lawmakers have agreed on a pet-insurance consumer-protection bill twice, only for the Governor to block it twice.

This guide covers what New York pet owners actually pay, why the state's pet-insurance regulation bill keeps getting vetoed despite unanimous legislative support, why a tick-borne bacterial infection is a fast-rising claims risk in the Hudson Valley, and which insurers are active here.

How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost in New York?

Per MoneyGeek's 2026 analysis of over 67,000 pet insurance profiles across 18 major providers, New York runs above the national pattern, with dogs again costing roughly double what cats do:

MoneyGeek puts New York's premium range at roughly $35-$131/month for dogs and $33-$47/month for cats depending on breed, age and the plan you pick, and the state ranks 43rd nationally for affordability — pricier than Ohio, Texas or North Carolina. Our general pet insurance cost guide breaks down the other levers (deductible, reimbursement rate, annual limit) that move your premium regardless of state.

Since anaplasmosis spreads through the same tick bites as Lyme disease, a quick daily tick check after time outdoors — yards, parks, trails, the Hudson Valley's woodlands — is one of the simplest ways to catch and remove a tick before it can transmit infection. A tick removal tool kit makes safe, complete removal a lot easier than tweezers alone — and Prime gets a replacement to your door in two days if you misplace it, try Prime free for 30 days.

Does New York Regulate Pet Insurance?

Not through a dedicated statute — but not for lack of trying. New York currently regulates pet insurance only under general property/casualty rules, classifying it as a form of inland marine insurance since state insurance law treats animals as personal property. Unlike Ohio or California, which have enacted dedicated pet-insurance statutes, and unlike Illinois, where a bill is still working through its first attempt at passage, New York has a genuinely unusual story: the legislature keeps agreeing, and the Governor keeps saying no.

A bill modeled on the NAIC's 2022 Pet Insurance Model Act — capping illness and orthopedic-condition waiting periods at 30 days (waivable with a vet exam), eliminating waiting periods for accidents, shifting the burden of proof for pre-existing-condition denials onto the insurer, and requiring a standardized "Insurer Disclosure of Important Policy Provisions" plus a 30-day free-look period — has now passed the state legislature unanimously twice. Sponsored by Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey (chair of the Senate Insurance Committee) and Assemblymember Pamela Hunter, the 2025 version (S5324A/A1433) passed the Senate 62-0-1 and the Assembly without opposition before being delivered to the Governor on October 9, 2025. Governor Hochul vetoed it on October 16, 2025 — the second consecutive veto, after a substantively similar bill met the same fate in November 2024. Her veto memo called the bill "duplicative," arguing that pet insurance is already authorized in New York and that the new law would create confusion over which Insurance Law provisions apply. A new version, S10225/A11164, was introduced May 7, 2026 and is currently referred to the Insurance Committee, with no floor vote yet.

The practical upshot for New York pet owners today: without the bill's 30-day waiting-period cap in force, illness and orthopedic waiting periods are whatever each insurer's own contract sets, and pre-existing-condition disputes fall under general policy language rather than a state-mandated burden-of-proof rule. Our waiting period guide compares individual insurers' standard terms, and our pre-existing conditions guide covers how exclusions typically play out at claim time.

Why Anaplasmosis Is a Rising Risk in New York

Anaplasmosis is a bacterial infection spread by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) — the same tick species that carries Lyme disease, meaning any dog at risk for one is at risk for the other. It's a genuinely distinct condition from Lyme, though: a separate bacterium (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), a shorter incubation, and its own distinct rise across New York's tick-heavy regions.

A peer-reviewed study published in the CDC's own journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2021), tracked 5,146 human anaplasmosis cases reported statewide (excluding NYC) from 2010-2018 and found statewide incidence rose 3.9-fold, from 2.0 to 7.6 cases per 100,000 people. The sharpest surge was regional: the Capital Region, covering Hudson Valley counties like Columbia and Rensselaer, saw incidence climb 8.4-fold — from 4.3 to 36.3 cases per 100,000 — the state's most dramatic hot spot every single year of the study period, with the share of ZIP codes reporting cases expanding from 14.2% to 30%. Tick surveillance in the same study found 4.3% of nymphal and 6.5% of adult ticks testing positive for the bacterium, with Capital Region adult-tick positivity more than quadrupling (2.9% to 12.0%). The study explicitly flags dogs as a sentinel species, since canine seroprevalence tracks the same regional hot spots as human case counts. The Companion Animal Parasite Council's 2026 forecast adds a striking vet-clinic-level detail: in parts of the Northeast, the number of dogs testing positive for anaplasmosis now exceeds those testing positive for Lyme.

Most canine anaplasmosis cases respond well to a standard course of doxycycline plus diagnostic bloodwork, typically running $300-$1,500 depending on the clinic and follow-up visits needed. A smaller share of cases progress to more serious complications — including anaplasmosis-associated polyarthritis or meningitis — which can require hospitalization and run into the thousands of dollars. The insurance angle follows the same pattern as this site's other state guides: an anaplasmosis illness diagnosis is a normal covered claim under most policies, as long as your dog wasn't already showing symptoms or tested positive before the policy's waiting period ended — but routine tick-prevention products themselves are preventive care, so they're only reimbursed under a wellness add-on, not standard accident-and-illness coverage.

Which Pet Insurance Companies Sell in New York?

Every major national insurer writes policies in New York. Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Embrace, Fetch, MetLife, Pets Best, Lemonade, Figo, Spot and ASPCA Pet Health Insurance are all active in the state, and because New York currently has no state-mandated waiting-period floor or disclosure standard specific to pet insurance, coverage terms vary more by insurer here than in states like Ohio or California. See our best pet insurance roundup for a side-by-side.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does pet insurance cost in New York?

New York pet insurance averages $53 a month overall — about $69/month for dogs and $36/month for cats — per MoneyGeek's 2026 analysis of more than 67,000 policies. That's roughly 12-13% above the national average, ranking New York 43rd out of 50 states for affordability, with premiums typically ranging $35-$131/month for dogs and $33-$47/month for cats depending on breed, age and plan.

Does New York regulate pet insurance?

Not through a dedicated pet-insurance statute. New York currently treats pet insurance as a form of inland marine insurance under general property/casualty rules, since state insurance law classifies animals as personal property. A bill modeled on the NAIC Pet Insurance Model Act — capping illness and orthopedic waiting periods at 30 days, requiring a 30-day free-look period and shifting the burden of proof on pre-existing-condition denials to insurers — has passed the state legislature unanimously twice, in 2024 and again in 2025, and Governor Hochul has vetoed it both times, most recently on October 16, 2025. A new version, S10225/A11164, was introduced in May 2026 and is currently in committee.

Why did the Governor veto New York's pet insurance bill?

Governor Hochul's veto memo for the 2025 bill (S5324A/A1433) called the legislation "duplicative," stating that pet insurance is already authorized in New York and that the new law would create confusion over which provisions of the Insurance Law apply. The bill had passed the Senate 62-0-1 and the Assembly unanimously before the veto.

Is anaplasmosis covered by pet insurance in New York?

An anaplasmosis illness diagnosis is typically covered as a normal illness claim under most policies, the same as any other tick-borne infection, as long as your dog wasn't already showing symptoms or diagnosed before the policy's waiting period ended. Routine tick-prevention products themselves are preventive care, so they're only reimbursed under a wellness add-on, not standard accident-and-illness coverage.

Which pet insurance companies sell policies in New York?

All the major national insurers write policies in New York, including Trupanion, Healthy Paws, Embrace, Fetch, MetLife, Pets Best, Lemonade, Figo, Spot and ASPCA Pet Health Insurance.

Related guides: See how North Carolina's rising Lyme disease risk compares to New York's anaplasmosis trend — both spread by the same tick species — check how pre-existing condition exclusions typically work in pre-existing conditions, or see how enacted-law states compare in pet insurance in Ohio and pet insurance in Illinois, where a similar bill is still working through its first attempt at passage.

Last updated: August 28, 2026