Does Pet Insurance Cover Heartworm Treatment?

Heartworm is one of those pet health topics that sounds old-school until it is suddenly very present, very expensive, and very much your problem. The good news: it is preventable. The more complicated news: treatment coverage depends on your policy, your pet’s history, and whether prevention was kept up to date.

Does pet insurance cover heartworm treatment? Usually, standard accident and illness pet insurance does not cover heartworm treatment if the condition is considered preventable, pre-existing, or tied to missed preventive care. Some wellness or preventative care add-ons may help cover heartworm testing or prevention, but treatment itself is often excluded or limited. As ever with insurance, the little details matter.

First: What is heartworm disease?

Heartworm disease is a serious parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes. When an infected mosquito bites a dog, cat, or ferret, it can pass along heartworm larvae. Over time, those larvae can grow into adult worms that live in the heart, lungs, and nearby blood vessels.

In dogs, heartworm disease can become life-threatening. Adult worms can damage the lungs and heart, cause inflammation, reduce blood flow, and lead to long-term complications. Cats are affected differently, and even a small number of worms can cause significant respiratory disease. The American Veterinary Medical Association describes heartworm as preventable, serious, and potentially fatal.

The extremely unfair part? Pets may not look sick at first. A dog can be infected before showing obvious symptoms. By the time coughing, fatigue, weight loss, reduced appetite, or exercise intolerance appear, the disease may already be advanced.

A soulful sidekick who suddenly refuses their usual walk is not being dramatic. Sometimes, the body is sending a memo.

How do pets get heartworms?

Heartworms are transmitted through mosquito bites. That means your pet does not need to meet another infected animal, share a water bowl, visit a dog park, or do anything especially adventurous. They simply need to be bitten by the wrong mosquito at the wrong time.

Once larvae enter a pet’s bloodstream, they mature over several months. In dogs, adult heartworms can live for years if untreated. That is why routine testing and prevention matter: they catch trouble before it gets a long-term lease.

Heartworm risk exists across the United States, though prevalence varies by region, climate, mosquito population, and local prevention rates. A pet who mostly lives indoors is still at risk. Mosquitoes, rude little opportunists that they are, do not respect screen doors, apartment buildings, or your carefully curated indoor lifestyle.

What does heartworm treatment involve?

For dogs, heartworm treatment is not a casual “take this and call me in the morning” situation. It is a structured medical process that may include diagnostic testing, stabilization, medications, injections to kill adult worms, and strict exercise restriction.

The American Heartworm Society’s treatment guidance emphasizes that dogs diagnosed with heartworm disease must be kept strictly confined during treatment and for weeks after the final adulticide injection, because activity can increase the risk of serious complications as worms die.

Heartworm treatment may include:

1. Diagnostic testing: Your veterinarian may run antigen tests, microfilaria tests, bloodwork, X-rays, or other diagnostics to assess infection and overall health.

2. Pre-treatment medication: Some dogs receive medications to reduce inflammation, address bacteria associated with heartworms, or begin clearing immature stages.

3. Adulticide treatment: Melarsomine dihydrochloride is FDA-approved to kill adult heartworms in dogs with stabilized class 1, 2, and 3 heartworm disease.

4. Exercise restriction: This is often the hardest part for pet parents. No big runs. No hallway parkour. No fetch sessions. Rest is part of treatment.

5. Follow-up testing: Your vet will likely retest later to confirm whether treatment worked and whether additional care is needed.

For cats, treatment is different. There is no approved adulticide treatment for heartworms in cats in the same way there is for dogs, so care often focuses on diagnosis, monitoring, symptom management, and prevention of future infection. Your veterinarian will guide the best path based on your cat’s symptoms and risk.

So, does pet insurance cover heartworm treatment?

Here is the most honest answer: sometimes, but often not.

Many pet insurance policies exclude heartworm treatment because heartworm disease is generally considered preventable with regular veterinary-recommended medication. Coverage can also be denied if the infection was present before the policy began, appeared during a waiting period, or resulted from not following recommended preventive care.

For Figo specifically, our sample dog policy states that costs or fees for treatments or preventative treatments for parasites, or conditions related to parasites, are not covered unless there is no preventive medication for that parasite. Heartworms are listed among those parasites.

That is the part worth reading closely. Not because you should be an insurance pro (you shouldn't be - that's our job!) but because “heartworm” can get expensive, and it's vital that Figo approaches that fact with honesty and transparency.

What about heartworm prevention?

Heartworm prevention is different from heartworm treatment.

Standard accident and illness insurance typically focuses on unexpected accidents and covered illnesses. Routine prevention usually falls under wellness or preventative care, not core accident and illness coverage.

If you have a Figo policy, preventative care — including parasite prevention — is included in our optional Wellness add-on if purchased. These add-ons can help cover costs related to flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, as well as heartworm testing, up to the applicable limits.

Translation: depending on your plan and additional coverage, you may have help with routine heartworm prevention or testing. But that does not necessarily mean heartworm disease treatment is covered. Prevention benefits and treatment coverage are not the same drawer.

Why prevention matters so much

Heartworm prevention is one of those unglamorous pet care tasks that earns its keep quietly. No one throws a dinner party because they remembered the monthly chew. But that little routine can spare your pet from a painful, complicated disease and spare you from an expensive veterinary bill.

The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round prevention as part of a broader risk-management approach to heartworm disease. Prevention may come as a monthly chewable, topical medication, or longer-acting injection administered by a veterinarian.

Your vet may recommend:

• Annual heartworm testing for dogs

• Year-round heartworm prevention

• Mosquito control around your home

• Testing before starting or restarting prevention

• A prevention product matched to your pet’s age, health, species, and lifestyle

And yes, indoor cats deserve a conversation too. The mosquito does not care that your cat has never touched grass or has a strong desire to sleep the day away on the top shelf.

Is heartworm treatment expensive?

It can be.

The total cost depends on your pet’s size, disease severity, diagnostics, medications, follow-up visits, and your clinic’s pricing. Costs can include bloodwork, X-rays, hospitalization, injections, pain medication, antibiotics, steroids, follow-up testing, and additional care if complications occur.

The financial sting is only part of it. Treatment also asks a lot from your household. Restricting activity for weeks can be emotionally hard, especially if your dog is young, athletic, anxious, or deeply committed to making poor decisions at high speed.

This is why veterinarians talk about prevention with such intensity, to avoid taking your pet down the harder road.

When might a heartworm claim be denied?

A heartworm-related claim may be denied for several reasons, depending on the policy.

Common reasons your claim may be denied include:

The condition is considered preventable

Because heartworm preventives exist, many policies treat heartworm disease as preventable. If a policy excludes parasite-related conditions or illnesses that could have been prevented with recommended care, treatment may not be covered.

The infection was pre-existing

If your pet had heartworms, clinical signs, abnormal test results, or a related condition before coverage began or during the waiting period, it may be considered pre-existing. Most pet insurance providers define pre-existing conditions as illnesses or injuries that first occurred or showed clinical signs before the original start date or before the end of your policy's waiting period. AKA anything that your pet was diagnosed with before they were insured.

Preventive care was not maintained

Some policies require pet parents to follow veterinary recommendations for preventive care. Figo, for example, requires that pets must receive treatment normally suggested by a veterinarian to prevent illness or injury, including appropriate prophylactic medication as prescribed and dispensed by a veterinarian to protect against parasites and fleas. Remember, prevention is the best medicine!

The claim is for routine prevention, not treatment

Heartworm preventives and annual testing are usually considered routine care. These may only be eligible if you have a wellness add-on that includes them.

The waiting period has not passed

Most pet insurance policies have waiting periods. If signs or diagnosis occur during that window, the condition may not be eligible for coverage.

What should you do if your pet tests positive for heartworm?

First, breathe. Then call your veterinarian and follow their plan closely.

A heartworm diagnosis is serious, but your vet has seen serious before. The best thing you can do is move quickly, ask clear questions, and resist the temptation to crowdsource treatment from Google or your favorite AI chatbot.

Ask your veterinarian:

• What stage or class is my pet’s heartworm disease?

• What tests do we need before treatment?

• What treatment plan do you recommend?

• How strict does exercise restriction need to be?

• What warning signs require urgent care?

• How long will treatment take?

• When should we retest?

• How should prevention work going forward?

If you have pet insurance, review your policy and submit documentation if appropriate. Even if you suspect something may not be covered, it is usually better to let the claims process give you a formal answer rather than stressfully guessing from the couch.

For Figo claims, we require a completed claim form, a paid invoice, and medical records, and note that coverage cannot be determined by phone or email without a complete claim submission.

Can you get pet insurance after a heartworm diagnosis?

Yes, you can often still get pet insurance after a heartworm diagnosis, but the heartworm condition itself may be considered pre-existing and excluded from coverage.

That does not make insurance pointless. It may still help with future eligible accidents or illnesses unrelated to heartworm, depending on the policy. But pet insurance is designed for what may happen next, not what has already happened.

This is the plain truth at the center of pet insurance: it works best if you get it before the doggy doo-doo hits the fan.

Does pet insurance cover heartworm testing?

Sometimes.

Heartworm testing is usually considered routine or preventative care, so it is often not covered by a standard accident and illness policy. However, some wellness add-ons may reimburse part of the cost of heartworm testing.

Figo’s sample wellness rider includes heartworm testing under wellness tests, subject to the selected tier’s maximum limits.

Because plan details vary, pet parents should check their declarations page, endorsements, and state-specific policy documents. The declarations page is where the practical realities live: coverage, limits, deductibles, reimbursement percentage, and selected add-ons.

Does pet insurance cover heartworm medication?

It depends what kind of medication we are talking about.

Heartworm prevention medication is usually considered preventative care. It may be eligible under a wellness add-on, but it is typically not covered by standard accident and illness insurance.

Medication used during heartworm treatment may still be excluded if the underlying heartworm condition is excluded. In a covered illness scenario, prescription medications can sometimes be eligible, but heartworm’s preventable parasite status often changes the outcome.

In Figo’s sample policy, prescribed medications may be included as part of covered accident or illness treatment when the condition started after the waiting period and during the policy period, subject to policy terms and exclusions. Since heartworm-related conditions are specifically addressed under parasite exclusions in the sample policy, pet parents should read their own policy documents carefully.

Not thrilling bedtime reading. Useful, though.

What claims data shows about heartworm-related costs

Heartworm disease is often talked about as a prevention issue — and it is. But once a pet tests positive, the costs can become more complex than a single “heartworm treatment” line item.

Internal IPG claims data from January 1 through June 16, 2026 shows that heartworm-related vet visits can vary a lot in cost. Some were smaller bills for testing, follow-up care, or monitoring. Others were much larger, reaching into the thousands. In the data reviewed, the highest visible heartworm-related bill was $5,601.98, with $3,000 paid on that claim. Several other claims also had vet bills over $3,000.

That nuance matters. Pet insurance may not always cover direct heartworm treatment, especially when heartworm disease is considered preventable, pre-existing, or parasite-related under a policy. But a heartworm-related claim can include other veterinary costs that are reviewed separately, such as diagnostics, prescriptions, symptom management, complications, or care connected to another covered condition.

Coverage depends on the policy, the pet’s medical history, preventive care records, waiting periods, and how each line item is adjudicated. In other words: pet insurance is not a magic wand, but it can still help soften the financial edges when a “simple positive test” turns into a more complicated care plan.

What about puppies and newly adopted dogs?

Puppies and newly adopted dogs deserve a heartworm plan early.

The right timing for testing and prevention depends on age, medical history, prior prevention, region, and veterinary guidance. Many puppies can begin heartworm prevention young, but your veterinarian should confirm the safest product and schedule.

For newly adopted dogs, especially those with unknown medical histories, your vet may recommend testing and starting prevention promptly. If you are buying pet insurance, it is smart to schedule a veterinary exam early and keep medical records organized. Those records can help establish what was — and was not — present before coverage began.

This is not about paperwork for paperwork’s sake. It is about avoiding a future argument with ambiguity.

How to lower your pet’s heartworm risk

Heartworm prevention is refreshingly straightforward compared with treatment. The hard part is consistency.

A practical prevention plan may include:

1. Use prevention year-round

Give preventives exactly as directed by your veterinarian.

2. Keep annual testing on the calendar

Even pets on prevention need routine testing. Missed doses, vomiting after medication, delayed refills, and product issues can happen.

3. Talk to your vet before switching products

Different preventives cover different parasites and have different safety considerations.

4. Do not restart prevention blindly after a long gap

Your vet may recommend testing first.

5. Reduce mosquito exposure where possible

Remove standing water, repair window screens, and avoid peak mosquito-heavy areas when practical.

6. Keep records

Save invoices, prescription records, test results, and wellness visit summaries. Your future self loves documentation, even if your current self finds it deeply unsexy.

The Figo angle: Simple, not mysterious

Pet insurance should not feel like decoding a puzzle.

Figo’s approach is built around making pet insurance more straightforward: clear plan details, accessible support, and tools like Pet Cloud to help keep your pet’s life in one place.

For heartworm specifically, the best move is to know what your plan covers before you need it. Review your accident and illness coverage, check whether you have a Wellness Powerup, and look closely at exclusions around parasites, preventative care, waiting periods, and pre-existing conditions.

You don't need to become an insurance pro. But educating yourself is the best way to avoid frustration, disappointment, and unexpected vet bills in the future.

Key takeaways

• Heartworm disease is serious, preventable, and spread by mosquitoes.

• Standard pet insurance often does not cover heartworm treatment because the disease may be considered preventable or parasite-related.

• Wellness add-ons may help cover heartworm prevention or testing, but they usually do not mean treatment is covered.

• Figo’s sample policy excludes costs for treatments or preventative treatments for parasites or parasite-related conditions, including heartworms, unless there is no preventive medication for that parasite. However, Figo's optional wellness add-ons may help cover the cost of prevention.

• The best strategy is boring in the best way: year-round prevention, regular testing, good records, and a policy you understand before you need to use it.

FAQs about pet insurance and heartworm treatment

Does pet insurance cover heartworm treatment?

Often, no. Many pet insurance policies exclude heartworm treatment because heartworm disease is generally considered preventable with veterinary-recommended medication. Coverage may also be denied if the condition is pre-existing, occurs during a waiting period, or is excluded as a parasite-related condition.

Does Figo cover heartworm treatment?

Our sample policy lists costs or fees for treatments or preventative treatments for parasites, or conditions related to parasites, as excluded unless there is no preventive medication for that parasite. Heartworms are specifically included in that list. Actual coverage may vary by policy, state, endorsements, and declarations page, so pet parents should review their own policy documents.

Does pet insurance cover heartworm prevention?

Standard accident and illness pet insurance usually does not cover routine heartworm prevention. However, some wellness or preventative care add-ons (like Figo's) may help reimburse eligible prevention costs up to plan limits.

Does Figo’s wellness coverage include heartworm prevention?

Figo’s optional wellness add-on includes flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, as well as heartworm testing, under certain wellness benefit categories and limits. Coverage depends on the selected wellness tier and policy details.

Is heartworm disease considered pre-existing?

It can be. If your pet had heartworms, showed clinical signs, or had related diagnostic findings before coverage started or during the waiting period, it may be considered pre-existing. Figo’s sample policy defines pre-existing conditions to include illnesses or injuries that first occurred or showed symptoms before the original start date or before the end of the waiting period.

Can indoor pets get heartworms?

Yes. Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes, and mosquitoes can get indoors. Indoor-only pets may have lower exposure than outdoor pets, but lower risk is not the same as no risk.

Can cats get heartworms?

Yes. Cats can get heartworms, though the disease behaves differently in cats than in dogs. Even a small number of worms can cause serious illness. Your veterinarian can recommend prevention and testing based on your cat’s risk.

Is heartworm treatment risky?

It can be. Killing adult heartworms can trigger complications, especially if a dog is active during treatment. That is why veterinarians often require strict exercise restriction throughout treatment and for a period afterward. The American Heartworm Society emphasizes confinement and activity restriction during the treatment process.

What is the best way to prevent heartworm disease?

Use veterinarian-recommended heartworm prevention year-round and keep up with routine testing. The right product and schedule depend on your pet’s species, age, health, lifestyle, and location.

Should I still get pet insurance if my pet has had heartworms?

Possibly. A past or current heartworm condition may not be covered, but insurance may still help with future eligible accidents or illnesses. Review the policy’s pre-existing condition rules, exclusions, waiting periods, and coverage details before enrolling.

What should I do if I missed a dose of heartworm prevention?

Call your veterinarian. Do not guess. Your vet may recommend giving the missed dose, testing, restarting prevention, or adjusting your pet’s schedule depending on how much time has passed and what product you use.

Is heartworm prevention worth it?

Yes. Heartworm prevention is typically simpler, safer, and less expensive than treating heartworm disease. More importantly, it helps protect your pet from a serious condition that can damage the heart and lungs.

Lizz Caputo is the Manager of Content Strategy at Figo, animal enthusiast, and owner of a rescued senior American Bully. Her hobbies include checking out new restaurants in her area, boxing, and petting dogs of all shapes and sizes.