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Which English Bulldog conditions are still not claimable after twelve months?

We list the conditions a English Bulldog is documented to face, then read each insurer's own policy wording for every one. The number under each insurer is how many are still not claimable twelve months after you sign.

Conditions on record 3 Strongest signal: sore, infected skin folds
Insurers read 4 Policy documents, not marketing pages
Longest wait before cover 14 to 30 days Figo, Lemonade and Spot start soonest, Trupanion latest

This page sorts on one thing only: how many of the breed's documented conditions are still not claimable after twelve months. It ignores premium, payout speed, annual limit and customer service.

3 documented conditions for this breed, checked against 4 insurers. Sorted by fewest restrictions first.
Insurer Blocked in year one Second-side risk Longest wait Not documented Policy read
Figo 0 of 3 0 14 days 0 IAIC FPI POL AI KS 1025
Lemonade 0 of 3 0 14 days 0 LEM-PET (09-23)
Spot 0 of 3 0 14 days 0 PET-P-20000-1024
Trupanion 0 of 3 1 30 days 0 TRU-00001 (08/11)

Each number counts only what the insurer's own policy document states. Where a document is silent on a rule, the row says so instead of guessing.

How each number is counted

A condition counts as not claimable when any of these is true on day 365: the waiting period for its class has not passed, the policy excludes it by breed or by age, the policy does not cover its category at all, or the condition is usually bilateral and this insurer treats the second side as pre-existing.

  • Figo
    • covered sore, infected skin folds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13; What We Cover, Illnesses including Genetic Conditions, page 4 of 13)
    • covered cherry eye: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13; What We Cover, Illnesses including Genetic Conditions, page 4 of 13)
    • covered the breathing problems of flat-faced breeds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13; What We Cover, Illnesses including Genetic Conditions, page 4 of 13)
  • Lemonade
    • covered sore, infected skin folds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Waiting periods; Pre-existing conditions; Definitions page 14)
    • covered cherry eye: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Waiting periods; Pre-existing conditions; Definitions page 14)
    • covered the breathing problems of flat-faced breeds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Waiting periods; Pre-existing conditions; Definitions page 14)
  • Spot
    • covered sore, infected skin folds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (WAITING PERIODS, page 4; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and f, page 5)
    • covered cherry eye: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (WAITING PERIODS, page 4; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and f, page 5)
    • covered the breathing problems of flat-faced breeds: Covered after the 14 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (WAITING PERIODS, page 4; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and f, page 5)
  • Trupanion
    • covered sore, infected skin folds: Covered after the 30 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Exclusions & Limitations 5.b(2) and 5.c(1); page 3 of 9)
    • conditional cherry eye: This condition usually affects both sides. If one side was already known before you enrolled, this insurer treats the other side as pre-existing. (Waiting period at 5.b(2), page 3 of 9; bilateral exclusion at 5.c(2), page 3 of 9; definition at 7.c, page 6 of 9, which names cherry eye, entropion/ectropion and cataracts)
    • covered the breathing problems of flat-faced breeds: Covered after the 30 day waiting period. This comes from the policy’s general illness rule; it names no separate rule for this class. (Exclusions & Limitations 5.b(2) and 5.c(1); page 3 of 9)
Where each condition comes from. Sorted by how much this breed stands out, strongest first.
Condition How much it stands out Sample Source
Skin fold dermatitis sore, infected skin folds 38.12× n = 2,662 VetCompass 2022
Prolapse of the nictitans gland cherry eye 26.79× n = 2,662 VetCompass 2022
Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome the breathing problems of flat-faced breeds 19.2× n = 2,662 VetCompass 2022
VetCompass, Royal Veterinary College. O'Neill DG, Skipper A, Packer RMA et al., Canine Medicine and Genetics, 2022
UK first-opinion practice data from 2016, comparing 2,662 English Bulldogs against 22,039 dogs that are not English Bulldogs, drawn from 905,544 dogs under veterinary care that year. The odds ratios are adjusted rather than raw. As with every study of this design, the comparison group contains other brachycephalic breeds, which makes the reported figures more likely an underestimate than an overestimate for conformation-linked disorders. It measures one year and one age cohort, so it does not describe lifetime risk. The biology carries over to the US; referral patterns and recording habits do not. An odds ratio compares this breed against other dogs and is not the chance that your dog will be affected.
What was measured
dogs under UK primary veterinary care during 2016.

Last checked: . This is the oldest check date of the rows on this page, not the newest.

What makes insuring a English Bulldog different?

The English Bulldog is the breed where the skin and the eyes cost more than the airway, which is not what most buyers expect. In the VetCompass study behind this page, skin fold dermatitis ran at 38.12 times the adjusted odds of other dogs and prolapsed nictitating membrane gland, the third eyelid gland that owners call cherry eye, at 26.79. Airway disease is on the list too, at 19.20, but it is not the top of it. The practical difference matters for a policy: fold dermatitis and cherry eye are recurring, visible and cheap per visit, which is exactly the profile that runs into per-condition limits and pre-existing wording rather than into an annual cap.

Why does the timing of enrolment matter so much for this breed?

Almost everything on this breed's list is visible from the outside. Facial folds, a prolapsed third eyelid gland and an undershot jaw are all things a veterinarian sees rather than tests for, so they reach the clinical record at the first appointment. That is the single reason enrolment timing dominates here. There is no photograph in this register for the English Bulldog: the lead image on its Wikipedia article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which requires the full licence text to travel with the image, and a one-line credit cannot satisfy that. Rather than stretch a licence we do not meet, the page runs without a photograph.