Cherry eye is on Trupanion's list of bilateral conditions by name. Since it typically appears before a dog is two, and frequently in the second eye months after the first, it is a textbook case of the second-side rule: fix the left eye before the policy starts and the right one may never be covered. Worth noting that our own French Bulldog data does not show it as raised for that breed, despite how often it is claimed to be.
What is cherry eye, in plain terms?
Dogs have a third eyelid in the inner corner of the eye, with a tear gland tucked behind it. When the tissue holding that gland gives way it pops forward as a red lump, which is where the name comes from. It is not painful in itself but the gland produces a large share of the eye's tears, so it is put back rather than removed. It usually happens in young dogs and often in both eyes.
At what age does it usually appear?
Almost always under two years old, and often under one. It appears suddenly: a pink lump in the corner of the eye that was not there yesterday. Because it is so visible and so obviously abnormal, it gets to a vet quickly, which is good for the dog and awkward for a claim if the policy is only days old. The second eye, when it goes, typically follows within months rather than years.
Which clause should you check before you buy?
Check the bilateral clause first, because this is the condition where it bites soonest: the two eyes often go within a year of each other, so the second claim usually falls under whatever rule applies to the first. Then check whether the policy distinguishes replacing the gland from removing it, since removal is cheaper and some documents treat a procedure they consider inadvisable differently. Finally, if you are buying a young dog, note that this appears almost entirely under two years old, which is exactly when a first policy is being set up.
Do insurers treat both sides of the body as one condition?
Named as a bilateral condition in Trupanion policy form TRU-00001 (08/11), Definitions 7.c; read 2026-09-01
Prolapse of the nictitans gland: how long before an insurer will pay for it?
Also called cherry eye. Each insurer's waiting period and second-side rule below, from its own policy document.
Which insurer covers cherry eye soonest, and which makes you wait?
Prolapse of the nictitans gland falls under the ophthalmic class at most US insurers. The table below gives each insurer's waiting period and its rule for the second side of the body, taken from the insurer's own policy document.
| Insurer | Waiting period | Second side of the body | Hereditary and congenital | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figo | 14 days Fourteen days for illnesses generally. Anything that occurs during the waiting period is excluded afterwards as a pre-existing condition, which is the standard mechanism in this market. | Not stated in the document | Covered | Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13; What We Cover, Illnesses including Genetic Conditions, page 4 of 13 |
| Lemonade | 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 |
| Spot | 14 days The same 14 day waiting period applies to illnesses, and Exclusion f makes anything that occurs during a waiting period a pre-existing condition. On the second side of the body this policy has two mechanisms and only one of them bites. Exclusion c removes cover for "bilateral conditions of pre-existing conditions", which needs a pre-existing condition to already exist. The clause that turns one side into a pre-existing condition for the other names ligament, patella, meniscus and knee soft tissue, and illness in general is not in that list. | Not stated in the document | Covered | WAITING PERIODS, page 4; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and f, page 5 |
| Trupanion | 30 days No separate ophthalmic waiting period is stated in this specimen; it falls under the general 30 day illness waiting period. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Not stated in the document | 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 |
The waiting period for cherry eye is the number that decides whether a claim in the first year is paid at all, and it is the figure insurers vary most quietly. Each row below states the section of the policy it came from.
Every row cites the policy form code and the section it was read from, with the date we read it. Oldest check date on this page: .