Pet insurance has its own vocabulary in California law (Insurance Code §12880). The CDI outline lists eight defined terms: chronic condition, congenital anomaly or disorder, hereditary disorder, pet insurance, preexisting condition, veterinarian, veterinary expenses, and waiting or affiliation period.
Three of them are easy to mix up, because each can describe a condition an animal has had for a long time:
Congenital anomaly or disorder: a condition present from birth, whether inherited or caused by the environment, that may cause or contribute to illness or disease.
Hereditary disorder: an abnormality genetically transmitted from parent to offspring.
Chronic condition: a condition that can be treated or managed but not cured.
Example: a kitten is born with a heart defect caused by a toxin its mother was exposed to during pregnancy. The defect was present at birth but was not genetically transmitted, so it is a congenital anomaly or disorder, not a hereditary disorder. A hereditary disorder always involves genetic transmission; a congenital condition only has to be present from birth.
The other terms, in plain language: pet insurance is the kind of policy this law regulates; a preexisting condition is, broadly, one that already existed before coverage began; a veterinarian is the professional whose care the policy pays for; and a waiting or affiliation period is a stretch of time before certain coverage begins. Veterinary expenses have their own page next. For these terms, learn the exact wording from §12880 itself.