A bilateral condition is a health problem that can affect both sides of the body, such as both hips, elbows or eyes.
This one matters a lot for certain breeds and its not talked about nearly enough when people are comparing pet insurance.
Some conditions are more likely to affect both sides of the body. Hip dysplasia in larger dogs, elbow problems, cruciate ligament injuries, certain eye conditions — these things have a tendency to turn up on both sides at some point even if only one side is the problem to start with.
The question is: does your policy treat the left side and the right side as one condition or two? And the answer varies quite a bit between insurers.
If they treat them as one condition, you have one excess to pay and one vet fee limit covering both sides. If they treat them as two separate conditions, you could end up paying your excess twice and have two separate limits, which sounds like more cover but can actually mean you're out of pocket more.
Its also relevant to pre-existing conditions. If your dog has already had a problem with one hip, a new insurer might exclude both hips, not just the one that was treated. The logic being that if one side is affected the other is at risk too. That exclusion could have a significant impact on your cover depending on the breed.
"If your dog has already had a problem with one hip, a new insurer might exclude both hips, not just the one that was treated."
The place to find this information is in the policy wording, often under the definitions section where they explain what counts as one condition. It's not usually in the headline information and its one of those things that only becomes relevant when you actually need to claim, which is a bit late to find out about it.
For breeds prone to bilateral conditions, particularly Golden Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds and similar larger dogs, its genuinely a policy detail to check this specific point before you take out or renew a policy.