Insurance for rescue dog with pre-existing condition?

[MeadowHay]

I met a rescue dog the other day that is only about one and a half, a spaniel, who has something wrong with his hip, I can't remember the exact term the rescue used, it definitely wasn't described as hip dysplasia as I would have recognised that term and it was a term I didn't recognise but anyway they said he has something wrong with his hip. They said that it doesn't bother him at all but in the future it may cause arthiritis and they don't know whether it will happen, if it happens they don't know when it will happen etc. But they said if it does cause arthiritis because it's a pre-existing hip condition we wouldn't be able to insure against it so would have to pay for all the treatment. This really puts us off as whilst we can afford a dog with insurance I don't know if we could afford colossal vet bills that we can't insure against.

So is it possible to insure against it or was the rescue lady right that no insurance would cover it? If some insurers will insure against it would that mean insurance would be super expensive though? And is arthiritis treatment really expensive without insurance?

The cost of arthritis treatment is related to size of dog ( big dog needs more drug). I have not come across any company for many years that will take on pre-existing conditions. I have come across rescues who ask owners to insure for new conditions, but cover treatment for pre-existing conditions.

As Lonecat says, some rescues will cover the cost of treatment for pre-existing conditions. Dogs Trust do a shared adoption scheme for this kind of thing.
It might be worth phoning round some insurance companies to get an idea of if they will cover/ costs. They may want to read the vet's notes on the dog so you need to discuss access to his records with the rescue first.
Your other option is to set up a bank account for the dog, put aside some money every month from now to cover vet bills when he's older.