# Montana HB 78: Adopt pet insurance model act Montana HB 78, Adopt pet insurance model act, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Greg Overstreet (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-04-03 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB78-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 78 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Adopt pet insurance model act - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2024-12-18 - Last action: 2025-04-03, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Greg Overstreet (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Insurance, Revenue, State, Rule Making - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 4 (251 yes, 47 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Clearer pet insurance disclosures and refunds: benefit, medium. Before you buy, insurers must show key exclusions, waiting periods, deductibles, coinsurance, limits, and pricing drivers. Policies must explain how claim payments are figured, including any fee schedules or usual-and-customary limits. A bold notice on page one must explain your 15‑day free look. Y… - Stronger renewal and preexisting protections: benefit, medium. A condition is preexisting only if a vet advised or gave treatment, or signs were present before start or during a wait. If your policy already covered a condition, the insurer cannot call it preexisting at renewal. The insurer must prove any preexisting-condition exclusion before denying a claim.… - Shorter waiting periods; exam waiver: benefit, low. Insurers can use waiting periods only for some illnesses or non-accident orthopedic issues, and only up to 30 days. No waiting period is allowed for accident-related care. You can waive an allowed waiting period by completing a specified vet exam. You usually pay for the exam unless the policy says… - Training and oversight for pet insurance sellers: benefit, low. Producers must be licensed and complete required training before selling pet insurance. The training is at least two hours and covers preexisting conditions, waiting periods, wellness versus insurance, hereditary and chronic issues, and rating and renewals. Producers must retrain every 24 months, a… - Wellness plans kept separate from insurance: benefit, low. Wellness programs are separate from insurance unless the benefits are inside the policy, in which case they are insurance. Insurers and sellers cannot market wellness as pet insurance or sell wellness during a pet insurance sale. If they sell a wellness program, you cannot be forced to buy it, its… - How Montana enforces pet insurance rules: benefit, low. These rules apply to policies for Montana residents and to policies sold or delivered in Montana. Pet‑insurance rules override general insurance rules if they conflict. Policies must use and show the law’s definitions when they use those defined terms. Pet insurance is defined as property insurance… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Greg Overstreet (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Gregg Hunter (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-18 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 29 | 20 | | | 2025-03-17 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 29 | 21 | | | 2025-01-16 | House | Do Pass | pass | 97 | 2 | | | 2025-01-15 | House | Do Pass | pass | 96 | 4 | | ## Actions (27) - 2025-04-03: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-04-03: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-03-25: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-03-24: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-03-19: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-03-18: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-03-18: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-17: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-30: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-01-29: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-01-23: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-01-17: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-01-17: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-16: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-01-16: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-01-15: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-01-10: Committee Report (House) - 2025-01-10: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-01-07: Fiscal Note Printed (House) - 2025-01-07: Fiscal Note Signed (House) - 2025-01-07: Fiscal Note Received (House) - 2025-01-06: Hearing (House) - 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (House) - 2024-12-20: Referred to Committee (House) - 2024-12-18: Introduced (House) - 2024-12-18: Fiscal Note Requested (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-03-19: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=d1dbcfdc-2914-47f4-8977-bba94bc7fcb9) - Introduced, 2024-12-12: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8d2c9736-2c6a-4a76-b0ec-06190105a5f6) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=d1dbcfdc-2914-47f4-8977-bba94bc7fcb9) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8d2c9736-2c6a-4a76-b0ec-06190105a5f6) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB78-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).