About MetLife Pet Insurance
MetLife Pet Insurance won “Pet Insurance of the Year” in the Pet Independent Innovation Awards for both 2023 and 2022. The company offers comprehensive dog and cat insurance policies in all 50 states and is one of the few pet insurance companies that also offer coverage for exotic pets.
However, coverage for exotic pets is limited to consumers in the following states:
MetLife pros & cons
Every insurance plan has its strengths and weaknesses, and MetLife is no different. Review MetLife Pet Insurance’s benefits and drawbacks to see if it’s right for you.
MetLife pet insurance plans & coverage
MetLife offers dog insurance, cat insurance and pet insurance for exotic animals.
Instead of offering multiple types of pet insurance plans, MetLife has a single comprehensive accident and illness package. It also offers a wellness plan with additional coverage options.
Let’s take a look at what these plans include.
Let’s break down what these coverage options really mean.
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Accidents: If your pet sustains an accidental injury, MetLife pet insurance will cover the cost of diagnosing and treating the problem. For example, your vet may take an X-ray to look for broken bones. Your accident coverage will pay for this X-ray.
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Illnesses: Even with regular vet care, it’s possible for a pet to get sick from time to time. MetLife pet insurance covers the cost of treating many illnesses, including cancer and hereditary conditions. For example, if your cat develops a respiratory infection, your pet insurance policy may pay for antibiotics or steroid injections to help it feel better.
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Surgeries: In some cases, surgery is the only way to treat a serious medical condition. MetLife pet insurance pays for surgeries associated with covered conditions to make life a little less stressful.
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Exam fees: Many insurance companies exclude exam fees from their standard plans, but MetLife isn’t one of them. If your dog or cat needs an exam to diagnose a medical problem, MetLife covers the cost.
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Cruciate ligament injuries: Although MetLife has a six-month waiting period for anterior and medial cruciate ligament injuries, the company does cover the cost of treating these injuries once the waiting period has expired. In dogs, the cruciate ligaments are thick pieces of tissue found in the knee joints.
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Hospitalizations: Even if your pet doesn’t need surgery, it may need to stay overnight at a vet hospital. For example, if your dog ingests a harmful substance, the vet may need to administer fluids and repeat blood tests. MetLife covers the cost of hospitalization for each covered pet.
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Diagnostic tests: Vets use diagnostic tests to determine what’s causing a pet’s symptoms. MetLife may provide coverage for tests like X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, bloodwork and more.
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Medications: Just like humans, pets may need to take medications to treat symptoms or prevent medical complications. MetLife covers the cost of prescription medications used to treat covered conditions.
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Emergency care: In some cases, you can’t wait days to see a vet. If your precious pet needs care right away, MetLife may cover the cost of an emergency exam and other immediate treatments.
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Alternative therapies and holistic care: MetLife may cover holistic or alternative therapies like acupuncture, laser therapy, hydrotherapy and more as long as it’s carried out by a licensed veterinarian.
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Intervertebral disc disease: This is commonly referred to as a herniated disc or a slipped disc. Treatment will depend on how severe the damage is, but it can range from medication and rest to surgery.
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Prescription pet food: For conditions like kidney disease and diabetes, your veterinarian may prescribe specific food for your dog or cat. These prescription foods tend to cost more than normal pet food, but MetLife can help to cover the cost. This coverage is only included in policies that are underwritten by MetGen.
The standard MetLife Pet Insurance plan doesn’t include preventive care, but the company offers an optional wellness plan to give you even more coverage. This add-on can help cover the costs listed below.
MetLife pet insurance exclusions
MetLife pet insurance does have some exclusions. These are all things that are commonly not covered by pet insurance policies, so there are no real surprises here.
Let’s take a closer look at what these exclusions entail.
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Pre-existing conditions: In the pet insurance industry, a pre-existing condition is a health problem that existed before you purchased coverage and completed the initial waiting period. For example, if you buy coverage after your dog has already been diagnosed with kidney disease, then kidney disease becomes an excluded condition. You can prevent this from happening by buying MetLife coverage when your pet is young and healthy rather than waiting until it’s older.
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Elective procedures: An elective procedure is something that’s not medically necessary. Unless your vet states that a procedure is necessary to preserve your pet’s health or well-being, MetLife won’t cover it. This includes ear clipping, tail docking and teeth straightening.
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Grooming: Some breeds require frequent grooming. If yours is one of them, you won’t be able to use your MetLife insurance to get reimbursed.
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Vitamins and minerals: MetLife pays for prescription medications, but it doesn’t cover vitamin and mineral supplements. However, holistic and alternative therapies are eligible for reimbursement.
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Organ transplants: Although MetLife covers most surgeries, it doesn’t cover organ transplantation, which is risky and expensive.
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Breeding: If you want to breed your dog or cat, you’ll have to cover the breeding and whelping costs on your own.
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Racing/fighting: MetLife won’t cover any injuries or illnesses associated with using pets to race or fight.
MetLife Pet Insurance waiting periods and age restrictions
All pet insurance policies have waiting periods between when you purchase your policy until your coverage kicks in. These pet insurance waiting periods vary by provider and by the type of issue.
MetLife Pet Insurance has one of the shortest waiting periods in the industry when it comes to accidents and wellness costs. You just need to wait until midnight on the day you purchase your coverage. For illness coverage, the waiting period is 14 days.
Unlike many companies, MetLife has no upper age limit or breed restrictions, making it even easier to get insurance for pets. However, you can’t enroll a pet in a MetLife plan until it’s 8 weeks old.
MetLife Pet Insurance coverage
Every pet insurance policy has a deductible, a reimbursement rate and an annual coverage limit. MetLife Pet Insurance offers a wide range of options to choose from, making it easy to customize your plan to fit your coverage needs as well as your budget.
Here’s what you need to know about MetLife’s coverage options:
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Deductible: The deductible is how much you have to pay before your insurance policy starts paying your veterinary expenses. For example, if you have a $500 vet bill and a $100 deductible, you have to pay $100 out of pocket before MetLife will cover anything.
MetLife’s deductibles range from $50 to $500 per year.
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Reimbursement options: Your reimbursement rate is the percentage of each bill that MetLife pays. Assume you have a $1,000 bill, a $200 deductible and a 90% reimbursement rate. After paying the $200 deductible, you’d have a balance of $800. MetLife dog insurance would reimburse you $720 (90% of the $800 balance).
MetLife’s reimbursement options range from 70% to 90%.
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Annual limit: This is the maximum amount that your insurance company will pay once you’ve met your deductible. For example, MetLife has a maximum annual coverage limit of $10,000. If your pet has a tough year, you may exhaust your insurance benefits, leaving you with some large bills to cover out of pocket.
How much does MetLife Pet Insurance cost?
According to Metlife, pet insurance can cost as little as $15 per month for dogs and $9 per month for cats.
To give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay for pet insurance with MetLife, we got quotes for popular cat and dog breeds.
We applied the following details for these quotes:
- Plan: Standard accident and illness plan
- Age of pet: 3
- ZIP code: 90001
- Reimbursement: 80%
- Annual limit: $5,000
- Deductible: $250
The table below shows our quotes for MetLife cat insurance.
| Cat breed |
Monthly cost |
| Domestic shorthair |
$25 |
| Maine Coone |
$36 |
| Ragdoll |
$36 |
This table shows our price quotes for MetLife dog insurance.
| Dog breed |
Monthly cost |
| French Bulldog |
$54 |
| German Shepherd |
$42 |
| Golden Retriever |
$49 |
Keep in mind that how much you’ll pay for pet insurance from MetLife depends on various factors, including:
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Pet type: Some pets tend to have lower medical expenses than others. For example, it typically costs more to care for a dog than it does to care for a cat. Therefore, the type of pet you have has a big impact on the cost of coverage.
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Your location: The cost of living in your area also affects your insurance rates. Vets in some cities have to charge a lot more for their services because it costs them more to rent office space, purchase supplies and cover the other costs of doing business. To prevent losses, insurance companies charge more for policies issued to customers in these areas.
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Your pet’s breed: Some breeds have a higher risk of developing serious health conditions. For example, a pug’s wrinkled face may look adorable, but it can actually make it more difficult to breathe. Some pugs even develop skin conditions due to those wrinkles. If you have a pet that’s prone to health issues, you may pay more for insurance.
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Your pet’s age: The risk of developing a serious illness increases with age. Therefore, it costs more to buy a policy for a 7-year-old dog than it does for a puppy.
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Your coverage options: This includes your reimbursement level, annual limit and deductible.
Does MetLife Pet Insurance offer any discounts?
Many insurance companies offer a multi-pet discount, but MetLife takes it a step further by offering family plans. Rather than purchasing a separate policy for each pet, you can purchase a single policy that covers up to three pets in your home. That means you only have to pay one deductible each year. If you have multiple pets, you could save a significant amount of money.
MetLife also works with U.S. employers to give employees access to discounted pet insurance. Discounts are also available to healthcare workers, first responders and members of certain affinity groups. All policies are underwritten by MetGen.
MetLife Pet Insurance reviews
On Trustpilot, some users have left negative MetLife pet insurance reviews, but many of these reviews focus on circumstances outside of MetLife’s control.
For example, one customer wrote, “They wouldn’t accept a claim on my last policy because it was past 90 days.”
It’s common for pet insurance companies to set a limit on how long you have to file your claims. If you miss the deadline, the insurance company won’t reimburse you.
Satisfied reviewers note that MetLife “pays the claims very well” and “covers almost everything.”
How does MetLife Pet Insurance compare to other providers?
The following table shows how some features of MetLife compare to those of other popular pet insurance providers.
| Category |
MetLife |
Healthy Paws |
Paw Protect |
| Accident waiting period |
Midnight on the date you purchase your policy |
15 days |
2 days |
| Illness waiting period |
14 days |
15 days |
14 days |
| Wellness plan available? |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Reimbursement options |
70/80/90% |
50/60/70/80/90% |
70/80/90% |
| Deductible options |
$50, $100, $250, $500 |
$50, $100, $250, $500, $750, $1,000 |
$100, $250, $500 |
| Annual limit |
$10,000 |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
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