Pet Insurance Coverage Breakdown for Dog and Cat Owners

At MetLife Pet¹, our pet insurance policies are designed to help you keep your furry family healthy and happy, while helping you manage your pet related expenses better. That means covering the little things, like exam fees, as well as the big ones, like emergency care. Providing such a standard of quality coverage maybe primarily the reason behind MetLife Pet Insurance being awarded the “Pet Insurance of the Year,” Award by the 2024 Pet Independent Innovation Awards Program.¹ We make it easy to customize your plan, so you can focus on getting your pet the suitable coverage they need!

Pet Insurance: What Does It Cover?

In general, pet insurance can help cover vet bills due to covered accidents, injuries, and illnesses. Our coverage and exclusions page gives a detailed breakdown of what you can get with a MetLife Pet dog insurance policy (starting at $15 a month) or cat insurance policy (starting at $9 a month).² You can also view our Sample Policy for even more detail. But here are some common items a MetLife Pet insurance policy could cover:

Diagnostic tests

Testing and diagnostic procedures are crucial when it comes to understanding what’s wrong with your pet. MetLife Pet Insurance can provide coverage for X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, and more. This way, you could afford to get some of the most comprehensive testing possible.

Accidents

Accident coverage can help pay the bills when your pet gets hurt. This could mean your pet broke a bone, tore ligaments, or ate something they shouldn’t have. Typically, accident coverage also includes the cost of related covered services — like surgery, hospitalization, and emergency care. If your pet gets into trouble, you won’t have to stress as much about the veterinary bills.

Here are some accidents and injuries MetLife Pet may cover:

• Vehicular trauma
• Fractures
• Lacerations
• Cruciate ligament injuries³
• Bite wounds
• Foreign object ingestion
• Dietary indiscretion
• Poisoning

Illness

With illness coverage, MetLife Pet will help cover the cost if your pet gets sick with a covered illness. This can include congenital, chronic, and hereditary conditions.

Here are a few illnesses and afflictions MetLife Pet may help cover:

• Upper respiratory infection (URI)
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Giardia
• Cancer
• Bladder stones
• Asthma
• Pancreatitis
• Parvo
• Distemper
• Patella luxation
• Abscesses
• Hip dysplasia

Optional preventive care policy

Not all pet insurance providers offer coverage for preventive care, like routine checkups. But at MetLife Pet, we understand that prevention is key to a happy, healthy life. That’s why we offer a preventive care plan add-on that helps keep your pets healthy by covering procedures that could help increase your pets’ lifespans, along with lowering their risk of certain cancers and tumors.^6,7 These procedures include:

• Routine veterinary care
• Most vaccinations, including rabies and feline panleukopenia virus (FVP)
• Parasite prevention
• Heartworm treatment
• Spaying and neutering

Prescription medicine

Vets will often prescribe medication to help your pet recover from an injury or illness, or to manage chronic conditions. With a pet insurance policy you can offset the costs of medications for dogs and cats, such as prescription painkillers, insulin, and Xanax for anxiety.

Prescription food

Sometimes, taking care of your pet’s health means carefully controlling what they eat. For conditions like diabetes or kidney disease, your veterinarian might prescribe specially formulated food to meet your dog or cat’s needs. A MetLife Pet Insurance plan can reimburse you for those vet-prescribed pet foods, helping you save on a potentially costly monthly expense.

Alternative and holistic therapy

With a plan from MetLife Pet, you can be reimbursed for alternative and holistic treatments, such as acupuncture and hydrotherapy. It’s just one of the ways MetLife Pet goes the extra mile to support your pet’s health!

What Does Pet Insurance Not Cover?

MetLife Pet works hard to keep our exclusions at a minimum. But as with every pet insurance company, there are some exclusions. The following are not covered under any MetLife Pet policy:

• Pre-existing conditions that affect your pet prior to your policy effective date (regardless of medical notation, diagnosis, or treatment), or any waiting period, which are not covered by MetLife Pet Insurance. However, Coverage of previously covered pre-existing conditions when switching providers is possible if covered under a previous policy of another provider from where you switch to MetLife Pet.
• Cosmetic procedures — like declawing, tail docking, or ear cropping — that don’t impact your pet’s health.
• Injuries caused by racing, coursing, commercial guarding, or illegal fighting.

When considering a plan, make sure you review what events and conditions are covered, so you can be certain it’s the right insurance policy for you and your pet(s). Our competitor comparison tables can also help you quickly see at a glance how MetLife Pet stacks up against other pet insurance companies. 

Types of Pet Insurance Coverage

It’s important to note that not all of these services and conditions will be covered by every policy. Pet insurance plans typically have two main types of coverage. With comprehensive coverage, your pet will usually be insured for both injury and illness. Accident-only coverage is typically more limited, focusing mainly on injuries and accidents. Often, the trade-off is a lower monthly premium.

Keep in mind that with MetLife Pet, to the plans are customizable to help fit your budget and needs, as well as enhancing it with add-ons like preventive care and dental coverage. Regardless of the plan you choose, MetLife Pet makes it easy for pet owners to get started with no required exams or vaccinations to sign up, and no breed restrictions.

So how do you choose the right pet health insurance policy? You can begin by reviewing your pet’s needs, as well as your budget, to see if pet insurance makes sense for you. The next step would be to get a free MetLife Pet Insurance Quote for your dog or cat. Still have questions? Be sure to check out our FAQs for even more answers!