What Does Pet Insurance Cover for Dogs and Cats?

Pet insurance can cover vet expenses related to new accidents and illnesses, including medication, surgery, hospitalization, and diagnostic testing your dog or cat may need.

At MetLife Pet, our pet insurance policies are designed to help you keep your furry family healthy and happy — and offset pet-related expenses. That means covering the little things, like exam fees, as well as the big ones, like emergency care.

Providing quality coverage may be one of the reasons you choose award-winning¹ MetLife Pet Insurance. So let’s dig into the details of what pet insurance usually covers and the different types of plans you can pick from. 

Pet Insurance: What Does it Cover?

In general, pet insurance can help cover vet bills for certain accidents, injuries, and illnesses. MetLife Pet dog insurance policies (starting at $16 a month) and cat insurance policies (starting at $7 a month) provide extensive coverage while limiting exclusions.²

To help you get a better idea of the specific types of expenses and conditions our pet insurance can cover, here’s a breakdown.

Diagnostic tests

Testing and diagnostic procedures are crucial to understanding what’s wrong with your pet. Some of the diagnostics that MetLife Pet Insurance can help provide coverage for include:

• X-rays
• Ultrasounds
• Blood work
• Computed tomography (CT) scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs)

Gaining access to some of the most comprehensive testing possible — with the help of pet insurance — can assist you in getting your pet the right treatment for them.

Accidents

Coverage for accidents and injuries can help pay the bills when your pet gets hurt. This could be when your pet eats something they shouldn’t have, or suffers a torn ligament or broken bone. This kind of coverage typically includes expenses like surgery, hospitalization, and emergency care. So, if your pet gets into trouble, you can focus more on their care and less on the costs.

Some accidents and injuries MetLife Pet may help cover include:

• Trauma
• Fractures
• Lacerations
• Cruciate ligament injuries
• Bite wounds
• Foreign object ingestion
• Dietary indiscretion
• Poisoning

To help you see our coverage in action, take a look at Frankie’s story. MetLife Pet reimbursed his family nearly $1,200 after the Belgian Malinois suffered lacerations from an injury while they were hiking, which resulted in a $1,300 surgery.³

Illnesses

With coverage for illnesses, MetLife Pet can reimburse you if your pet gets sick.⁴ This can include congenital, chronic, and hereditary conditions.

Some illnesses and afflictions MetLife Pet may help cover include:

• Infections, such as upper respiratory infections (URI) or urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Giardia, parvo, and distemper
• Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes
• Bladder stones
• Asthma
• Pancreatitis
• Abscesses, growths, and tumors
• Hip dysplasia

Ready for another story from one of our policyholders? Jade, a Jack Russell terrier, lives in Delaware with her family. After an exam and lots of testing, Jade was diagnosed with Addison’s disease and given meds to take regularly at home. MetLife Pet reimbursed her family about $5,100 of the nearly $6,400 vet bill.³

Prescription medicine

Vets will often prescribe medication(s) 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 pain medication, insulin, and Xanax^® for anxiety.⁵

For example, we reimbursed a California cat parent over $350 on their cat, Penn’s, $400 kidney disease medication.³

Prescription food

Sometimes, taking care of your pet’s health means carefully monitoring what they eat. For conditions like diabetes or kidney disease, your veterinarian might prescribe specially formulated food to help manage their symptoms.

A MetLife Pet Insurance plan can reimburse you for those vet-prescribed pet foods, helping you save on a potentially costly monthly expense.⁴

Alternative and holistic therapy

MetLife Pet’s policy comes with coverage for alternative and holistic treatments, such as acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and more. It’s just one of the ways MetLife Pet goes the extra mile to support your pet’s wellness!

Optional Preventive Care Plan

Not all pet insurance providers offer coverage for routine care, like checkups and vaccinations. But at MetLife Pet, we understand that prevention is an important part of a happy, healthy life.

We offer a Preventive Care plan add-on that helps you cover wellness procedures, services, and expenses up to the benefit limits listed in your plan. Help keep your pet healthy with coverage that includes:

• Routine veterinary care
• Vaccinations
• Parasite prevention
• Dental cleaning/care or spaying and neutering

You already know you’ll likely be paying for these kinds of vet expenses, and our wellness plan can help give you the chance to get money back for them.

What Does Pet Insurance Not Cover?

MetLife Pet works hard to keep exclusions at a minimum — but like every pet insurance company, there are some. The following are not covered under our policy:

• Cosmetic and elective procedures — like declawing, tail docking, or ear cropping
• Injuries caused by racing, coursing, commercial guarding, or illegal fighting
• Pre-existing conditions that affect your pet prior to your policy’s effective date (regardless of medical notation, diagnosis, or treatment) or during any waiting period

If you’re a group policy holder, coverage of your pet’s pre-existing conditions is possible if they’re currently covered through another provider and you switch to MetLife Pet.⁶

It’s important to note that not all of the services and conditions listed by a provider may be covered. Be sure you understand the exclusions of any pet insurance plans you’re looking at, so you’re not surprised down the road.

Types of Pet Insurance Coverage

There are two main types of pet insurance plans you can find in the market — comprehensive and accident-only — with some providers offering optional add-on plans. The type of plan you choose will dictate the kind of coverage you receive. Let’s take a look at how these work.

• Comprehensive pet insurance: With comprehensive coverage, your pet will be insured for both injury and illness, including if they need surgery due to an accident or treatment for a health condition. MetLife Pet offers a standard accident and illness policy.
• Accident-only plan: Accident-only plans are typically more limited, focusing mainly on injuries and accidents. These plans may come with a lower monthly premium. MetLife Pet Insurance does not currently offer accident-only coverage.
• Preventive care: If offered, wellness plans can typically be added to your standard insurance policy, so you can be covered for routine and preventive care. MetLife Pet offers an optional Preventive Care plan you can add to your policy.

With so many options to choose from, deciding which provider and policy works for you can be challenging.

How to Choose the Best Pet Insurance for You

So how do you choose the right pet health insurance policy? You can begin by reviewing your pet’s needs, and your budget, to see if pet insurance is worth it.

When considering a pet insurance plan, review which expenses and conditions are covered to ensure it’s the right policy. Also, look at your customization options and how they affect the price, so you can get the coverage you need and a price that works with your budget. You can also compare pet insurance from MetLife Pet to other providers to help you in your research process.

The next step would be to get a quote for your dog or cat. MetLife Pet makes it easy for pet owners to get started with no required exams or vaccinations to sign up. Still have questions? Be sure to check out our FAQs for even more answers!

MetLife Pet Insurance Can Help You Protect Your Pet

Knowing what pet insurance covers can give you the confidence to pick the best plan for you and your furry friend. MetLife Pet policies are customizable, and you can enroll your pet regardless of their breed or age.⁷

Plus, MetLife Pet Insurance offers a 0-day waiting period on accidents and Preventive Care, so your pet is covered almost immediately.⁸ Ready to take the next step in getting your pet coverage? Get a free quote today.