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Your Guide to Pet Insurance Through Your Employer

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Are you considering getting pet insurance through your employer? The good news is this is becoming a more common benefit — right alongside your own dental and vision insurance — and MetLife Pet can help protect your furry family member(s) from nose to tail.

Read on to learn how pet insurance works as an employee benefit, why it might be a good option for your family, and what to do if your employer doesn’t offer it.

Why Do Employers Offer Pet Insurance?

According to MetLife Pet’s research with CivicScience, 70% of full-time employees have at least one pet.¹ Given so many pet parents in the workforce, it’s not surprising employers want to offer pet insurance as a voluntary benefit.

By offering pet insurance — like MetLife Pet’s — as an employee benefit, employers are able to provide financial options that could:

Help make the cost of pet care more accessible for owners
Provide a discount on pet insurance plan premiums^2,3
Give pet parents the ability to choose the coverage they want, so it fits their pet’s needs and their budget
Ease worries about paying for emergency vet expenses

Our research showed 79% of pet parents would experience a negative impact on their finances if their pet needed a $5,000 emergency surgery.¹ In a separate survey conducted with Talker Research, only 52% of pet owners who experienced an unexpected pet health expense in 2024 were financially prepared for it — down from 82% who expressed the same sentiment in 2023.⁴

Having pet insurance can mean getting your pet the medical care they need for a healthy and happy life. And if you’re an employer looking for more information on how to offer pet insurance to your employees, visit MetLife’s pet insurance employee benefit page.

Do Your Employee Benefits Include MetLife Pet?

You May Get a Discount

How Pet Insurance Works as a Benefit

If your employer offers pet insurance as a voluntary benefit, enroll in a policy per your their instructions. Your premiums will likely be paid by automatic deduction from your paycheck — similar to other types of insurance benefits. Talk with your human resources (HR) department for more details.

Once enrolled, the process for using your pet’s insurance plan is the same as if you’d enrolled on your own. With MetLife Pet as your provider, you can take your pet to any licensed veterinarian in the country, pay the bill, and submit a claim to us for reimbursement.⁵

Most claims are processed in 5 days — though it could take longer if we need more information. After verifying your claim, we can reimburse you for any covered expenses by check or direct payments.⁵

What’s Covered by Your Pet Insurance?

If your employer chooses MetLife Pet as their pet insurance provider, some of the pet expenses we can typically help you cover include:

✅ Accidents

✅ Illnesses (including hereditary, congenital, and chronic conditions)

✅ Hospitalizations and emergency care

✅ Surgeries

✅ Exam fees

✅ Diagnostic tests (like X-rays, ultrasounds, and blood work)

✅ Prescription medications and vet-prescribed food and supplements

✅ Holistic care and alternative therapies

Real savings from MetLife Pet group policyholders

Getting a pet insurance plan could help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars each year — like these MetLife Pet families who enrolled through their employers:

Joy, a pug from Washington, and her family were reimbursed over $950 on diagnostics for gastrointestinal (GI) issues that cost around $1,050.⁶
Paul, a 5-year-old cat from California, wasn’t eating. His family was reimbursed nearly $525 on his $750 vet exam to diagnose the issue.⁶
Dottie, a Bernese mountain dog, and her Tennessee family were reimbursed over $100 on the nearly $120 medication for her spinal condition.⁶

As with any insurance, policies are subject to some exclusions. Make sure you’re aware of them, so you can get the right coverage for you and your furry family.

Why Should You Get Pet Insurance Through an Employer?

If you’re wondering whether to buy a policy on your own or enroll through the provider your employer partners with, it might help to think about your budget and what kind of coverage you need.

You can typically take advantage of group discounts available through your employer, which may result in a lower monthly premium. By enrolling in MetLife Pet Insurance through your employer, you could get a 10% discount.³

If you already have pet insurance but might be looking to switch providers, we can provide coverage for previously covered pre-existing conditions when you switch to a MetLife Pet group policy (i.e., through your employee benefits).⁷ This provides a chance to continue saving money if your pet’s health condition(s) would otherwise be excluded from coverage when getting a new policy.

Other reasons to choose MetLife Pet

Choosing MetLife Pet to help protect your furry family member(s) comes with even more benefits. You can customize your plan’s reimbursement rate, deductible, and annual limit.^5,8,9 Plus, you can put multiple dogs and cats on one policy with our unique Family Plan and have them share a deductible, all at a discounted rate.¹¹

Some additional reasons MetLife Pet may be a great provider for you include:

A free 24/7 vet telehealth chat¹² in our mobile app for policyholders
An optional Preventive Care plan you can add to your insurance to help you cover routine and wellness expenses
A 0-day waiting period on accidents and Preventive Care benefits¹³
A healthy pet incentive that can get you a deductible discount¹⁴

Whether you have a puppy, kitten, or senior pet, you can enroll them in a MetLife Pet policy and take advantage of all the benefits it comes with.¹⁵

How Can You Get Pet Insurance Through Your Employer?

Check your benefits package, or speak with your HR representative to learn if your company offers pet insurance as an employee benefit. For more information about pet insurance in general, explore some frequently asked questions.

What To Do if Your Employer Doesn’t Offer Pet Insurance

If your employer doesn’t offer pet insurance, ask if they’d consider adding it to their benefits package. While they may decline your request, if you like what you see, you can always get a quote directly from us and enroll on your own!

Related Reads

How Much Does Pet Insurance Cost?

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Benefits of Pet Insurance

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11 Questions To Ask When Shopping for Pet Insurance

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Sign Up for MetLife Pet & Save With Your Employee Benefit Program

Get Coverage for Your Pet

**As with any insurance policy, coverage may vary. Review our coverage and exclusions.

¹ Internal MetLife CivicScience Research data, October 2022

² When combining discounts, restrictions apply. Must be eligible for applicable discounts. Each discount may not be available in all states.

³ Must be eligible for applicable discount. The Affinity Group and Non-Employer discount are not available in MN or TN. The Employer Group Discount is not available in TN. In MN, Employer Group Discount is called an “Employee Affinity Discount”.

⁴ Data from a survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of MetLife from Nov. 25 to Nov. 28, 2024, with a sample of 2,000 dog and cat owners. https://www.metlifepetinsurance.com/pet-health-spending-study-2025/

⁵ Reimbursement options include: 50%, 70%, 80% and 90%. Restrictions apply.

⁶ All claims paid amounts are based on MetLife Pet internal claims data from December 2023. These examples are for illustrative purposes only. These are based on a policy with a $500 deductible and 90% reimbursement, a $250 deductible and 80% reimbursement, and a $100 deductible and 90% reimbursement. The pet policies issued by Metropolitan General Insurance Company are the governing documents with respect to all matters of insurance. The specific facts of each claim must be evaluated in conjunction with the provisions of the applicable Policies to determine coverage in each individual case.

⁷ Pre-existing coverage only available to individuals with active pet insurance coverage that have purchased MetLife Pet Insurance as part of an employer group benefit offering

⁸ Deductible options range include: $0 – $750 in $50 increments and $1,000, $1,250, $1,500, $2,000 and $2,500. Restrictions may apply.

⁹ Annual limit options range from $500 – $25,000 in $1,000 increments or unlimited benefit option also available. Restrictions apply.

¹⁰ Calculation based upon select plans and coverages. Actual rates may vary based on pet age, breed, location, deductible, reimbursement rate, and annual limits you choose.

¹¹ Coverage options may be limited for certain ages.

¹² Virtual veterinary services are available through the MetLife Pet App and are provided entirely by AskVet, a third-party partner; MetLife is not responsible for any pet guidance or advice provided or taken. Veterinarians providing virtual veterinary services cannot prescribe medication or answer questions about the pet policy.

¹³ Accident and optional Preventive Care coverage begins on midnight EST of the effective day of your policy. Illness coverage begins 14 days from the effective day of your policy.

¹⁴ Your policy deductible decreases by $50 each policy year that you don’t receive a claim reimbursement. Deductible reverts on renewal if claim reimbursement for claims other than preventive care have been made. Restrictions apply.

¹⁵ Coverage options may be limited for certain ages.

Pet Insurance coverage issued by Metropolitan General Insurance Company, a Rhode Island insurance company, headquartered at 700 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886. Coverage subject to restrictions, exclusions and limitations and application is subject to underwriting. See policy or contact MetLife Pet Insurance Solutions LLC (“MetLife Pet”) for details. MetLife Pet is the policy administrator. It may operate under an alternate or fictitious name in certain jurisdictions, including MetLife Pet Insurance Services LLC (New York and Minnesota), and MetLife Pet Insurance Solutions Agency LLC (Illinois).

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