MetLife Pet Insurance Review
If you’re a pet-owner, you know how stressful it can be when your dog or cat is sick. And the cost of veterinary bills can add to that stress. If you’re worried about unexpected medical expenses, a pet insurance policy from MetLife could provide you with peace of mind.
While it’s not always among our picks for the very best pet insurance companies, MetLife offers decent policies that cover treatments for accidents and injuries, and you can get coverage for multiple pets with a single policy. In this review, we break down what Metlife’s policies cover and what you can expect coverage to cost.
MetLife is a major insurance company that sells multiple types of insurance. It acquired PetFirst in 2019, and has now retired that name for pet insurance policies. MetLife policies are underwritten by either Metropolitan General Insurance Company (MetGen) or the Independence American Insurance Company (IAIC).
MetLife Pet Insurance Overview
- Several discounts available
- Covers holistic and alternative therapies
- No breed or upper age limits
- Coverage for multiple pets under one policy
- Coverage available for exotic pets in some states
- Slow claims processing time
- Some conditions have longer waiting periods
- Lower-than-typical coverage maximums
MetLife’s Services
When choosing a pet insurance policy, it’s important to find one that makes the most financial sense for you. Let’s look at MetLife’s services to see whether they provide value for your money.
What it offers
MetLife sells accident and illness policies for dogs or cats, and it doesn’t have any upper age limits or breed restrictions. And a unique benefit of MetLife’s coverage is that it allows you to insure multiple pets under one family plan; that way, you have just one monthly premium to pay and one deductible to meet, rather than juggling multiple policies.
MetLife also sells a preventative care plan that you can add to your coverage. Preventative care plans cover routine wellness exams, vaccinations and heartworm preventative treatments.
MetLife now also sells pet insurance for exotic pets, such as birds or reptiles, in select states. You can purchase coverage for exotic pets in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin or Wyoming.
MetLife Pet Insurance Coverage
| What’s covered | What’s not covered |
|
|
- Accidents
- Exam fees
- Holistic and alternative therapies
- Hospitalizations
- Illnesses
- Medications
- Surgeries
- X-rays and ultrasounds
- Breeding and conditions related to breeding
- Elective procedures
- Expression or removal of anal glands
- Grooming costs
- Illness or injury which arises out of racing, coursing, commercial guarding, or organized fighting of your pet
- Organ transplants
- Parasitic treatments (unless you purchase a preventative care rider)
- Pre-existing coverage
- Vitamins or mineral supplements
What it Doesn’t Offer
Like other pet insurance companies, MetLife doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions. Injuries, illnesses or symptoms that were evident before your coverage effective date or the end of the policy waiting periods are considered pre-existing conditions.
MetLife Pet Insurance Costs
Here are some examples of policies for different dog and cat breeds to help you better understand MetLife’s pet insurance cost. These examples are based on the rates of 3-year-old female pets in the Los Angeles area (using the $250 deductible, 80% reimbursement, and $2,000 annual benefit option).
| Premium-Dog Breeds | Premium-Cat Breeds |
| American Bulldog - $55.89 | Persian - $27.52 |
| Golden Retriever - $35.93 | American bobtail - $21.16 |
| Beagle - $25.50 | Colour Point - $19.91 |
MetLife Pet Insurance Waiting Periods
As is common with pet insurance, MetLife has waiting periods before your coverage goes into effect.
Accident and preventative care coverage go into effect at midnight EST of the effective day of your policy. With illness coverage, the waiting period is 14 days.
However, some conditions have lengthier waiting periods. For example, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) conditions have six-month waiting periods.
MetLife Credentials
Choosing a reputable pet insurance company can save you lots of headaches down the road. Here’s a closer look at MetLife’s credentials.
Licenses and registrations
MetLife Pet Insurance is an industry driver-level member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA).
Awards and certifications
In 2022, MetLife won the “Pet Insurance of the Year” in the Pet Independent Innovation Awards.
Regulatory or legal actions
MetLife is a huge insurance company. It’s common for companies of that size to face class-action lawsuits or regulatory actions, and Metlife has faced these issues in the past. However, no class-action lawsuits or regulatory actions have occurred involving its pet insurance segment.
MetLife’s Accessibility
We looked at MetLife’s accessibility to see how easy it is for customers to find the information they need, contact support, and navigate the company’s products and services.
Availability
MetLife issues policies for dogs and cats in all 50 states, while exotic pet insurance is only available in some states. MetLife Pet Insurance is headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Contact Information
You can reach MetLife in these seven ways:
- Live chat:You can chat with a customer service representative during MetLife’s business hours (Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 am to 9 pm EST; Sat-Sun, 10 am to 7 pm EST)
- Mobile app: You can view your policy, pay your premiums and file a claim through the MetLife Pet Mobile app.
- Text: 317-820-2275
- Phone: 800-GETMET9 (Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 am to 9 pm EST; Sat-Sun, 10 am to 7 pm EST)
- Email: pet_submit_claim@metlife.com
- Mail:
- 400 Missouri Ave, Suite 105
- Jeffersonville, IN 47130
- Fax: 877-281-3348
- 400 Missouri Ave, Suite 105
- Jeffersonville, IN 47130
You can also visit MetLife Pet Insurance’s FAQ page to find information about coverage start dates, exclusions and discounts.
User experience
MetLife’s website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The top menu provides clear links to all the resources you need — whether you’re looking for customer support or want to learn more about MetLife’s insurance plan options. And if you need a free quote, the “get a quote” button is displayed multiple times on the home page.
Limitations
With most pet insurance companies, you can view the insurers’ sample policies online before purchasing coverage. By viewing the policy, you can find more detailed information about exclusions, the responsibilities of the pet owner and requirements for claim reimbursement than you can usually find on insurers’ websites. But with MetLife, you cannot view a policy, even if you get a quote for coverage, until you complete the checkout process.
That’s frustrating, especially since MetLife says that customers that want more information about policy limitations and terms for keeping coverage in force should consult policy documents. If you want those details ahead of buying coverage — always a good idea — you’ll have to contact MetLife’s customer support department.
MetLife’s Customer Satisfaction
Feedback from customers and third-party ratings are good indicators of whether a company provides satisfactory service. To give an accurate review of MetLife, we did some research to see how customers feel about this company.
Customer complaints
Customers filed around 700 complaints with the Better Business Bureau against MetLife over the past three years. Over 240 of those came from the last year alone. However, a significant portion of the complaints is actually about MetLife’s other products, such as auto, home and life insurance. In the very few complaints about pet insurance, customers voiced their frustration with the company’s claims process and pre-existing condition exclusion.
On TrustPilot, reviews are limited. As of this article’s writing, less than 20 reviews were posted. In many reviews, customers complained about long processing times for claims and lengthy waits for reimbursement. That lines up with MetLife’s own claims about processing times; on its website, it says 80% of claims are processed within 10 days, which is a longer timeline than many companies advertise.
Third-party ratings
The company has a rating of 1.09 out of 5 on Better Business Bureau and 2.0 out of 5 on Trustpilot. However, don’t write off MetLife solely based on its third-party ratings. Sometimes, ratings can be skewed by a small number of unhappy customers. So always read individual reviews to get a more accurate picture of each customer’s experience.
MetLife vs. the competition
| MetLife | Lemonade | Spot | Trupanion | |
| Annual coverage limits | $2,000 to $25,000 ($10,000 in some states) | $5,000 to $100,000 | $2,500 to unlimited | Unlimited |
| Deductible amount | $0 to $2,500 | $100 to $500 | $100 to $1,00 | $0 to $1,000 |
| Reimbursement percentages | 70% to 100% (50% and 65% options are available in some states) | 70% to 90% | 70% to 90% | 90% |
Though MetLife offers a comprehensive pet insurance policy, their competitors may provide features that better suit your needs. So be sure to check out this Lemonade review, Spot review, and Trupanion review before committing to MetLife.
At MetLife, the deductible options range from $0 to $2,500, and the coverage amounts range from $2,000 to $25,000. This flexibility allows you to customize your policy to fit your budget and lifestyle.
Once you've answered those questions, you'll see how much your policy will cost depending on your chosen reimbursement percentage, deductible, and annual benefit option.
If you'd like a quote for pet other than a dog or cat, you cannot get a quote online, as is common for insurance on "exotics." Instead, you have to call customer support at 855-421-7227.
How we Evaluated MetLife Pet Insurance
To provide an unbiased review, we compared MetLife’s products to other leading companies in the industry. We considered factors such as pricing, customer satisfaction, coverage options, reputation, availability, and user experience to see how they stack up.
Summary of MetLife Pet Insurance
So, is MetLife’s pet insurance worth it? Overall, we believe the company offers a competitive product at a reasonable price. MetLife boasts one of the most comprehensive coverage options in the industry and could meet the needs of most pet owners.
That said, there are some areas where the company could improve (such as claims processing times), which means MetLife often does not make the cut as one of our very best pet insurance companies.
However, before you make a decision, remember to compare MetLife to other best pet insurance companies to see whether they’re truly the right fit for you and your furry friend.