Pet insurance can be a valuable way to help you protect your finances from unexpected or costly vet bills. Depending on your needs and specific situation, there are mainly two different types of pet insurance plans to choose from: comprehensive or accident-only.
Comprehensive pet plans typically help cover accidents and illnesses, while accident-only pet plans offer coverage for accidents but not illnesses. Let’s explore these options more fully and provide some details on what MetLife Pet offers.
Your Pet Deserves Coverage That Helps Them Get & Stay Healthy
Comprehensive Pet Insurance
Comprehensive (accident and illness) pet insurance offers some of the most coverage you can get with a pet insurance plan. This type of full-coverage pet insurance generally covers new injuries and illnesses your pet may experience.
MetLife Pet offers an accident and illness policy you can customize to fit your needs.
What it covers
A comprehensive pet insurance policy usually provides coverage for expenses related to issues like heart disease, upset stomachs, infections, fractures, wounds, foreign body removal, hip dysplasia, cancer, and more. With MetLife Pet, some of these covered expenses can include:
- Surgeries, emergency care, and hospitalization
- Diagnostic tests (like blood work, X-rays, and more)
- Exam fees
- Prescriptions
- Treatments
Whether it’s a small or large expense, accident and illness pet insurance can help you get your pet the care they need to feel better.
What it doesn’t cover
Accident and illness policies cover a wide array of vet expenses, but there are some exclusions. With MetLife Pet’s policy, we usually don’t cover things like:
- Elective or cosmetic surgeries and procedures
- Breeding
- Obedience training and grooming
- Injuries caused by commercial guarding, illegal fighting, coursing, or racing
- Pre-existing conditions
Not covering pre-existing conditions is fairly standard across the industry, but we offer an exception. If you’re a group policyholder and you switch to MetLife Pet, we can cover your pet’s pre-existing conditions that are currently covered by the other provider.1
Costs and customizations
Comprehensive pet insurance usually costs more than an accident-only plan because it provides a lot more coverage. MetLife Pet’s accident and illness plan starts at $7 per month for a cat or $16 per month for a dog.2
However, the cost of your pet insurance plan will vary based on factors like your pet’s health, age, breed, and gender, as well as where you live and the level of coverage you choose.
Comprehensive plans cover many kinds of expenses, and some providers allow you to customize how much coverage you want. MetLife Pet gives you the option to customize your reimbursement rate, deductible, and annual limit.3,4,5
Accident-Only Pet Insurance
Accident-only pet insurance offers coverage for just accidents and injuries — illnesses won’t be covered under this type of plan. Sometimes, you may not want a comprehensive coverage policy, or your pet may not be able to get one due to age or health reasons. This plan is a way to still get reimbursed for some of the vet bills you may encounter.
With MetLife Pet, you can enroll your dog or cat in an accident and illness policy no matter their age or health condition6 — but we don’t currently offer an accident-only plan.
What it covers
Accident-only coverage for pets usually provides coverage for expenses related to injuries and accidents like fractures, poisoning, wounds, trauma, insect stings, allergic reactions, swallowing objects, and more.
The kinds of expenses covered under an accident-only plan are typically the same as an accident and illness plan — like surgeries, prescriptions, diagnostics, etc. — but only if they apply to an injury or accident.
What it doesn’t cover
An accident-only pet insurance policy won’t provide coverage for illnesses and health conditions — whether it’s a single incident, chronic condition, hereditary condition, or anything else. Pre-existing conditions, like if your dog had a broken leg before being enrolled in a policy and they injure it again, will also likely not be covered.
Be sure to check the policy you’re looking to purchase for exact coverage and exclusions.
Costs and considerations
Due to coverage being more limited than comprehensive pet plans, accident-only plans typically come with lower premiums. That said, there’s always a chance that an accident-only policy could cost more than an accident and illness policy. Factors like pet age, health, and breed, along with where you live and if you customize your policy, affect the cost.
Other Pet Insurance Coverage Options
Providers may offer other kinds of pet insurance coverage you can add to the main plan you choose. You might find add-on plans (or riders) for things like breeding, exam fees, routine and wellness care, age-specific expenses, and more.
MetLife Pet offers an optional Preventive Care plan you can add to your accident and illness policy. For an additional cost, you can get coverage for things like:
- Vaccines
- Routine vet exams
- Parasite prevention
- Spay and neuter procedures
Add-on plans may come with upgraded options depending on the level of coverage you want or which expenses you want to include. Check with each provider so you know which plan works best for you.
How Do You Know Which Plan Is Right for You?
Purchasing the right pet insurance policy is instrumental in making sure your budget stays intact and your pet’s needs are covered. While you can’t foresee everything that could happen, choosing a plan that works for you now, with room to grow, can be a good idea.
Comprehensive pet insurance can be a good fit if you want to relieve some of the stress and financial burden that can come with a wide array of pet-health concerns. While there are limitations, these plans typically provide the most coverage — which means you’re more likely to get reimbursed for many different kinds of vet bills.
Accident-only pet insurance might be a good fit if you have a pet who’s generally healthy (like a puppy or kitten), you’re looking for a potentially more cost-effective plan, or if your pet doesn’t qualify for a comprehensive pet plan. While these plans won’t help if your pet gets sick, they could help cover vet bills that come with costly accidents.
MetLife Pet Has Award-Winning6 Pet Insurance for Cats and Dogs
Unexpected vet bills can cause financial strain when the only thing you want to be focused on is helping your pet feel better. Pet insurance could help relieve some of that strain.
MetLife Pet offers an accident and illness policy to help protect dogs and cats of all ages.7 You can get reimbursed up to 90% of covered costs and even add Preventive Care for routine and wellness vet bill reimbursement.3 Got a whole furry family? Enroll them in our unique Family Plan that combines up to three pets on one policy with a shared deductible.8
Avoid having to choose between vet care costs and wanting to get your pet the best care possible. Enroll them with MetLife Pet today by starting with a free quote.