Metlife is acquiring pet health insurance administrator PetFirst as the benefits, insurance and investment giant looks to leverage its position as a leader in the U.S. group benefits market.
Pet insurance is growing in popularity as younger generations of workers put off having families and are instead opting for animal companions. Sixty-seven percent of U.S. households, or about 85 million families, own a pet, according to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association. The annual growth rate for the pet insurance industry has been more than 20% since 2014, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association’s 2019 State of the Industry report.
