MetLife announced Thursday that it would acquire pet health insurance company PetFirst. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
MetLife made the decision to acquire the pet insurance company in order to diversify its product offering and take advantage of the growing pet insurance market, according to a Reuters report. MetLife said in a statement that the pet insurance space is “under-penetrated” and pointed out that the annual growth rate for the industry has been more than 20% since 2014.
Pet owners are becoming more willing to pay for expensive medicines to treat illness in their animals, leading to an increase in consumer spend on pet insurance, Reuters reported. The market for pet insurance is predicted to hit US$10 billion by 2025, according to research firm Global Market Insights.
Indiana-based PetFirst was founded in 2004, and now covers about 40,000 pets.
