Snoopy would be happy: MetLife expands into pet insurance

Its longtime — and retired — mascot would be doing the happy dance: MetLife Inc. on Thursday announced its acquisition of PetFirst Healthcare LLC with hopes to expand pet insurance offerings in the group health sector.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, Jeffersonville, Indiana-based PetFirst currently administers insurance coverage on more than 40,000 pets and “has a strong track record of delivering outstanding service to policyholders and maintaining trust through its emphasis on community and support of local humane societies and shelters,” the New York-based insurer announced.

“The acquisition will leverage MetLife’s position as a market leader in U.S. group benefits by enabling the company to offer a new benefit that is growing in popularity. Since 2014, the annual growth rate for the pet insurance industry has been more than 20%,” MetLife said in a statement.