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MetLife Life Insurance Review
By Victor Rosario MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Life insurance offers peace of mind that your family will have financial stability if you die. It’s an important investment, but there are many life insurance companies available — each with its own offerings and features.
Although it doesn’t rank in our list of best life insurance companies, MetLife, is one of the best-known and oldest providers in the U.S. It offers life insurance and other benefits through employers but no longer offers new products to individuals.
If your employee benefits package includes MetLife insurance, read on to learn more about MetLife’s policies, including details on the company’s credentials and customer satisfaction.
Table of contents
- MetLife overview
- MetLife’s services
- MetLife’s cost
- MetLife’s credentials
- MetLife’s accessibility
- MetLife’s customer satisfaction
- MetLife FAQs
- How we evaluated MetLife
- Summary
MetLife life insurance overview
Metlife was founded in 1868 and is based in New York City. It offers multiple types of life insurance policies and other insurance options — like auto and home insurance. The company provides its life insurance products mainly through employer-based coverage.
In 2017, MetLife split its business, and Brighthouse Financial began to handle the U.S. retail portion. MetLife, then, no longer offers new individual life insurance policies. Brighthouse Financial is an independent company that offers individual life insurance but only sells policies through financial professionals.
MetLife’s services
What it offers
MetLife offers four types of coverage: term life insurance, two types of universal life insurance and an accidental death and dismemberment plan. Some of its plans offer no exam life insurance. However, MetLife doesn’t offer whole life insurance policies.
Term life insurance
MetLife’s term policy can cover you or your dependents for a predetermined length of time, after which you can renew your policy. Nonsmokers may be able to get a policy without needing a medical exam.
- Basic Term Life is an employer-paid coverage option.
- Supplemental Term Life is an employee-paid policy type that allows you to purchase additional protection if your needs change over time.
- Dependent Term Life provides coverage for your spouse, partner or eligible children.
Group variable universal life insurance
The MetLife group variable universal life insurance policy combines the protection of a term life insurance plan with a tax-deferred investment feature. It has an interest-bearing fixed account with a guaranteed minimum interest rate. You can borrow from your cash value through loans or money withdrawals.
Group universal life insurance
MetLife’s group universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance, and so includes a savings feature, which may be tax-deferred. You own the policy even if you happen to change employers — that is, you can take it with you.
Accidental death and dismemberment
MetLife offers accidental death and dismemberment coverage. It can protect your beneficiaries through a death benefit or payout should you suffer death, paralysis or impaired speech, hearing, sight and more. It includes employer- and employee-paid options and can be added as a benefit to supplemental term life policies and to cover spouses and dependents.
The following options are available:
- Basic Accidental Death & Dismemberment
- Supplemental Accidental Death & Dismemberment
- Dependent Accidental Death & Dismemberment
- Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment
- Business Travel Accident (BTA)
What it doesn’t offer
MetLife does not offer free quotes on its website. The company also doesn’t sell any whole life insurance policies or life insurance riders that aren’t listed in the previous section.
Additionally, as mentioned above, individuals can’t purchase life insurance from MetLife. It only offers its policies through employee benefits packages.
MetLife life insurance cost
Since MetLife does not offer free quotes on its website for its life insurance products, the specifics of its payouts, monthly premiums and coverage amounts are not readily available. If you are interested in learning more about details of your existing policy, you can contact MetLife directly or refer to your employee benefits package.
MetLife’s credentials
Here is a rundown of MetLife’s credentials with industry and regulatory groups.
Licenses and registrations
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is registered with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), with company code number 65978.
Awards and certifications
MetLife has received several awards for its progressive workplace. It is listed among the best employers for people with disabilities, members of the LGBT community and women by the Human Rights Campaign, the Disability Equality Index and the National Association for Female Executives.
Regulatory or legal actions
There are no regulatory or legal actions listed on MetLife’s page with the NAIC, the regulatory group that tracks such filings.
MetLife’s accessibility
The company is available in all 50 states and can be contacted for general inquiries by phone or by filling out a form on its website.
Availability
MetLife is licensed to do business in all fifty states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Contact information
You can contact MetLife through its phone number for general inquiries, which is 1-800-638-5433. You can also complete a form to contact the company through email.
User experience
The company provides a wide range of information about what differentiates the types of life insurance policies it offers, although its contact options are not easy to navigate.
Limitations
The company does not have a live chat option or even a consistent phone bank to handle inquiries specifically concerning its life insurance products.
MetLife’s customer satisfaction
MetLife has a good financial strength rating with AM Best, although its Better Business Bureau (BBB) customer reviews do include complaints. Here’s more information about customer feedback about MetLife.
Customer complaints
MetLife is not affiliated with the Better Business Bureau, and the BBB’s customer-reviews section awards the company a low score of 1.1 out of 5 stars. However, the company’s complaint index with the NAIC is 0.64, which is well below the national average of 1.00. Many complaints about MetLife in online reviews voice concern about the quality of service for the company’s short-term disability coverage.
Third-party ratings
MetLife ranked 15th out of 22 insurers in JD Power’s 2021 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. The company has an AM Best rating, which measures financial stability, of A+.
MetLife life insurance FAQs
How we evaluated MetLife life insurance
To evaluate MetLife, we weighed the company’s offerings against other competitors while also taking into account the company’s financial strength and accessibility.
Summary of our MetLife life insurance review
MetLife is a reputable life insurance company with solid financial strength, but it has limitations. If you are looking for a new life insurance policy, you won’t be able to get a MetLife plan unless your employer offers it.
Also, MetLife’s website has limited information about insurance rates, coverage limits and customizable options. If your employer offers a benefits package with MetLife life insurance, consult with your benefits administrator to see what options are available to you.
