MetLife Life Insurance Review | 2024 (2024)

MetLife Life Insurance Company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in New York City. It offers group life policies through employers but no term or whole life products for individuals. The company is financially stable and policy portability allows you to take your coverage with you when you leave your employer.

MetLife’s drawback is its potentially lacking customer experience, based on third-party ratings we track. It ranks in the middle of the pack in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study and receives more than the expected number of complaints, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index.

MetLife no longer sells new life insurance policies, long-term care insurance, disability insurance policies or annuities to individuals through agents. According to MetLife: “We have separated part of our U.S. business from MetLife to become its own company, called Brighthouse Financial, Inc. As a separate company, Brighthouse Financial focuses on retail products for consumers. Learn more about Brighthouse Financial.”

Life insurance is a contract between a policyholder who agrees to make premium payments and an insurer that agrees to pay a death benefit to designated beneficiaries when the policyholder dies. The premium costs and policy amounts vary depending on several factors, such as age, gender, health and lifestyle.

You can learn about the basics of life insurance here.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance lets a policyholder buy insurance coverage for a specific period of time, generally between 10 and 30 years. If the insured person passes away during that period, the insurance company will pay a predetermined amount to the beneficiaries named in the policy. When the policy period ends, the coverage is no longer in force.

MetLife uses underwriting companies, so your coverage may not come directly from MetLife. Group Term Life Insurance through an employer is the most affordable type of policy. MetLife offers employer-paid term life policies, supplemental, employee-paid coverage, and dependent coverage. These term policies can also be converted to permanent policies later on.

Read more: Our picks for term life insurance

Permanent Life Insurance

Permanent life insurance provides coverage for the policyholder’s entire life as long as premiums are kept up to date. They also have a cash value component that term policies do not, meaning you can borrow against the premiums you’ve paid into the policy in most cases. Permanent policies may be a better choice for older adults who want coverage to last the rest of their lifetimes.

MetLife offers Group Universal Life Insurance with a tax-deferred cash value, more flexibility and lower premiums than whole life insurance. These policies have adjustable coverage amounts and premiums and are portable, so you can take your policy with you when you leave your job.

The company also offers Group Variable Universal Life Insurance, allowing you to invest cash value in the stock market. This type of coverage is considered the riskiest form of life insurance since your cash value can decline if your investments perform poorly, potentially causing the policy to lapse.

If you are shopping for life insurance through your employer, consider discussing your options with a licensed insurance agent to ensure your insurance plan meets your needs.

Read more: Best whole life insurance options

MetLife Available Riders

Because policies are only offered through employers, different endorsem*nt riders that let you customize your policy might be available based on the agreement with each employer. To learn about life insurance riders from MetLife, contact the company directly or discuss your options with your employer.

MetLife includes some riders at no additional cost, while others are optional add-ons that increase premium.

• Accidental death benefit rider
• Child benefit rider
• Chronic illness rider
• Terminal illness rider
• Waiver of premium rider

Life insurance rates are competitively priced throughout the industry, and while each insurer has its own methodology to arrive at policy costs, several factors are standard across the board. The premium you pay will normally depend on the following:

• Age
• Health and medical history
• Occupation
• Gender
• Lifestyle
• Policy type
• Coverage amount

Some states also let insurers factor in a FICO/credit-based insurance score when determining premiums.

You will need to work with your employer to determine your costs. Group life policies often offer discounts over individual life policies.

We read more than 100 real customer reviews for MetLife, and found that the majority of recent posts are negative. Here are a few notable examples:

“MetLife insurance refused to pay life insurance claim for my father after he made monthly payments for 50 years of his life until his death. I spent 100s of hours filling out forms, same forms 10 times, and many hours on phone talking to MetLife representatives (49 minutes today), regarding this account. MetLife received the same claim form 5 times from me, death certificates multiple times. Power of attorney multiple times.” —Arian Henderson via Trustpilot

“I had insurance coverage with Metlife for over 20 years. I switched jobs within the same company and when I continued with coverage, they responded that I had to have a physical and blood work and proceeded to deny my coverage stating I was a high risk. How can one be high risk when nothing has changed with their physical health and they have been covered previously? This was solely discrimination based upon age. This company is nothing shy of being a bunch of crooks that take your money and then find any excuse to either avoid paying or continuing coverage” —Ken M. via BBB

“My grandfather recently passed. I filled out all required paperwork and over nighted a certified copy of the death certificate. After several calls, I keep getting told that the death certificate has not been received. I provided the tracking information and the name of the person who signed for it. I have repeatedly been told they are looking into it and have made a ticket to investigate. I am always told to call back in 2-3 business days but get the same response each time I call. This has been going on for weeks.” —Sujette L. via BBB

However, according to third-party metrics we track, MetLife customer service may not be as bad as it seems. MetLife ranked 14th out of 21 insurers in the 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study used to gauge customer satisfaction. It scored 786 out of 1,000, just slightly above the industry average score of 774. Additionally, it receives fewer than the average number of complaints for a company of its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

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Methodology: Our System for Rating Life Insurance Companies

Our team researches and ranks life insurance companies using an in-depth scoring system that considers the factors most important to consumers like you. Our analysis includes a comprehensive review of each provider we feature based on available coverage, customizability, availability, customer service and company reputation. Here are the factors we take into consideration when rating life insurance providers:

• Brand trust (40%): Life insurance payouts can exceed $100,000 or more, which makes choosing a reputable and trustworthy insurance provider important. To assess brand trust, we use J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction surveys, AM Best credit rating scores and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. The higher a company scores in each area, the more points it receives.
• Coverage (33%): The more policy options a life insurance company offers, the more opportunities you have to obtain the right coverage for your specific needs. For this reason, we give companies the most points for offering multiple types of life insurance, including various term, permanent and no-exam options.
• Availability and ease of use (19%): Since life insurance coverage options can be complex, we consider the ways a customer can reach a company — and how easy communication is. For this category, we research how many communication channels a company offers for general customer support, claims processing and the application process. Companies earn the most points for offering various ways to interact with an agent, both in-person and online.
• Riders (8%): Companies offering various life insurance riders or endorsem*nts allow policyholders to better customize their coverage. In this category, we determine how many riders a company offers and award the most points to providers with more than 10 options.

Drew Gurley is a licensed life insurance expert with nearly 15 years of experience. During his career as both a licensed life insurance agent and industry executive, he has helped thousands of clients with their life insurance needs through his work at Redbird Advisors and Senior Market Advisors. When Drew isn’t working, he spends time with his family, supporting breast cancer and epilepsy awareness.

Mike Miller is a writer with a decade of experience producing product and service content to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in creative advertising. In his spare time, Mike enjoys riding and fixing motorcycles, reading a good book and spending time with his wife and two cats.