Today, we have a complete review of one of the biggest names in the industry – MetLife. As well as taking you through the basics, what they offer, and their official ratings, we will discuss the pros and cons to going with MetLife!
2017 Review of MetLife Life Insurance
So you have decided that you need life insurance but have no idea where to start? If this sounds familiar, you don’t need to worry because there are thousands of others out there just as confused.
Over time, you will see the same names over and over again with various different policies and why one is ‘better’ than the other.
Of course, life insurance is completely worth the effort so we are breaking things down and making everything easy to understand.
About MetLife
With a history spanning nearly 150 years, MetLife is a huge name in the life insurance industry and for good reason. Over the years, they have thrived upon protecting families and helping them to secure a brighter future. To date, the MetLife brand has spread to over 60 countries with over 90 million customers across the world.
In terms of the business itself, they are constantly evolving and are currently in the middle of a planned change. Soon, we could have two separate publicly traded companies under the MetLife umbrella. While ‘MetLife’ will continue to sell products relating to employee benefits and the like, ‘Brighthouse Financial’ will be focus on the life insurance and annuities side of the brand.
Although this change will be huge for the company in question, there is no need to be alarmed about setting up an account as any potential policy will simply change to Brighthouse Financial Life Insurance rather than MetLife.
Official Ratings
With any life insurance company, it is good to look into how they are viewed on a professional level. As of October 2016, A.M. Best rating for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is A+ or ‘Superior’ rating. The rating measures how well the company can meet its ongoing financial obligations to its policyholders. Considering this is one of the best ratings a life insurance company can achieve, it allows you to be confident if you were to open a policy. With strong financial grounding, you can be confident that any claims will be paid in good time.
Away from finances, it can also be good to assess the rating for a business according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) because they look into how well the company responds to customers and how frequent complaints may be. Although the business is not accredited with the BBB, MetLife has been awarded a ‘C+’ rating which is relatively poor in this industry. Whenever a company is scored by the BBB, they are judged in thirteen different areas before being given a score from 100. With a C+, this means that their score falls between 77-79.99. Considering most life insurance companies find themselves in the nineties at least, this could be something to consider.
Additionally, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners also carries out their own review system for life insurance companies. This time, the focus is on customer complaints and adjusted for the market share so each insurer can be compared directly. Within the industry, the median score is ‘1’ and MetLife achieved a score, back in 2015, of ‘0.40’. Essentially, this means that they are stronger than the average and up there with the biggest names around for low customer complaints.
Finally, we should also get the full picture by including J.D. Power Ratings. Every year, the top 21 life insurance companies are assessed in five different categories – overall satisfaction, interaction, billing and payment, price, and policy offerings. In four out of the five categories, MetLife scored ‘About Average’ which puts them on a par with most other companies in the market. However, they excelled when it came to billing and payment which is something we will look into in more detail a little later.
MetLife Life Insurance Policies
As so many companies do these days, MetLife has a wide variety of products including term life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and many types of permanent life insurance. However, we will be focusing on Metlife’s guaranteed issue life insurance product today.
MetLife Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life Insurance
As you may have guessed, there is no underwriting or medical exam required with this final expense burial insurance policy from MetLife. With this in mind, it means that you will not be rejected based on any health or lifestyle grounds. The only requirements for the policy are that you fit into the age brackets between 45-75 years of age.
If you have been rejected from a different life insurance policy before now, this is good news because it means that you can get a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy regardless of your health.
However, there is a downside to this in that the first two years the policy offers a graded death benefit. Until you pass the two-year mark on your policy, your beneficiary won’t get the full death benefit payout should you pass away.
On the plus side, you will benefit from level premiums throughout the duration of your Metlife Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life policy. If you are aged 50 right now, you will still be paying the same level of premiums at 80 as you are now. Among other things, this is great because it allows you to plan your finances for your future without worrying about increasing premiums.
In terms of the finer details, you can choose a coverage amount anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000.
Once you set the policy up, it will remain in place as long as you continue to pay your premiums. When you pass away, the amount will then go to your life insurance beneficiary and can be used towards medical bills, funeral expenses, or wherever it is required.
Finally, we should note that the application process has become incredibly simple in recent years. Since there is no need for a medical exam or any questions, you can apply online and hear back from MetLife very quickly. Alternately, you can apply through the phone or the more traditional paper application process.
MetLife Pros
If you are making a decision for a permanent life insurance policy, you need to consider every avenue because it is a choice that will stay with you for the rest of your life. For this reason, we will finish off with some benefits and drawbacks to choosing MetLife. So far, you have seen the various facts relating to their service but what about the opinions and general observations about the company?
Array of Policy Choices
Although we have focused on MetLife’s Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance policy, it’s fair to say that the company can cover your needs with variable, term life, universal, and even survivorship policies, including both simplified issue and guaranteed issue life insurance.
If you are still young and want a term life policy, you could add a conversion rider so that you can convert it into a whole life policy at a later date. This way, you can benefit from the cheaper rates while young before seeing the many advantages of a whole life policy later.
No Medical Exam Life Insurance
With Metlife’s no exam whole life insurance option, there is no need to undergo a medical exam which is helpful if you have previously been rejected or just prefer not to have an examination.
Huge Brand Name
In truth, nearly everyone has heard of ‘MetLife’ and this is a good thing because you are investing into a brand as well as your policy. In 2016, Fortune listed MetLife as the fourth most admired life insurance company in the world. If you were to keep searching, you would find all sorts of honors like this because they operate in many countries and boast millions of happy customers.
Strong Ratings
As we saw with the official ratings earlier, the rating from the BBB seems to be a bit of an anomaly because they are strong everywhere else. With the other two ratings, it showed that they are competent with customers and like to fix any problems that arise. With A.M. Best giving them an ‘A+’ rating, it also shows that they are financially stable and should stay this way for many years to come.
Cons to MetLife
As always, there are drawbacks to any company so this is no different for MetLife. Before making your decisions, take a quick look through these because you may just find a deal-breaker that prompts you to look elsewhere.
One Option Among Many
As you may have read in our other reviews, such as:
It is always good to have options. Unless you have your heart set on MetLife as you life insurance provider, the best way to find the best final expense insurance companies is to choose an agency, such as JustBuryMe, that works with many of the best companies.
Price
For most people looking for life insurance, price is one of the most important factors to consider. With MetLife, you will not be getting the cheapest rates possible (they also aren’t the worst you will find either). Over the course of 20 years, you could save a little over $1,000 by choosing to go with the cheapest option – this is for a 40-year old male with good health.
With our focus on the guaranteed issue whole life insurance policy, we should note that you should consider shopping around and comparing other final expense insurance quotes. If you don’t mind going with a company other than MetLife, soon to be Brighthouse Financial, you may find some better options.
Graded Death Benefit
Continuing from the previous point, Metlife Final Expense insurance policy will also have a graded death benefit which means that the death benefit will not be active until a certain amount of time after you open the policy. With MetLife, this is generally two years; if you pass before this, your beneficiary will not get the full amount.
If you are in good health, this is nothing to worry about because you should be able to qualify for a fully underwritten life insurance policy.
However, if you have chosen MetLife because you have been rejected elsewhere, MetLife Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life Insurance is a solid choice.
MetLife Review Conclusion
Ultimately, it will always be a safe option to go with such a large company but this doesn’t mean that you still don’t need to do your research. As we always say, you need to consider your own position because life insurance is a unique proposition. As long as you consider what you need rather than listening to what your friends have got, you will make a good decision!