Metlife Final Expense Insurance Review – Little Known Truth

Metlife Snoopy Mascot and Balloon
Metlife previously used Snoopy as a mascot. This has since changed in favor of a new look.

Are you looking for the scoop on Metlife Burial Insurance? Today, we’re going to get inside Snoopy…and take a hard and critical look at Metlife final expense insurance. 

If that is what you are looking for, you’ve come to the right place.

Disclaimer: We do not offer the Metlife final expense insurance product.  Our professional review is meant to inform of why so you are better able to make decisions on your life insurance needs.

Below you will find our professional and experienced based review of their senior life insurance product. You can be assured as the writer and a licensed life insurance professional, that I am also speaking from extensive experience working with people of various financial means and needs.

In this article, you will hear about the offering they have for consumers need final expense insurance, its features, some sample costs and the limitations of the policy. 

There will not be any punches pulled here.

Without too much warm up, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of Metlife Burial Insurance.

Metlife Company Profile and Details

Metlife or Metropolitan Life Insurance Company has been in business for nearly 150 years.  They are also one of the largest insurance companies in terms of overall sheer size and various policies on the books. 

The insurance giant does offer numerous insurance products including life, auto, home, disability and dental insurance for starters. 

Financially speaking, MetLife is in excellent shape and very capable of handling claims.  A.M. Best, has rated MetLife with an A+ at the time of this writing, which puts it in the upper range of all insurance companies in terms of financial strength.

MetLife Final Expense Life Insurance

If you have read different guaranteed acceptance life insurance reviews you may have found out it has some real limitations.

Metlife offers one senior life insurance product.  If you are looking for MetLife Burial Insurance or MetLife Final Expense Life Insurance, you have found the “one and only.” 

And wow…Metlife guaranteed acceptance life insurance is a lifetime policy! It accepts anyone ages 45-75 regardless of health as long as they are legally able to consent to the coverage.

May sound nice and tidy, but the burial insurance from Metlife it is far from a 1 trick pony.

Unlike level benefit whole life burial insurance, guaranteed acceptance whole life plans have very significant limitations written into the policy contract. This can really affect your loved ones as well as your pocketbook.

At this time, Metlife does not offer any final expense life insurance with first day, full coverage. You would have to apply with another life insurance company who also offers no exam policies and has a full portfolio of senior whole life insurance products. Qualifying based on your overall health history will get you a better policy and considerably lower premium.

With that all said, let’s continue with this burial insurance review for Metlife.

Metlife guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance is a permanent policy. This means the policy price will never increase and the benefit amount will never decrease for the insured’s lifetime.

With that said, it still includes a 2 year limited benefit period built in. This means that for 2 full years of continued ownership, your family would not receive full death benefits for natural death (cancer, heart issues, stroke etc) if you passed away.

Why? 

Well, the Metlife Guaranteed Acceptance life insurance offering is a no health question whole life policy.  As such, even someone with a very high risk personal situation can obtain whole life insurance regardless of their medical outlook. 

For someone who cannot obtain life insurance do to a high risk condition, policies that offer guaranteed acceptance may be the only answer for their burial insurance needs. This should be determined only by a licensed independent life insurance agent with extensive field underwriting experience.

The MetLife Guaranteed Acceptance policy sounds easy to qualify for but buyer awareness is required!!

When there are no health questions in a life insurance application, a red flag should pop up.

Guaranteed acceptance life insurance is pure high risk life insurance, the most expensive life insurance on the market.

Regardless of the carrier, it includes a mandatory 2 or 3 year “waiting” period depending upon issuing life insurance company.

This policy costs seniors on a fixed income more each month for lower benefits than a policy that asks a few health history questions. For about 5-10% of burial insurance applicants, Metlife final expense insurance may be a solution to their end of life planning.

Never waste your time wondering if an easy, no health question application will be competitive with a plan that asks health questions.

It won’t!!

Why? Because the insurance company will not have enough information to know if an applicant/insured individual is a good risk for them.

In purchasing MetLife final expense life insurance you are transferring your end of life risk to them and reducing the financial risk to your loved ones. The unknown requires them to assume high risk, increase premiums and to insert a limited benefit period to offset the “unknown” risk they are taking.

The purpose of this guaranteed issue burial insurance product from Metlife is to attract applicants who have been denied life insurance elsewhere due to their overall risk classification. Sure, Metlife does take the money of fairly healthy people to… but you are going to pay the same price as those folks your current age who are diagnosed with a terminal illness, have Kidney Failure or Internal Cancer among other serious conditions.

I have access to dozens of life insurance companies across the country. Specifically I’m called an independent agent or broker in many states. I can tell you that all insurers who offer a guaranteed acceptance, final expense policy will follow the same process of controlling their risk. Make sure you know the differences among the different types of whole life insurance.

Do I have access to Metlife? Yes, you bet.

It is a good that you are doing some due diligence. 

Too many people become victims by rushing into buying burial insurance without shopping to find the correct product for themselves, their budget and the most important… the needs of their family.

Sadly, some will just buy a familiar big name company and take the leap of faith. They just purchase coverage without getting qualified advice and knowing the limitations of the policy. The name issuing the policy has nothing to do with what is written into the policy limitations.

Passing away due to natural causes in the first couple years with this Metlife final expense insurance policy… your loved ones will not be seeing much in the way of benefits.

Whether it is a Metlife burial insurance policy or not, you want to be sure money is available to the named beneficiary when the time comes, right?

MetLife Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life Insurance Details

  • Death Benefit amounts of $2,500-$50,000 available
  • Ages 45-75
  • Whole Life Insurance
  • Coverage available in 47 states.  Exceptions OR, MT, NY

Cost Of The MetLife End of Life Insurance Policy vs the Competition

MetLife Monthly Rate Comparison for $10,000 Death Benefit

AgeMetLifeGerberMutual of Omaha
50$42.50$28.14$24.67
55$48.50$35.84$28.40
60$57.50$46.48$32.87
65$69.50$55.46$41.01
70$88.50$68.75$53.24
75$118.50$90.29$72.41

How Does MetLife Final Expense Insurance Work?

I’m going to reiterate this policy may seem like a great policy to apply for.  After all, it is whole life insurance and you can’t be declined for any health condition like most other life insurance policies.

Unfortunately, for many families, it ends up not being great at all.

Here is the scoop on how this MetLife insurance product works. This is very important in comparing any whole life insurance. 

A waiting period or limited benefit period of 2 years is written into the Metlife policy contract that states that from the point of acceptance, the insured will not be eligible for the full death benefit for natural death causes for a period of 2 years

During that time, if the insured should pass away, their loved ones would receive all paid premiums plus 10% compounded interest.  Obviously, this is far from the full death benefit of the policy though it is nothing to sneeze at. 10% compounding is among the better guaranteed issue policies during the “limited” 2 year period. 

An important note, if an accident should claim the insured’s life, the full death benefit would be paid regardless of the 2 year limited clause.

On a side note, this is not proprietary to MetLife either.  A 2 year waiting period which places a limited benefit amount in place for natural death is standard on guaranteed acceptance life insurance. 

Some companies even use a 3 year limited benefit clause in their policies. 

Guaranteed acceptance whole life policies do pay the full death benefit to your family if you pass away due to accident. A car wreck would be considered an accident. A heart incident, would not.

Limited benefit clauses written into guaranteed acceptance insurance is how a life insurance company mitigates their lossess by issuing high risk life insurance.  Since the insurer did not assess the insured medically, they don’t know anything about who they are insuring.

This is how an insurer can be sure that the funding (money pool) will be available to honor the claims of beneficiaries who were named in a Metlife guaranteed acceptace policy.

After the 2 year waiting period has passed, MetLife final expense, burial insurance will pay the full death benefit to your beneficiary/trusted family member for both accident and natural death, just like any medically underwritten burial insurance policy.

The key points to remember and/or write down about this coverage from MetLife…limited benefits for the first 2 years and a considerably higher cost of ownership than any other type of life insurance. 

What happens to your loved ones if you pass away in those first 2 years?

Folks, before we go much further here….

We do not recommend Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance unless all medically underwritten options have been exhausted. There are plenty of no exam, simplified issue whole life policies designed for seniors out there. Our company sends business to those carriers daily and you don’t have to be in “excellent” health to qualify.

If you have not worked with a seasoned independent agent that deals with lots of health conditions, you need to find one.  Don’t make that mistake.  It may result in your family not having the financial protection you are seeking and overpaying for insurance.

Ninety percent of the time, you don’t need guaranteed acceptance life insurance.  No exam, level benefit life insurance is readily available offering much lower premiums and full benefits day 1 for people 50-85.

To better guide you, here is a life insurance generality to jot down…

The easier an insurance policy is to qualify for, the more it will typically cost you and/or the lower the benefits. 

Guaranteed issue life insurance is as easy as it comes. 

It is high risk life insurance

Who likes to overpay for insurance coverage and have lower benefits?  

Is Metlife Funeral Insurance the Same as Final Expense Insurance?

Sometimes seniors who are planning their funeral and other end of life expenses realize the expenses may financially stretch their resources too much.

Have you looked into the cost of a full funeral or a simple cremation and decided that you want the guarantees of whole life insurance?

The term burial insurance is really the same thing as final expense whole life insurance. Funeral insurance is also used interchangeably here as well.

Metlife funeral insurance is the same product offering, however some people choose to list the funeral home as a beneficiary on the policy.

We advise finding a close family member to handle your final wishes.

Why use a family member as your beneficiary? Your family may need to use a different funeral home than you originally planned. It gives them more flexibility to make the arrangements they need to make for you. They can take your policy to any funeral home to cover the bill. The funeral home will just ask them to sign a “assignment form” which will allow the insurance company to pay the bill directly to the funeral home.

Be sure not to get caught up on the marketing name of the whole life insurance product. These are all senior whole life insurance marketing terms, nothing more. 

It is the type of whole life insurance product, the cost and any limitations that are most important. 

For final expenses, burial insurance or even a funeral policy, permanent coverage such as whole life insurance, is an appropriate choice.  You simply cannot outlive a whole life policy.

Yes, the Metlife no exam life insurance is indeed whole life but it still carries that “little” 2 year waiting period for full benefits and a high price tag.

So…

Reasons to Consider a Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance From MetLife or other Carrier:

Metlife final expense logo
  • Terminal Illness with Less Than 2 Years of Life “Expectancy”
  • Confined to a Nursing Home
  • Currently have Internal Cancer or serious skin cancer
  • On kidney dialysis
  • Receiving Hospice Care
  • Receiving an Organ Transplant
  • Have AIDS (HIV is medically insurable)
  • Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or treatment for Dementia

Outside of these rare examples, you should not be applying for any guaranteed issue end of life insurance like this.  It is simply not in your best interest let alone your loved ones whom you are trying to protect in the first place.

Don’t let those television ads and junk mailers convince you into believing in something these guaranteed acceptance policies cannot deliver. 

Guaranteed acceptance whole life is more expensive than all other types of life insurance, period.  Remember, it is meant for people who have serious health ailments and/or other high risk situations.

Between term life insurance and guaranteed issue life insurance for seniors, we see a very high number of complaints. 

The story is quite typical.

The applicant saw an ad for how easy it was to obtain coverage with no health questions or how know salesmen would bother them at home etc.  In some cases… it is even a high paid celebrity endorser glamorizing a product that is “affordable” and that you can’t be turned down for any reason!!

Ladies and gentleman…the marketing is hazing over the limitations of the product and this ends up costing you a lot of extra, hard earned money and leaves your family in a potential mountain of debt upon the insureds death.

In completing your due diligence here today, let this all sink in.  Big names and fancy ads don’t mean it is a good life insurance product for you.

The Metlife final expense policy is intended for people in very high risk predicaments. 

However, they are not going to tell you that. 

Insurance companies are more than happy to take your hard earned cash and will still insert limitations found in all guaranteed issue life insurance. You put more money in their coffers each year. Once you purchase Metlife end of life insurance or another guaranteed issue policy, it doesn’t matter if you are in the healthiest 90% of seniors or not.

Why?

You didn’t answer any health questions. You’re evaluated the same way as a person who has terminal cancer who has no other life insurance options. 

If you have not already done so, take action now. Take a good look at no exam, simplified issue whole life insurance. Very limited in health questions and it eliminates the high cost and 2 year waiting period of the Metlife burial insurance.

Go to our instant final expense insurance quote tool on this page. In 1 minute it will give you the top final expense insurance companies in the final expense, burial insurance business. Select “Excellent Health” under the “Health Class” menu.

That is what the 85-90% is qualifying for and buying. Yes, these are people 50-85 as well. Many of whom thought they couldn’t qualify for such an affordable policy either.

Better yet…

Find a seasoned, independent life insurance agent who specializes in insurance for people in less than “perfect” health.  They will have the knowledge and resources to help guide you to an affordable product that will get the job done right. Give them some insight to your goals and answer all their questions as best as possible.

What About Term Life Insurance From MetLife? 

Are you a senior nearing those years? 

Forget about it.  Most term insurance is hard to qualify for and not designed for seniors.

Term life insurance is not for burial insurance, funeral insurance or final expense life insurance. 

This is the second largest mistake. The first of course is purchasing guaranteed issue life insurance unnecessarily.   

The representative was trying to sell you something rather than nothing. Term life insurance is for a defined period of time, such a the length of a mortgage or loan.

I mentioned this previously as one of the largest complaints we have heard over the years from people who requested our help. 

Some we could bail out, others were not so fortunate or ended up with guaranteed issue life insurance with a 2 year delay in full benefits.

Ladies and gents, buy permanent life insurance for end of life protection.  At least Metlife end of life insurance is a whole life insurance product, meaning it will cover you for the rest of your life as long as you pay your premiums. This is a requirement for effective planning for our loved ones.

The Take Home On Metlife Final Expense Burial Insurance For Seniors

Does Metlife provide an affordable no exam life insurance product?

Compared to many other senior burial insurance products, out there… no.

Now maybe you’re thinking you get what you pay for…well, you’d be very mistaken when it comes to life insurance.

You should understand…

Though Metlife has a very established name and top notch financial strength, this is not a serious burial insurance company.

They offer just 1 product for the masses that is not priced competitively and penalizes a tremendous number seniors.

Guaranteed Acceptance/guaranteed issue coverage is only for very high risk individuals.  Most seniors are not in need of such liberal coverage and are needlessly overcharged.

Life insurance companies that are serious about end of life insurance products offer multiple products to accommodate different levels of health and protection.  This provides maximum ease of application (no medical exam), affordability for those who are on a fixed income as well as full, immediate benefits. 

This is what the majority of seniors need and/or want.

A company like MetLife not having a no exam, medically underwritten burial policy available is really very disappointing.  I’d like to see them do that so I could give them an endorsement.

Do it right or don’t do it at all is our motto here.

Here is the problem for consumers…

We see a lot of burial insurance consumers age 50-80 buying policies like this. The purchase of the Metlife no exam life insurance seems to be do to familiarity with the carrier name and guaranteed acceptance.

Do you want a 2 year waiting period and higher costs in your policy if it can be avoided? Answering a few health questions can not only remove the 2 year waiting period but also lower the premium drastically. In real life, this also transfers into better benefits and protection for your loved ones.

Metlife no exam life insurance is only as good as to what is written on the paper in the policy. A life insurance policy is a legal and binding in a court of law to the exact terms written in your policy. A household name on the policy does not influence the terms of the contract.

Just ask all the angry life insurance consumers who found out the hard way. I have callers looking for no exam, whole life insurance daily. No one requests guaranteed issue policies unless they think they won’t qualify for better coverage. The most common question I get when talking about burial insurance with my clients “is this one of those policies that my family has to wait 2 years for?” Once we have completed a health history, 85-90% of the time, the answer is “No.”

While there are other insurance companies that do offer guaranteed issue life insurance, those are typically insurance companies that market life insurance as their central focus.  As such, it makes sense why they may offer a guaranteed acceptance senior product among others. They do have their place. 

Some folks do need a policy like Metlife guaranteed acceptance burial insurance.  These individuals are true high risk candidates. We see about 10% our clients needing a guaranteed acceptance product like Metlife final expense insurance.

Is there any guaranteed acceptance with policies no waiting period available with any insurance carrier?

No. It will never be available with any insurance company.

Is any burial insurance with no waiting period available?

You bet. It is readily available and you do not need to be in optimal health either to qualify.

Just run the final expense quote tool on this page. As long on you don’t select “Poor Health” on it, you will find all kinds of the top companies issuing it. These are all no-exam, no waiting period policies. Since most people 50-85 qualify for level benefits (best coverage), I would suggest selecting “Excellent” under the health class dropdown unless you have activate internal cancer are on kidney dialysis, have a terminal illness or a recent organ transplant, have a Alzhemier’s diagnosis etc.

It is important to note that…

Often times, some of the best final expense offerings actually come from “quiet kept” companies that don’t spend all kinds of money advertising on TV or sending lots of junk mail. 

There are some pretty crafty life insurance ads out there where some of the fine print is carefully kept “fine.”

There is a reason the company offering coverage doesn’t want you to find an independent agent/broker.  Saving you money isn’t their goal, that’s for sure.

Don’t get me wrong, MetLife is a quality company with a long history of paying out claims. Just understand that Metlife final expense burial insurance is not a premium whole life insurance policy. It has limitations and a price consistent with a policy that accepts very high risk individuals. Do you want to pay much higher premiums and have lower benefits?

Yes, Metlife is financially strong which indeed is a plus. 

However, when doing a fair and professional insurance review, it is not correct to compare one insurance company to another company and insist company A’s product must be better than Company B’ product because the household name it carries.

It simply is not true.

Take that to the bank!

This Metlife guaranteed acceptance life insurance product is certainly not the best burial insurance for seniors need especially those on a fixed income.

Top offerings often come from unknown names, though this is not always the case.  You will find these insurers also have top notch financial ratings. They just don’t spend a fortune on marketing campaigns as do some of the household brands.

Most often the quiet kept companies focus on limited lines of insurance.  

In other words, they are just in the life and or senior health insurance business.  They don’t write auto and homeowners insurance at all. 

Light and fast on their feet and easy to work with.

Recap: End of Life Insurance from Metlife

You’re very likely to realize that I cannot recommend metlife guaranteed acceptance life insurance.

Snoopy just didn’t design a product that is very affordable or in the best interest of the vast majority of seniors. Guaranteed issue life insurance is designed for people with very poor health. 

I don’t know how to say it any other way.

Final expense insurance from Metlife or any other carrier must be affordable for those on a limited income and get the job done for the family. The majority of seniors who call on us for assistance with their life insurance needs are able to obtain better benefits and lower premiums with insurance companies that offer multiple senior life insurance plans. Only about 10% of the people 50-85 we speak with need to pay for guaranteed acceptance life insurance.

When life insurance is hard to afford, it is typically dropped.

Most seniors want to get the best policy they can. Qualifying based on your health as a senior is what no exam life insurance was designed for. Getting the best rates and coverage for your overall health does not mean you can’t have any medical conditions.

Make your best attempt by trying to qualify medically with an experienced independent life insurance agent/broker. They can shop and health predicament(s) out to get you the best offer.

No one buys life insurance if it is going to take food off the table. Problem is…where does this leave our family if we don’t take action?

While I’m sure many Metlife final expense insurance reviews have mentioned the high cost of this policy, the very important point for you to note is:

Guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance from Metlife or any other company is not the answer for the vast majority of people. It leaves our loved ones exposed or in jeopardy of not receiving the monies you desire them to have during those first couple of years.

I’ll say it again, in our office, we see nearly 8+ out of 10 seniors qualify for first day full coverage on permanent whole life insurance with no medical exam, blood test etc.

Why even give Metlife final expense life insurance anymore thought?

Consider what would happen if you passed away in the first couple years from natural causes.

So not only does the Metlife guaranteed acceptance whole life cost you a good deal more to own, but it may penalize your loved ones when you are no longer here.

Don’t get married to the name of the insurance company.  It can cost you and family big time!! You need to consult with an independent life insurance professional that works with the elderly on a daily basis to find the right permanent life insurance policy for you.

After reading this and you believe you need coverage like the Metlife final expense insurance plan, please give us a call @ (269) 244-3420. Be sure you’ve explored the best options with a independent professional that works with dozens of life insurance companies. Life insurance carriers all have different health questions to qualify their applicants. While a few companies many not approve you for a 1st day, level benefit whole life policy, another may.

The truth is… 

Metlife final expense burial insurance should be considered nothing sort of a last resort. This requirement should be sorted out by a professional that works with all the top carriers.

You may also use the “Final Expense Quoting Tool” on this page to see the companies that offer the most affordable, no health question, whole life insurance, designed for those who may have a terminal medical condition, active internal cancer etc.

Be sure to check “Poor Health” under the “Health Class” menu. This locks in the apples to apples with Metlife. From there you will see the top companies for this high risk health classification.  In most cases, Gerber Life and AIG are much more affordable options (just to name couple). 

Whether you are still considering Metlife funeral insurance or not, as a senior, it is most important that you take action. Thinking about it too long can cost you or your family in more ways than one. At the very least, rates are only going up until you lock in the right whole life, final expense policy.

The good news…odds are you can get better rates and benefits than you think. Again, 85-90% of seniors qualify for full, immediate benefit, permanent burial insurance rather than these higher priced, high risk life insurance policies.

Now we are talking about some serious savings and better insurance to protect those you love the most. Keep that in mind as you move forward.

We’re here to help.  269-244-3420

Oh…and as always, feel free to comment below.

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