MetLife is one of the giants in the auto industry. It used to be associated with advertising using the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Characters, but since 2016 has dropped that comic strip marketing campaign. Their new tagline is “MetLife. Navigating life together.” This is a huge change to the company’s branding that has stood for over 30 years.
Main Features They Offer
New car replacement: This option repairs or replaces your car with a new one if you total your car within the first 15,000 miles or within one year of purchasing it.
Good driving discounts: Discounts up to 12% are given if all drivers in the household have outstanding driving records or up to 20% if you don’t make a claim or have a violation for five years. These discounts vary by state.
Deductible savings benefit: This lets you earn $50 each year you don’t make a claim and up to $250 to use toward lowering the deductible if you do make a claim.
My Journey Program: This program tracks and scores your driving. You get a discount of up to 10% for enrolling. Then at renewal time, you can earn a discount of up to 30% for a safe driving record. Depending on your state, you install a device in the car or download an app for tracking.
Rideshare insurance is available to Lyft drivers in California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and Washington. This policy offers coverage while the Lyft driver is logged into the app waiting for passenger requests, on the way to pick up passengers and during the trip with passengers.
MetLife also has a program for Group Auto. This program allows a group discount available through an employer. The policy has to be started while working for the employer, though coverage can be continued if you change employers. The group affiliation discount can be calculated as part of an online quote to see immediate savings.
Pros
Easy to navigate website that features question-and-answer sections about insurance products and general how-to articles on insurance, wellness and money matters. You can get quotes and buy auto insurance online.
You are eligible to receive a $50 credit towards your deductible every year you are accident-free, with a maximum of $250 for a lifetime.
Cons
Average customer service track record.
History of canceling policies without notice according to people who received notices in the mail.
More expensive than other insurance carriers.
They ask for a tedious amount of information when applying including a lot of contact information.
What Other People Are Saying
One thing that stood out to me when reading feedback from customers was the number of people who received cancellation notices in the mail with no warning. I thought it was coincidental after I read the first three, but the complaints on this same topic kept coming through. I will quote directly one person who explained what happened. This feedback was one of the most concise of the many people who received cancellation notices in the mail.
The customer wrote:
“I had to file a claim after a small animal chewed on the wires in my car and less then 6 months later I seem to have been dropped by these guys with no warning or notice. I cannot see my account online and the website will not give me contact info for a representative.”
On a positive note, people do like their website. You can do a lot of tasks online including:
- Manage your account
- Contact A MetLife representative
- Pay a bill
- Change an address
- Find claim details.
Cost and Process to Join
In comparing MetLife to other auto insurers, I found them to be much more expensive. Keep in mind that they do offer all of those discounts such as good driving discounts and savings if you do not file a claim. To join, you can go online to their website and apply directly. MetLife’s website is easy to navigate and it does have a lot of helpful information on it. Their online quoting system for auto, however, requires a lot of information. Applicants have to scroll through several screens to find the correct make of their vehicle, and then are required to provide information about current or previous insurance carriers. Some applicants feel that an overboard amount of contact information is required.
Customer Support
MetLife scored average for customer satisfaction with car insurance claims in the 2016 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction study. However, feedback from customers did not look as good. I would be concerned with the customer service with MetLife.
When you do have to contact them to file a claim, you can call them on the phone, use their online form on the company’s website or us the MetLife mobile app. The app is available for both iphone and Android users. I like that there are a lot of options for contacting the company.
My Conclusion
MetLife is a big time giant in the auto insurance industry. They are much more expensive on average than most auto insurers, though they do offer some nice discounts such as good driving discounts and savings if you do not file a claim. Their website is easy to use and has a lot of information on it. However, many people felt like the application process was too tedious. You are required to leave a lot of contact information. Some people were leary to do this and concerned that they would get telemarketing calls and spam emails. The customer service for MetLife was about average according to a J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction study. In looking at customer feedback left, both positive and negative, I noticed a large amount of negative feedback from people who said they received a cancellation notice, some shortly after filing a claim. MetLife is a big time insurer and they are financially stable. You will need to outweigh the positives to the negative in deciding if they would be right for you.
For more reviews and information, check out our list of the Top Auto Insurance Companies of 2018.
