Customer Privacy FAQs

No. The MetLife family of companies ('MetLife') have a strong record of treating information we receive and maintain about our customers as confidential. We believe that this is a fundamental part of doing business. We have had a formal privacy policy in place for over twenty years.

Generally, 'customer' refers to an individual who has obtained one of MetLife’s products for personal, family or household purposes and who has an ongoing relationship with us. For example, an individual who owns a life insurance policy and/or other products and services is a customer.

Electronic records are protected by multiple computer software products that use security features such as passwords, user identification numbers, and personal identification numbers to guard against unauthorized access.

MetLife’s internal systems contain electronic firewalls and other security measures designed to prevent unauthorized access to our electronic records. We also employ surveillance software to determine if any abnormal activity occurs. Electronic points of entry, as well as databases, servers, e-mail and workstations are generally protected by virus detection/removal software.

MetLife discloses this information to third parties (affiliates and non-affiliates) when we believe that it is necessary in order for us to conduct our business, or where the disclosure is required by law. For example, MetLife may disclose this information to others in order to:

• Help us evaluate your request for a MetLife product or service;
• Help us process claims and other transactions;
• Confirm or correct what we know about and applicant, insured or other customer;
• Help us prevent fraud, money laundering, terrorism and other crimes;
• Help us run our business;
• Process data for us;
• Perform research for us;
• Audit our business; and/or
• Help us comply with the law. 

An affiliate is any one of the members within the MetLife family of companies. Our affiliates include financial service companies such as life and property and casualty insurers, securities firms, broker dealers and may also include companies that are not financial services companies. MetLife affiliates include, among others:

• MetLife Investors Group, including MetLife Investors Securities, and MetLife Investors Distribution Company
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
• Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company
• MetLife Legal Plans, Inc.

A MetLife company may share information about its own customers with affiliated and unaffiliated third parties that provide business services to assist the company to offer its other products and services to its customers. A MetLife company can also tell its customers about products and service available from its affiliates. 

However, before a MetLife company shares information about its own customers with other MetLife affiliated companies and/or unaffiliated financial services companies to let them offer their products and services to its customers, the customer must first be given an opportunity to “opt out.” If the customer does not opt out, the company may disclose customer information (other than health information and consumer reports) to such third parties for marketing purposes in the following circumstances:

• to permit the company’s MetLife affiliates to offer their products or services directly to the company’s customers; or
• to permit an unaffiliated financial services company with which the MetLife company has a joint marketing agreement to offer a product jointly.

MetLife companies do not make any other disclosures of customer information to other companies for marketing purposes. For example, we will not sell customers’ names and addresses to a catalog company. 

Any customer whose information a MetLife company would like to share with other MetLife companies, or unaffiliated financial services companies, to enable them offer their products and services to the customer will be sent an opt out notice and given the opportunity to “opt out.” Generally, customers that have purchased individual life insurance policies and annuities, MetLife Auto & Home policies and products are likely to receive opt-out notices. 

However, many of our customers will not receive opt out notices because we do not have plans to share their information in this fashion.

Please visit our Customer Opt Out Form and FAQs page for more information about opting out at MetLife, or to obtain an opt out form which may be completed mailed to MetLife to opt out of marketing programs described above. 

Please visit our Customer Opt Out Form and FAQs page for more information about opting out at MetLife, or to obtain an opt out form which may be mailed to MetLife. To opt out of marketing programs under which information about customers may be shared with other MetLife affiliated companies and/or unaffiliated financial services companies to let them offer their products to you, simply print the form, complete the information and mail the completed form to the address indicated on the form. 

If you are a MetLife customer, federal privacy laws, and in some instances state consumer privacy laws, require that we give you a general notice of our privacy policy when you first become a customer and then annually thereafter as long as you remain a customer. That notice describes our general privacy policy, which is also described in the Consumer Privacy Notice posted on our Web site.

However, if you have MetLife insurance coverage that is subject to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) – such as MetLife’s long-term care insurance or its group dental insurance – we are also required by HIPAA give you a special notice describing your additional privacy rights under that law.