NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife today announced a number of portability enhancements to its group term life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance benefits plans. Central to the enhancements is an increase in the number of circumstances for which a person is eligible for portability as well as doubling the maximum amount of life insurance an employee can “port.”

According to the 5^th annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends, only half of full-time employees in the United States have life insurance coverage, and, among those that do, 45% admit that they don’t have enough.

“When eligibility for an employer’s group life insurance benefits cease, some employees will alarmingly go without any protection at all. The new portability enhancements make it easier for employees to maintain this important financial safety net. The increased flexibility and plan maximums also help employers address the needs of a diverse workforce,” said Graham Cox, vice president, Life Product Management, MetLife.

“Additionally, in an environment where four out of ten surveyed employees say they have changed jobs at least once in the last five years, the need for life insurance continuity is critical to helping to narrow the underinsured gap,” adds Cox.

MetLife’s new portability enhancements include:

• Adding more qualifying life events in which an employee can apply for portability including retirement, end of employment, end of the group policy, reduced coverage due to age or a change in the plan that impacts an employee’s coverage;
• Increasing the maximum coverage one can port from $1 million to $2 million;
• Permitting the employee and/or spouse to apply for preferred life premium rates with evidence of insurability which can result in lower premiums;
• Adding flexibility to increase coverage annually with evidence of insurability up to the plan’s maximum; and
• Permitting the porting of AD&D coverage without porting life insurance coverage.

In addition, dependent children may port coverage on their own when they are no longer eligible as a dependent.

Product availability and features may vary by state.

MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET - News), a leading provider of insurance and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.

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Source: MetLife, Inc.

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