How to Update an Existing Metlife Life Insurance Policy
Metropolitan Life, or MetLife, is a stock life insurance company. This means that the company is a publicly traded insurer. When you purchase a MetLife life insurance policy, you are required to name an insured individual, a policyholder and beneficiaries. Additionally, you set a specific face amount of insurance. MetLife does not currently allow a transfer of insured rider (as of 2010), so any policy updates are limited to changing the beneficiaries, the policy holder and the death benefit and premium payments on some policies.
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Things You'll Need
- Change of beneficiary form
- Change of policyholder form
- Change of face amount form
Instructions
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Contact MetLife's customer support (see Resources) and request the form you need. MetLife keeps separate forms for updating your beneficiary, the policyholder information and your death benefit amount on the company's universal life insurance products.
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Fill out the forms. If you are updating the beneficiary information, be sure to contact the beneficiary to let that person know that he is the new beneficiary on your life insurance policy. You may name joint beneficiaries or you may name a primary and a secondary beneficiary. With joint beneficiaries, you specify how you want the death benefit proceeds distributed. With primary and secondary (called "contingent") beneficiaries, the primary beneficiary receives all of the funds. If the primary beneficiary dies, the secondary beneficiary receives the proceeds. When updating the policyholder information, be aware that if you name another person the policyholder on your policy, you will lose control of the policy. The new owner is responsible for the payment of premiums and may make any modifications to the policy that he wants. For universal life insurance policies, you may lower the death benefit by any amount without any health exam requirements. Increases in the death benefit require additional underwriting and may require a health exam.
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Sign and date the form. Then turn the form in to the company. Most requests are processed within one week of your submission. If you are increasing your death benefit on a universal life policy, however, your request may take longer to process since you may be required to undergo an additional health exam for the additional death benefit purchase.
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