INSURERS WE ARRANGE
MetLife UK
A large international insurer with a long-standing UK presence — less advertised here than the household names, and worth knowing about for the cases where it fits.
Well Known Globally, Quieter In The UK
MetLife is one of the larger insurance groups in the world and has had a UK presence for a long time. It is simply not advertised to UK consumers the way Aviva or Legal & General are, which is why the name is familiar without most people being able to say what it does here.
That is a marketing distinction rather than a substantive one. UK policies are written under UK regulation and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme regardless of where a parent company sits, so recognition is not the thing to judge an insurer on.
What is worth judging is fit. Insurers build their ranges around different priorities, and a case that is awkward at one can be straightforward at another. Knowing which is which is most of what a broker is for, and it occasionally points somewhere less obvious.
Cover Through An Employer: What It Is
A great many people already hold life cover through work without thinking about it, and it is worth understanding what you have before deciding what you need.
Group life cover, usually called death in service, is arranged by an employer for its employees and typically pays a multiple of salary if you die while working there. Because it is arranged as a scheme rather than individually, employees are generally covered without their own medical underwriting up to a set level — which is genuinely valuable if your health would otherwise make cover expensive.
It is a real benefit and worth having. The trouble is what people assume it means.
Death In Service Ends When The Job Does
This is the most expensive misunderstanding in workplace benefits, and it is worth stating bluntly.
Cover provided by an employer belongs to the employment, not to you. Resign, be made redundant, or retire, and it stops. There is no policy to take with you and nothing to convert as of right.
The problem is the timing. You lose the cover at the point you change jobs — which may be ten years later, when you are older, and possibly after a diagnosis that would have been straightforward to insure around at the time you first had the option. People who relied on death in service and never arranged their own cover often discover this at the worst possible moment.
The sensible approach is to treat employer cover as a bonus sitting on top of your own policy, not as a replacement for it. Personal cover is underwritten on your health today and stays yours regardless of who you work for.
If You Run The Company
Business owners have more options than employees, and the efficient answer is often not the obvious one.
Group schemes are available to smaller employers than most owners assume, and for a team of any size the arithmetic can compare well against everyone arranging cover separately. For a very small company, relevant life cover is frequently better: arranged for an individual director or employee, generally an allowable business expense, and normally paid free of income tax to the family.
And it is worth separating two different jobs. Keyman insurance protects the business against losing someone it depends on. Shareholder protection lets the remaining owners buy out a departing shareholder's family. Neither protects the family directly — that is what personal or relevant life cover is for, and owners regularly arrange the first two and forget the third.
CoverLife is a UK insurance broker and is not MetLife. We can arrange MetLife cover and are paid commission by the insurer; the policy terms that apply are the ones in MetLife's own documentation. See the other insurers we arrange.
Check What Your Employer Cover Actually Does
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.
- Relevant life coverUsually the efficient route for a small company: paid by the business, written for the individual, and it stays with them.
- Keyman insuranceProtects the business itself against losing someone it depends on, which is a different job from protecting the family.
- The other insurers we arrangeThe full panel and what each is strongest at, so the choice is one you can see.
Common questions
Who are MetLife?+
A large international insurance group with a long-standing UK presence. It is one of the better-known insurance names globally, though in the UK protection market it is less of a household name than Aviva or Legal & General, which is mostly a matter of consumer advertising rather than substance.
Is MetLife available in the UK?+
Yes, MetLife operates in the UK and is authorised and regulated here. As with any insurer, the products available and their terms are set out in current documentation, so we confirm what is available at the time you apply rather than working from a general description.
When would a broker use MetLife rather than a household name?+
Usually for a specific case rather than as a default. Different insurers build their ranges around different things, and a case that is awkward at one insurer can be straightforward at another. Part of a broker's job is knowing which of them fits a particular set of circumstances, and that occasionally points somewhere less obvious.
Is a global insurer better than a UK-only one?+
Not inherently, and it is not the right question. UK policies are written under UK regulation and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme regardless of where the parent company sits. What matters is the wording, the underwriting view of your circumstances and the price — all of which are knowable before you buy.
What is group life insurance?+
Cover arranged by an employer for its employees, usually paying a multiple of salary if an employee dies while working there. It is often called death in service. It is arranged as one scheme rather than individually, which usually means employees are covered without individual medical underwriting up to a certain level.
Does death in service cover replace personal life insurance?+
No, and treating it as though it does is a common and costly mistake. Death in service ends when the job ends — if you resign, are made redundant or retire, the cover stops, and by then you may be older or in worse health than when you could have arranged your own. It is a valuable benefit to have on top of personal cover, not instead of it.
Can a small business arrange group cover?+
Often yes. Schemes are available well below the size most owners assume, and for a small team the arithmetic can compare favourably with everyone arranging cover individually. For a very small company, relevant life cover is frequently the better route, because it can be arranged for individual directors and employees while remaining a business expense.
Is group life cover a taxable benefit?+
Registered group life schemes are generally not treated as a taxable benefit in kind for employees, which is part of what makes them efficient. Tax treatment depends on how the scheme is set up and on individual circumstances, so it is worth confirming for your own situation rather than assuming.
Can you arrange MetLife cover?+
Yes, it is on our agency list. The premium is the same as arranging it directly, and we are paid commission by the insurer, which is disclosed.
Should a company director have personal cover as well?+
Almost always. Cover attached to a business ends with the role, and a director's personal circumstances — a mortgage, a family, a partner's income — do not. Relevant life cover is often the efficient middle ground: paid for by the company, written for the individual, and it goes with them.