Insurance

Every day, people purchase disability insurance, life insurance, health insurance and long-term care insurance from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), assuming that when they submit a claim, the insurance company will honor their promise and pay all benefit due. Unfortunately, MetLife has a long history of refusing to quickly approve and pay valid claims. If you believe that MetLife undervalued, delayed payment, or even denied your disability insurance claim outright, you’re not alone. Call Donahue & Horrow today to fight back against MetLife and the company’s history of putting profits over people. 

We are a Los Angeles-based law firm that has successfully secured millions of dollars for our clients for their denied disability claims against the likes of MetLife and other major insurance providers. 

Call us today if you think that you’ve been treated unfairly or unethically by MetLife: (877) 664-5407.

 

About MetLife, Inc. – One of the World’s Largest Financial Services Companies

MetLife continues to thrive as a financial services, insurance, asset management, annuities, and employee benefits provider. In 2019, the publicly-traded business (New York Stock Exchange) generated more than $69.6 billion in revenues, up from approximately $68 billion in 2018. Of the 2019 sales figures, insurance premiums accounted for nearly 61% of all revenues. MetLife’s net income for 2018 also increased from $5 billion to $5.7 billion. 

With markets spanning more than 40 countries in the United States, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Japan, Latin America, MetLife is a global powerhouse that is more concerned with keeping shareholders happy than policyholders’ well-being. In California alone, Donahue & Horrow has sued MetLife in courts throughout Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento.

If you suspect that MetLife has been intentionally delaying or denying your long-term or short-term disability insurance claim, call the Donahue & Horrow legal team today: (877) 664-5407. Our legal team is ready to talk to you on the phone or set up an in-person meeting, whichever suits your schedule best. 

 

MetLife Tactics In Denial of Disability Insurance Claims

Every year, countless lawsuits are filed against MetLife for a failure to properly approve and pay valid claims. MetLife customers have alleged the insurance company has improperly performed the following acts when denying their valid insurance claims:

• Denying an insurance claim after ignoring the insured’s statements about their actual, everyday occupational demands;
• Using biased physician reviews to wrongfully deny or terminate disability insurance benefit claims, especially when MetLife’s paid physicians do not examine the insured or even make an attempt to talk to their treating physicians; and
• Not advising and educating customers about the appeal process after an insurance claim denial. 

 

Fighting an insurance company is hard. MetLife and other insurance companies often try to “wear down” policyholders like you in the hopes that you will give up rather than fight for your benefits. If MetLife has tried one or more of these tactics on you, it might be a clear sign the business is trying to fraudulently deny your insurance claim:

• Repeatedly making burdensome requests for more and more documentation, which often duplicates documentation you already submitted;
• Downplaying medical evidence – including objective and subjective data – which supports the disability or entitlement to insurance benefits;
• Resorting to requesting so-called “independent” medical reviews by unqualified physicians or individuals; or
• Lengthy delays in making a decision on a disability insurance claim.

 

Real Examples of MetLife Denying Claims

MetLife has been under immense scrutiny recently for the company’s claims practices. 

MetLife gained notoriety in 2017 for denying a former Bank of America quality analyst’s disability benefits. The woman, who experienced postpartum anxiety, depression, and PTSD following the birth of her child, couldn’t return to her work because of these symptoms. MetLife determined that her claims were untimely and lacked evidence that her conditions were “due to circumstances such as a loss or impairment of cognitive function.”

In 2019, MetLife made headlines in California, where a resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for canceling her husband’s life insurance policy for nonpayment. However, California has provisions in place protecting people from wrongful cancellations, including a 60-day grace period. The plaintiff indicated that her now-deceased husband missed just one payment in 12 years of the policy. 

More recently, the company reached an $80 million class-action settlement with life insurance beneficiaries, who said the business didn’t act in their best investment interests and violated various Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (ERISA) mandates. The case reached a settlement after five years of litigation. 

 

Don’t Wait to Take Action Against MetLife Today

Behind a caring facade and previous history with the Snoopy mascot and new taglines such as “Navigating Life Together,” MetLife has proven time and time again that the company doesn’t have customers’ best interests at heart. If you’re dealing with a denied insurance claim from MetLife, we urge you to take action and don’t delay! All insurance claims have deadlines that must be met if you hope to collect the insurance benefits you’re owed. This is especially true if your claim is governed by ERISA. Call us today at (877) 664-5407. Our legal team will treat you with the dignity you deserve while fighting relentlessly to secure the insurance benefits you are owed.

If you have any questions, call us. Insurance policies are complex and written by lawyers, so sometimes it takes a law firm to interpret the terms of the policy. Each case is unique. We’ll assist you in deciphering your MetLife policy, regardless of the type of insurance policy you purchased. Call us today for a free consultation: (877) 664-5407.