The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company has announced its intentions to pay $1.25 billion in dividends to participating policyholders. Policyholders include both MetLife, New England Financial, and General American policyholders.
What does this total payout mean for the dividend rates?
Some Go Down and Some Stay the Same
Since MetLife has acquired a few different life insurers over the years, its decisions on dividend payouts effect a few different subsidiary companies that the large US life insurer owns. For closed blocks of business, dividend rates remain mostly unchanged (except for General American policy holders where the dividend rate will fall from 5.25% to 4.90%.
In force blocks will remain the same for New England Life policyholders at 5%.
MetLife's Promise Whole Life® products will have rates reduced from 5.25% to 5.10% in 2014.
MetLife noted a continued challenging interest rate environment for the adverse effect on dividend rates at the company.
