MetLife Auto Insurance Review

Could MetLife Auto Insurance be the right auto insurance company for you? Find out now, and compare car insurance quotes for free! The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York began its existence as the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company in July 1864.

Find out if MetLife Auto is one of the auto insurance companies that can save you money on car insurance with our quote comparison search!

The company started out insuring Civil War military men against disabilities related to war injuries. The business ran into hard luck early on.

By year’s end, the company had only written 17 life policies and 56 accident policies.

Of the 27 companies operating in the New York region, National Union was in dead last and running a $1,400 deficit.

Five years of hard business conditions, several reorganizations and changing names finally led to a resolution by then-president James R. Dow.

The company dropped the casualty aspect and decided to focus on life insurance only. The name was changed once more to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which opened for business on March 24, 1868.

This was before the invention of the telephone, and electric lights had not yet reached their ubiquitous state of today. The home office consisted of two rooms, enough to house only six employees.

Clearly, MetLife Auto Insurance has come a long way. Compare car insurance quotes from different companies for free with our zip code search!

What Is MetLife Like Today?

Today, MetLife, as the company is known, serves over 90 million customers in more than 60 countries. MetLife’s affiliates and subsidiary companies allow it to hold leading market shares in the following regions:

• the Middle East
• Latin America
• Asia Pacific
• the United States
• Europe

MetLife’s affordable auto insurance offering is one of the best-known products in the insurance industry. Numerous guarantees and protections offered make MetLife truly customer-centered if you compare auto insurance companies.

For instance, MetLife offers to replace a car totaled within the first year or 15,000 miles, whichever works best for the customer.

Consumer Data from J.D. Power & Associates

To evaluate what consumers think of MetLife, J.D. Power & Associates conduct annual consumer surveys of companies in different industries. According to the most recent survey completed in 2011, MetLife ranks near or below the average compared to other auto insurance companies in several categories.

The 2011 National Auto Insurance Survey asked consumers to rate state auto insurance companies in five categories: overall satisfaction, policy offerings, pricing, billing and payment and contacting the insurer.

J.D. Power & Associates uses a unique scale of one to five, with one representing the lowest level of quality and five representing the highest. MetLife ranks in each of the five categories as follows:

• Overall Satisfaction – 2
• Policy Offerings – 3
• Pricing – 3
• Billing and payment – 3
• Contacting the insurer – 2

Looking to the Better Business Bureau

The results of the survey indicate that MetLife Auto Insurance does not score high marks among their customers. MetLife is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), so that source is unable to be used to confirm or disconfirm the assessment of J.D. Power & Associates.

However, the BBB in New York City, where MetLife is headquartered, has records of numerous consumer complaints filed against MetLife over the years.

The BBB organizes its complaint structure into five categories:

• Advertising/Sales Issues
• Billing/Collection Issues
• Delivery Issues
• Guarantee/Warranty Issues
• Problems with Product/Service

The BBB’s New York website listing for MetLife reveals a total of 195 closed consumer complaints against MetLife in the last three years, with 130 of them occurring in the last 12 months.

The majority of the 113 total complaints is allocated in the “Problems with Product/Service” category. The rest are spread out unevenly across the remaining four categories, with only two complaints allocated to the “Delivery Issues” category.

As if the number of complaints were not enough, the BBB website reports that the reason why MetLife is not accredited is because the company is in the process of resolving previously closed complaints.

Additionally, the BBB reports that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has announced formal enforcement actions against eight national bank mortgage servicing companies.

The OCC cites unsafe and unsound practices relating to residential mortgage loan practices. The OCC specifically names MetLife Bank, Inc., a subsidiary of MetLife, in its announcement released April 13, 2011.

Finally, the BBB reports that MetLife has not responded to any requests for basic information.

Final Thoughts on MetLife Auto Insurance

The data from J.D. Power & Associates and the information provided by the Better Business Bureau paint a stark picture of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Discerning consumers will hopefully pay attention to these two sources of information and act accordingly. As things stand, MetLife is not looking very good, but perhaps MetLife Auto Insurance could offer you affordable auto insurance. Find out today with our free car insurance quote comparison tool!