MetLife life insurance in the UK is offered mainly as Group Life, a scheme an employer arranges for its staff that pays a lump sum if an employee dies. The products MetLife's UK customer pages list for individuals are accident, hospital, child and mortgage-repayment cover, plus retirement and investment products; a standard term or whole of life policy is not on that list.

If you are here because someone has died and you think MetLife cover applies, the sections below explain who starts a Group Life claim and what MetLife asks for. A policy in your own name is separate from any MetLife claim. The broker who answers the form on this page holds FCA authorisation and will cover individual options by phone, free.

Does MetLife sell life insurance to individuals in the UK?

MetLife's customer pages name four protection products for individuals: EverydayProtect, MultiProtect, ChildShield and MortgageSafe.

Of these, EverydayProtect is the one whose product page lists cover on death. MetLife's product page lists accidental death cover of up to £200,000 and says death from natural causes pays up to £10,000, or the premiums returned if the death is within the first year of the policy. Those are the product page's figures; the policy schedule shows what a particular policyholder has. The policy terms (edition code COMP 2883.7.JUN26) add conditions. For accidental death they say "your death must occur within 12 months of the date of the accident and must have been directly caused by the accident." For death from other causes, the amount depends on how long the policy has been in force, and "If your non-accidental death occurs within 12 months of the policy start date, the benefit will be a refund of the premiums you’d paid for your policy." The same terms let you take out the policy if you are at least 18 and under 65 at the start, and the cover ends by your 75th birthday at the latest.

The terms also say who is paid. Claim payments go to the policyholder, and "If you die before a claim payment can be made, the payment will be made to the executor or administrator of your estate." They add that "inheritance tax may be due on any payment made in the event of your death." That makes it a different arrangement from a life policy written in trust for a family; the page on accidental death insurance sets out how that kind of cover differs from ordinary life cover.

MortgageSafe is not life cover. MetLife describes it as cover for mortgage repayments for up to two years if an accident or illness stops you working, sold only through a financial adviser. The difference between that and a policy that clears a mortgage on death is in life insurance and mortgage protection compared.

What is MetLife Group Life, and who arranges it?

MetLife's description of its Group Life and Legacy cover says it pays a multiple of salary when an employee dies, and its claim form lets the scheme claim either "a multiple of earnings" or "a fixed amount". The employer chooses the design, and employees are members of the scheme rather than policyholders. The general shape of these schemes is covered in group life assurance explained, and the employer's side in death in service insurance for employers.

The cover is arranged through advisers rather than by employees. MetLife's Group Life page, written for advisers acting for employer clients, says schemes of 3 to 499 members can be quoted through an online portal called Accelerate, and larger schemes by email. The quote asks for the company's details, the policy design and a membership list that includes salaries. Some employers place their benefits in the MetLife Master Trust, which has its own claim form.

There is no per-person price for Group Life. The employer's quote is built from its own membership data, so a figure quoted for one company says nothing about another. The other main group insurers are compared in group life insurance providers.

How does a MetLife death in service claim work?

MetLife's Group Life claim form (edition code COMP 2964.27 MAY2025) is headed with details of the employer's scheme and ends with a declaration by the trustees. The claim is therefore made by the scheme's trustees, so a relative's practical first step is to tell the employer, who will know whether the cover sits in the Master Trust. The form says: "Please do not use this form if your policy benefits are assigned to the MetLife Master Trust." Those use a separate Master Trust form. For either, the contact is MetLife's employee benefits claims team, on 0800 917 1222 or ebclaims@metlife.uk.com.

The form sets out what MetLife needs:

  1. Signatures. "The claim form must be signed by at least one authorised signatory for the scheme. A second signatory is necessary only where your trust rules require it."
  2. A death certificate, in some cases. MetLife says it can confirm most deaths online. A certificate is needed if the member died overseas (the original), if the death was registered in the last 10 calendar days (a certified copy), or if a coroner is involved and only an interim certificate exists (a certified copy of that).
  3. Evidence of earnings, usually not. The form says earnings evidence is usually not needed. It is asked for if the person was not on the latest membership data, or if their salary changed by 5% or more from the declared figure, and then a payslip or P60 is requested.

On payment, "We usually make payment to the dedicated trustee bank account." The form adds that "If you wish us to make payment to a different bank account (e.g. direct to beneficiaries), you will need to complete the attached authorisation and discharge form." That second form is the trustees' written instruction, and it asks for the beneficiary's photo ID and proof of address. It also records the payment as made in full and final settlement of the claim, so it is the trustees, not MetLife, who decide who receives the money. How another insurer's scheme handles that choice is described in a Legal & General death in service claim.

The form warns that missing information will delay the time MetLife takes to process the claim, and says its claims team will help anyone who needs a hand completing it.

What support does MetLife Group Life include for bereaved families?

MetLife's employer pages list a funeral adviser, an online will writer and a digital vault, available to its Group Life clients and covering parents and parents-in-law too. Its Group Life and Legacy page adds that the bereavement and probate service offers up to 6 counselling sessions, with a 24-hour helpline. A separate MetLife page cautions that services of this kind "are provided by third parties, with availability to your employee’s dependent on scheme and product details", so whether a family can use them depends on the employer's scheme.

The claim form also names a bereavement and funeral planning service, Everest, which helps with arranging a funeral and with wills and probate. MetLife gives 0800 058 4227 as the number to call.

What are the alternatives if you want cover of your own?

Group Life depends on the job: the claim form's declaration confirms that "the deceased member was employed by the insured employer at date of death." Whether you still need cover of your own beside it is the subject of life insurance when you already have death in service.

Individual policies sit in a different part of the market. The main kinds are:

Life insurance types explained sets these side by side, and how much life cover you need is about sizing a policy. Insurers are compared in the hub Insurers compared.

Cover that stays yours whatever happens at work is a fair topic for a free phone call: an FCA-authorised broker rings back when the form on this page lands with them, and your health and age come into it. For a policy you already hold with MetLife, its customer services number is 0800 917 0100.

Frequently asked questions

Does MetLife have whole of life insurance in the UK?

The individual products MetLife's UK customer pages list are EverydayProtect, MultiProtect, ChildShield and MortgageSafe, with retirement and investment products alongside. A whole of life policy is not one of them. Whole of life policies from other insurers are explained on their own page.

Who gets the money from a MetLife death in service claim?

The claim form says MetLife usually pays the dedicated trustee bank account. The trustees can instead instruct payment to named beneficiaries on the authorisation and discharge form.

Is there a MetLife death in service nomination form?

Whether the person completed a nomination form is a question for their employer or the scheme's trustees, who hold the scheme's records. The trustees' authorisation and discharge form is the one MetLife's claim form describes for paying named beneficiaries.

Do MetLife claim payments attract tax?

EverydayProtect's terms say claim payments are free from UK income tax and capital gains tax, with the inheritance tax caveat quoted above. Tax on a group scheme payout depends on the scheme, and death in service for employers sets out HMRC's approach.

How do I get a MetLife group life claim form?

MetLife's claims page links the Group Life claim form and a separate Master Trust form. The Group Life form is signed for the scheme by its authorised signatories, and the claims team on 0800 917 1222 can help.

How much does MetLife group life insurance cost?

There is no published price. MetLife quotes the employer, and its quote request asks for the policy design and membership data including each member's date of birth and salary.

There is no hurry to look at cover in your own name while a claim is under way. Whenever it suits, post the form on this page; your own cover is then a free broker's call away. Nothing on this page is a quote from MetLife, and a MetLife claim does not need the form.

Sources

  • MetLife UK, Accident and illness cover; customer products (web pages, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk/customer
  • MetLife UK, EverydayProtect: Accident & Hospitalisation Cover (product page, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk
  • MetLife UK, EverydayProtect Policy Terms and Conditions (edition code COMP 2883.7.JUN26), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk
  • MetLife UK, MortgageSafe (product page, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk
  • MetLife UK, Group Life claim form (edition code COMP 2964.27 MAY2025), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk
  • MetLife UK, Make a claim (web page, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk/support/claims
  • MetLife UK, Support Employee Wellbeing Through Life and Loss with Group Life and Legacy (web page, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk
  • MetLife UK, Employee bereavement support and Workplace wellbeing (web pages, undated), read 29 October 2026. metlife.co.uk