MetLife's Unit Refunds Premiums to Members Amid the Crisis

The property and casualty (P&C) business of MetLife, Inc. MET — MetLife Auto & Home — planned to reward its existing auto insurance customers by refunding an amount in their accounts. The amount will be equal to 15% of monthly premiums payable by members for April and May. In yet another move, which has already come into force and will extend till Jul 1 this year, the failure to pay premiums will not result in the cancellation of policies by the company’s P&C business.

This is one of the many other actions that MetLife is deploying to reduce the financial burdens of its customers during the pandemic. Notably, the crisis has also put the U.S. economy in a sluggish phase.

As part of several initiatives, MetLife is expanding coverage of its auto insurance policies, as clients are increasingly using personal transportation systems to fetch daily essentials during the crisis. The extended coverage, which has already been implemented from Mar 20 and will extend till May 1 of this year, is provided free of cost.

During the pandemic period, an immense need for a set of virtual services often increases exposure to cyberattacks. As a result, the company’s P&C business aims at enhancing its existing suite of cybersecurity services on its alliance with the provider of cybersecurity solutions, CyberScout. Additionally, the P&C business will continue to process customers’ claims remotely to promote social distancing.

Notably, MetLife has also ensured that owners of small businesses along with their employees are well-protected from the financial uncertainty due to the pandemic. To this effect, it has halted rate increase for any Group Benefits products, which will be effective from Jun 1 and extend till Sep 1 of this year. The measure will be applicable to the company’s clients with lesser than 500 employees.

Furthermore, MetLife has come to the forefront for protecting numerous healthcare workers as they form an integral part of the U.S. healthcare system in such a crisis. Being the owner of a majority stake in the InterContinental Times Square hotel of New York, the company has provided free hotel facilities to various medical professionals, who are combating the virus spread in the United States.

However, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurer have lost 21.6% in a year compared with the industry’s decline of 24%. Nevertheless, we believe that the company’s strong fundamentals are likely to drive its shares, going forward.

 

 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Notably, two other auto insurers, namely The Allstate Corporation ALL and The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV, have undertaken similar steps to help its members. Allstate announced that it will provide a Shelter-in-Place payback worth more than $600 million and refund almost 15% of its customers’ monthly premium in April and May. Travelers has also initiated a Stay-at-Home Auto Premium Credit program, with the plan to reward its personal auto insurance customers by refunding 15% on the basis of their auto premiums, payable April and May.

The auto insurance unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B—Geico— is planning to offer $2.5 billion in benefits to its auto insurance policyholders. To this end, the company plans to return 15% of premiums to auto and motorcycle insurance customers for renewals over the next six months (from Apr 8 to Oct 7) as well as new policies bought during the period.

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