MetLife Auto Insurance Review [2024]: Is It Still Available?

As one of the largest insurers in the world, MetLife offered auto insurance to its customers for years. That changed in 2021 when MetLife sold its auto and home insurance business to Farmers Insurance Group for $3.94 billion.

Low customer satisfaction ratings may be one reason MetLife decided to sell the auto and home insurance side of its business and focus more on its core life insurance products. Between 2017 and 2019, MetLife ranked below the industry standard for overall customer satisfaction on J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study.

How was MetLife’s auto insurance when it was available? How much has it changed since Farmers Insurance took over? Let’s look into what MetLife’s auto insurance offered its customers and whether it was a good deal.

MetLife Auto Insurance: Was it worth it?

Pros	Cons
MetLife has fewer complaints overall than many other car insurance companies Company had good financial strength	No longer sells auto insurance Ranked low for customer satisfaction
Our verdict: You can no longer get auto insurance through MetLife, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing because the insurer often ranked low for customer satisfaction on auto claims. Farmers Insurance Group, which bought MetLife’s auto and home insurance business in 2021, has a better reputation for customer satisfaction.

What was MetLife Auto Insurance?

MetLife got its start as National Union Life and Limb Insurance, which was founded in 1863 to provide disability coverage to soldiers in the Civil War. In 1868, the company switched its focus from casualty insurance to life insurance and became the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife.

MetLife provides a range of insurance products, including life, vision, dental, disability, accident and health, legal, pets, and, until recently, home and car insurance.

In 2021, MetLife’s auto and home insurance business was acquired by Farmers Insurance Group. After the acquisition, Farmers Insurance pledged that MetLife’s auto and home insurance policies would remain the same for customers, despite the rebrand.

So if you are looking for a quote on the best car insurance, you won’t get it from MetLife. Although auto and home insurance are still listed on the MetLife website, the page will redirect you to the Farmers Insurance website.

Before MetLife’s auto insurance arm was sold to Farmers, it was ranked as the 18th largest auto insurance carrier, with over $2.4 billion in net written auto premiums in 2019. That year, Farmers posted over $10.53 billion in written auto premiums.

	MetLife Auto Insurance (now part of Farmers Auto Insurance)
Year founded	1868
Types of coverage	Liability Comprehensive Collision Uninsured/underinsured motorist Rental car Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Gap insurance New car replacement Glass repair Major parts replacement
Discounts available	Good driver Loyalty Multi-policy Multi-vehicle Group My Journey program
Where you could use it	Mobile app and online website
Customer support	Farmers Insurance Group (800) 422-4272 Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-11 p.m. EST Sat. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sun. 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Availability	All 50 U.S. states.

What insurance does MetLife offer?

MetLife sold the auto and homeowners side of its business to focus more on its core strengths: life insurance and other products.

The insurance coverage you can still get through MetLife includes:

• Life insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Accident and health insurance
• Legal insurance
• Pet insurance

Before MetLife car insurance was bought by Farmers, it offered a wide range of car insurance coverage, including liability, comprehensive, collision, uninsured/underinsured motorists, rental car, personal injury protection, gap insurance, new car replacement, glass repair, and major parts replacement.

Now that MetLife Auto & Home is under the umbrella of Farmers Insurance, former MetLife auto insurance customers have access to the same types of coverages, including:

• Liability: Liability insurance pays for any injuries or property damage to another driver from an accident that you caused. This coverage is required in almost all U.S. states.
• Collision: Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle if you are in an accident with another car or with an object like a guardrail or fence. It may be required for drivers who lease or are still making vehicle payments on their cars.
• Comprehensive: Comprehensive insurance comes in handy if you hit a deer, if your car is stolen, or if your car is damaged by something other than a collision.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: This coverage protects you if you are injured in an accident with a driver who doesn’t carry adequate car insurance.
• Medical payments: If you are injured in an accident, medical payments coverage will pay for your medical bills, regardless of who was at fault in the accident.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This insurance covers your medical expenses and lost wages after you are in an accident.
• Roadside assistance: This coverage provides 24/7 assistance if you need your car towed, if your car battery dies, or if you accidentally lock your keys in the car.
• Rental car reimbursement: If you need to rent a car after your car is damaged in an accident, this coverage will pay the cost of the rental car for up to 30 days.
• Rideshare: This provides additional coverage for drivers who use their vehicles for rideshare companies like Uber or Lyft.
• Loss of Use: This covers public transportation, rental cars, taxis, and rideshare services while your car is in the shop.
• Guaranteed Value: This coverage is unique to Farmers. It pays you a predefined amount if your car is totaled in an accident.
• Customized equipment: If you carry collision and comprehensive insurance, then you can add this coverage which helps pay to repair or replace aftermarket equipment on your car.
• Personal umbrella: This coverage provides additional liability coverage that goes above the limits of your auto insurance policy.
• Glass deductible buyback: This covers the cost to repair or replace your car’s windshield or windows after you pay a $100 deductible.
• Full windshield and glass coverage: This covers the cost to repair or replace your car’s windshield or windows with no deductible.
• Spare parts coverage: This coverage is popular with classic car owners because it pays up to $750 to replace spare parts that you keep on hand.
• Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM): If your car is under ten years old, then this coverage pays the cost of using factory-original parts in covered repairs.
• New car replacement coverage: If your new car is totaled within its first two model years and within 24,000 miles, then this coverage pays to replace it with a new one of the same make and model.
• Accident Forgiveness: For every three years you drive without an accident, Farmers will forgive one at-fault accident, which can help prevent your premium from increasing.

Farmers Insurance doesn’t offer gap insurance, which is handy if your car is totaled and you still owe money on it. Gap insurance pays the difference between what you still owe on the car and its present value.

Farmers Insurance is available in all 50 U.S. states. Besides auto insurance, Farmers also provides insurance coverage for:

• Homeowners
• Renters
• Landlords
• Life
• Business
• Motorcycle
• Recreational (boat, ATV, etc.)
• Pets
• Umbrella policies

MetLife Auto Insurance: How cheap was it?

Although it may not have been the most affordable car insurance available, MetLife’s auto insurance did offer policyholders several ways that they could save money on car insurance including several discounts and its My Journey program.

What insurance discounts MetLife had

MetLife Auto & Home auto insurance promised to save its customers an average of $466 per year through numerous discounts. The discounts MetLife Auto & Home offered included:

• Good driver discounts
• Loyalty discounts
• Multi-policy discounts
• Multi-vehicle discounts
• Group discounts

MetLife Auto & Home also offered the My Journey program to reward policyholders for their safe driving behavior. The program used a mobile phone app to monitor a customer’s driving habits.

Customers would receive a one-time 25% discount just for signing up for the My Journey program. They could also earn up to a 30% discount when they renewed their policy — if they had safe driving habits during their enrollment in My Journey.

How to maximize savings

Now that MetLife Auto & Home is part of Farmers Insurance, Farmers offers several ways MetLife policyholders can maximize their savings on car insurance. Some ways drivers can reduce their premiums include:

Drive an older vehicle: Cars depreciate in value the longer they are on the road, and the less a car is worth, the less you’ll have to pay for car insurance.

Maintain a clean driving record: In an insurer’s eyes, drivers with clean driving records (which means without any traffic tickets or accidents) are better customers. That’s why many insurers offer good driver discounts.

Consider your insurance costs when shopping for a car: The car you drive is one of the most significant factors that affect car insurance rates. For example, sports cars cost more to insure than a family sedan.

You may also get a discount on your insurance if your car has certain safety features, such as airbags and anti-lock brakes.

Bundle your insurance policies: Farmers, like many insurance companies, provides discounts for customers who purchase multiple policies or bundle their insurance coverage.

For example, you may qualify for a discount if you bundle your car insurance with a homeowners or renters insurance policy.

Ask about discounts available where you live: Different states offer access to different discounts that can help save you money on car insurance.

Choose higher deductibles: The more you can pay out of pocket for a deductible, the less your insurance coverage needs to be. That’s why a higher deductible makes your insurance premiums lower.

Install the Signal smartphone app: Similar to MetLife’s My Journey program, Signal is a mobile phone app that monitors your driving habits, such as how fast you drive, how often you brake, and whether or not you use your phone while driving.

You may earn a discount as a reward for safe driving habits recorded using this app.

How to get an insurance quote from providers similar to MetLife Auto Insurance

You can no longer get a quote for car insurance through MetLife Auto & Home Insurance. When you visit MetLife's Auto & Home Insurance page, you will be redirected to the Farmers Insurance website instead.

Farmers’ FastQuote system promises to get you a quote for car insurance online within minutes.

To get a quote for car insurance, you’ll have to provide the following information:

• Your ZIP code
• Your name
• Your date of birth
• Your residential address
• The vehicle you want to insure
• Whether your vehicle is financed, leased, or owned
• The vehicle’s primary use
• The driver needing insurance
• Your current insurance company and coverage
• Traffic violation and accidents history
• Email address
• Phone number

MetLife Auto Insurance FAQs

Bottom line

If you’re wondering how to get car insurance from MetLife, you may be disappointed to learn that the insurer no longer offers auto or home insurance. MetLife handed its Auto & Home insurance business off to Farmers Insurance, which is continuing to offer many of the same products — except gap insurance.

Although MetLife auto insurance is no longer available, it probably wasn’t one of the best choices for car insurance coverage anyway. The company ranked low in customer satisfaction for several years, which may have been a factor in its decision to sell to Farmers. In comparison, in 2021, Farmers Insurance ranked in the top five for overall customer satisfaction.

Methodology

FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.