MetLife Fined $10 Million Over How It Decided Clients Were Dead

MetLife Inc. agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that the insurer violated accounting rules in setting reserves for its annuities business.

For over 25 years, MetLife followed a policy of assuming customers had died or couldn’t be found if they didn’t respond to two mailings made five and a half years apart, the SEC said in a Wednesday statement. The practice boosted MetLife’s profits because it allowed the firm to free up money that had been set aside to cover claims.

MetLife, which didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s allegations, later ...