MetLife introduces human value calculator

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2004



MetLife today announced the launch of a new Human Life Value Calculator, available on its Web site at www.metlife.com/lifevaluecalculator, designed to help individuals measure their full-economic value and purchase adequate life insurance protection. MetLife has been challenging the industry to move away from rules-of-thumb when it comes to helping consumers understand their life insurance needs.

"We don't use rules-of-thumb when we purchase car or homeowners insurance," said Joe Jordan, MetLife senior vice president. "Why should we use imprecise rules to value our lives? Similar to the way you can look up the book value of your car, with MetLife's Human Life Value Calculator, you can determine the economic value of your life."



It's no secret that Americans as a group are grossly underinsured. According to LIMRA the average life insurance coverage is less than three times income. MetLife believes that part of the under-insurance problem is the focus on methods that compute life insurance without consideration of an individual's full economic value.



Under the Human Life Value approach, a person's actual financial contribution to his or her household is determined. Income, projected pay raises, cost of household services and fringe benefits such as health insurance are calculated, minus personal consumption. Taxes and the time value of money are also part of the equation.



Human Life Value is not new to the insurance industry. Dr. Solomon S. Huebner--who also founded The American College--developed this scientific method in the early twentieth century. And many courts have recognized the Human Life Value approach as an appropriate way to measure the economic value of a person's lifetime contributions to his or her family.



"The calculator is the first step," added Jordan. "The purchase of life insurance should be determined by needs and goals. At MetLife we believe that face-to-face interaction is still critical. You can plug numbers into the calculator but you can't ask the calculator questions."