Condensed Financial Information (Parent Company) (Long-term Debt - Narrative) (Details) (Parent Company [Member], USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes	$ 15,938	$ 15,669
Investment in subsidiaries	76,871	81,769
Advances to Affiliate	2,333	750
Metlife Reinsurance Company of Delaware Surplus Note [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Advances to Affiliate	350	750
Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries		2,000
Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] \| $750 Million Preferred Stock of Exeter [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries		750
Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] \| $1.25 Billion Preferred Stock of Exeter [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries		1,250
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $750 Million Senior Note Issued to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		750
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $750 Million Senior Note Issued to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member] \| $250 Million Senior Note Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Maturities of Senior Debt		250
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $750 Million Senior Note Issued to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member] \| $500 Million Senior Note Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		500
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date		Jun. 30, 2014
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage		6.44%
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $250 Million Senior Note Issued to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		250
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date		Oct. 01, 2019
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage		3.57%
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $1.25 Billion Senior Note Issued to Affiliates [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		1,250
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $1.25 Billion Senior Note Issued to Affiliates [Member] \| $250 Million Senior Note Affiliated [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		250
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date		Sep. 30, 2016
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage		7.44%
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $1.25 Billion Senior Note Issued to Affiliates [Member] \| $500 Million Senior Note Affiliated [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		500
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date		Jul. 15, 2021
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage		5.64%
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $1.25 Billion Senior Note Issued to Affiliates [Member] \| $500 Million Senior Note Affiliated [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes		500
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date		Dec. 16, 2021
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage		5.86%
Senior Notes, Affiliated [Member] \| $750 Million Senior Note issued to MetLife Reinsurance Company of Delaware [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Senior notes	$ 350	$ 750
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Dec. 31, 2033	Sep. 30, 2032
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage	5.10%	4.21%

Long-Term advances receivable from a party that is affiliated with the reporting entity by means of direct or indirect ownership. This does not include advances to clients.

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Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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Value of the investment at close of period. For investment in and advances to affiliates, if operations of any controlled companies are different in character from those of the company, group such affiliates within divisions and by type of activities.

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The cash outflow for the settlement of long-term borrowing, with the highest claim on the assets of the entity in case of bankruptcy or liquidation, as it matures.

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Including the current and noncurrent portions, carrying value as of the balance sheet date of Notes with the highest claim on the assets of the issuer in case of bankruptcy or liquidation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer). Senior note holders are paid off in full before any payments are made to junior note holders.

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