The amount of obligations supported under the issued support agreement.

No definition available.

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- Definition

The cash outflow associated with the amount paid to the subsidiaries during the period.

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- Definition

Disclosure of the guaranteed minimum level of regulatory based total adjusted capital level for entity in domestic jurisdiction.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of right to receive securities collateral under master netting arrangements that have not been offset against derivative liabilities.

+ References

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Fair value, after offset of derivative liability, of financial asset or other contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset, before offset against an obligation to return collateral under a master netting arrangement. Includes assets elected not to be offset. Excludes assets not subject to a master netting arrangement.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (c)

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 20

-Section 55

-Paragraph 9

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 815

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 8

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=d3e41678-113959

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- Definition

Fair value, after offset of derivative asset, of financial liability or contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset, elected not to be and before offset against a right to receive collateral under a master netting arrangement. Includes liabilities elected not to be offset. Excludes liabilities not subject to a master netting arrangement.

+ References

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Fair value, after effects of master netting arrangements, of financial liability or contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset offset against the right to receive collateral. Includes liabilities not subject to a master netting arrangement and not elected to be offset.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 20

-Section 55

-Paragraph 13

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (e)

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 815

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 8

-Subparagraph (a)

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- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 323

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (a)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571

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- Definition

The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 210

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16)

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-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 20, 22

-Article 5

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 210

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.16)

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- Definition

Description of the interest rate for the amounts borrowed under the credit facility, including the terms and the method for determining the interest rate (for example, fixed or variable, LIBOR plus a percentage, increasing rate, timing of interest rate resets, remarketing provisions).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b))

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-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 22

-Article 5

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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- Definition

Amount of statutory capital required to be maintained as of the balance sheet date under prescribed or permitted statutory accounting practices.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 505

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (b)

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Condensed Financial Information (Parent Company) (Support Agreements - Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2011	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 29, 2013	Feb. 11, 2013	Jan. 09, 2013
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Derivative Assets, Fair Value, Net	$ 13,707,000,000	$ 8,850,000,000
Unsecured derivative liability positions guaranteed by MetLife, Inc.	7,082,000,000	6,549,000,000
Derivative Liability, Fair Value, Amount Offset Against Collateral	102,000,000	269,000,000
Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co Ltd (MSI MetLife) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Interest in Mitsui Sumitomo MetLife Insurance Co., LTD. (MSI MetLife)					50.00%
Parent Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Capital contributions to subsidiaries	1,262,000,000	748,000,000	1,223,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement Exeter Obligations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Amount guaranteed under support agreement	1,000,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MetLife Reinsurance Company of Vermont [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels	equal to or greater than 200% of authorized control level risk-based capital
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MetLife Reinsurance Company of Charleston [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels	equal to or greater than 200% of the company action level risk-based capital
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MetLife Reinsurance Company of South Carolina [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels	equal to or greater than 100% of authorized control level risk-based capital
Minimum capital and surplus	250,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MetLife Investors Insurance Company and First MetLife Investors Insurance Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels	equal to or greater than 150% of the company action level risk-based capital
Minimum capital and surplus	10,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement - Guarantees of Subsidiary Derivative Obligations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Derivative Assets, Fair Value, Net	499,000,000	568,000,000
Estimated fair value of collateral provided to counterparties by the subsidiaries	96,000,000	651,000,000
Unsecured derivative liability positions guaranteed by MetLife, Inc.	102,000,000	734,000,000
Derivative Liability, Fair Value, Amount Offset Against Collateral	6,000,000	83,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MetLIfe Bank [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Capital contributions to subsidiaries		21,000,000	34,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement - Exeter, MICC and MLI-USA [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate Description		0.0247
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity						500,000,000
Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MRD [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels	equal to or greater than 200% of the company action level risk-based capital
Metlife Bank Liquidity Agreement [Member] \| Parent Company [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding							0
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity								$ 100,000,000	$ 500,000,000
Scenario, Forecast [Member] \| Parent Company [Member] \| Support Agreement MRD [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Guaranteed adjusted capital levels				increase such capital maintenance threshold to 300%