Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

2. Segment Information

MetLife is organized into six segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; EMEA; MetLife Holdings; and Brighthouse Financial. In addition, the Company reports certain of its results of operations in Corporate & Other.

On January 12, 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced its plan to separate a substantial portion of its former Retail segment, as well as certain portions of its former Corporate Benefit Funding segment and Corporate & Other (the “Separation”). Additionally, on July 21, 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced that following the Separation, the separated business will be rebranded as “Brighthouse Financial.” On October 5, 2016, Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (“Brighthouse”), filed a registration statement on Form 10 (the “Form 10”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On December 6, 2016 Brighthouse filed an amendment to its registration statement on Form 10 with the SEC. The information statement filed as an exhibit to the Form 10 disclosed that the Company intends to include MetLife Insurance Company USA (“MetLife USA”), New England Life Insurance Company (“NELICO”), First MetLife Investors Insurance Company (“FMLI”), MetLife Advisers, LLC and certain captive reinsurance companies in the proposed separated business and distribute at least 80.1% of the shares of Brighthouse’s common stock on a pro rata basis to the holders of MetLife, Inc. common stock.

The ultimate form and timing of the Separation will be influenced by a number of factors, including regulatory considerations and economic conditions. MetLife continues to evaluate and pursue structural alternatives for the proposed Separation. The Separation remains subject to certain conditions, including among others, obtaining final approval from the MetLife, Inc. Board of Directors, receipt of a favorable ruling from the IRS and an opinion from MetLife’s tax advisor regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters, insurance and other regulatory approvals, and an SEC declaration of the effectiveness of the Form 10.

Based on the proposed Separation, in the third quarter of 2016, the Company reorganized its businesses. This re-segmentation resulted in a $296 million, net of income tax, charge to earnings in the third quarter of 2016, all in the Brighthouse Financial segment, driven by the segment’s variable and universal life products. This charge is the direct result of the Company, beginning in the third quarter, no longer being able to aggregate, for loss recognition testing, the variable and universal life products of Brighthouse with the variable and universal life products remaining with MetLife Holdings. Of this amount, the Company recorded $254 million, net of income tax, as a one-time charge, which was mostly recognized as a write-off of DAC, with the remaining $42 million, net of income tax, recognized as an increase in insurance-related liabilities.

U.S.

The U.S. segment offers a broad range of protection products and services aimed at serving the financial needs of customers throughout their lives. These products are sold to corporations and their respective employees, other institutions and their respective members, as well as individuals. The U.S. segment is organized into three businesses: Group Benefits, Retirement and Income Solutions and Property & Casualty.

• The Group Benefits business offers insurance products and services which include life, dental, group short- and long-term disability, individual disability, accidental death and dismemberment, critical illness, vision and accident & health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans. This business also sells administrative services-only arrangements to some employers.

• The Retirement and Income Solutions business offers a broad range of annuity and investment products, including guaranteed interest contracts and other stable value products, institutional income annuities and separate account contracts for the investment management of defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets. This business also includes structured settlements and certain products to fund postretirement benefits and company-, bank- or trust-owned life insurance used to finance nonqualified benefit programs for executives.

• The Property & Casualty business offers personal and commercial lines of property and casualty insurance, including private passenger automobile, homeowners’ and personal excess liability insurance. In addition, Property & Casualty offers small business owners property, liability and business interruption insurance.

Asia

The Asia segment offers a broad range of products to both individuals and corporations, as well as other institutions and their respective employees, which include whole life, term life, variable life, universal life, accident & health insurance, fixed and variable annuities, credit insurance and endowment products.

Latin America

The Latin America segment offers a broad range of products to both individuals and corporations, as well as other institutions and their respective employees, which include life insurance, accident & health insurance, group medical, dental, credit insurance, endowment and retirement and savings products.

EMEA

The EMEA segment offers a broad range of products to both individuals and corporations, as well as other institutions and their respective employees, which include life insurance, accident & health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, endowment and retirement and savings products.

MetLife Holdings

The MetLife Holdings segment consists of operations relating to products and businesses no longer actively marketed by the Company in the United States. These products and businesses include variable, universal, term and whole life, as well as variable, fixed and index-linked annuities. The MetLife Holdings segment also includes the Company’s discontinued long-term care business and the assumed reinsurance of certain variable annuity products from the Company’s former operating joint venture in Japan.

Brighthouse Financial

The Brighthouse Financial segment offers a broad range of products and services which include variable, fixed, index-linked and income annuities, as well as variable, universal, term and whole life products. These products and services are actively marketed through various third party retail distribution channels in the United States. In addition, the Brighthouse Financial segment includes certain run-off businesses which are not actively marketed.

Corporate & Other

Corporate & Other contains the excess capital, as well as certain charges and activities, not allocated to the segments, including external integration and disposition costs, internal resource costs for associates committed to acquisitions and dispositions, enterprise-wide strategic initiative restructuring charges and various start-up businesses (including expatriate benefits insurance and the investment management business through which the Company offers fee-based investment management services to institutional clients, as well as the direct to consumer portion of the U.S. Direct business). Corporate & Other also includes interest expense related to the majority of the Company’s outstanding debt and expenses associated with certain legal proceedings and income tax audit issues. In addition, Corporate & Other includes the elimination of intersegment amounts, which generally relate to affiliated reinsurance and intersegment loans, which bear interest rates commensurate with related borrowings.

Financial Measures and Segment Accounting Policies

Operating earnings is used by management to evaluate performance and allocate resources. Consistent with GAAP guidance for segment reporting, operating earnings is also the Company’s GAAP measure of segment performance and is reported below. Operating earnings should not be viewed as a substitute for income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income tax. The Company believes the presentation of operating earnings as the Company measures it for management purposes enhances the understanding of its performance by highlighting the results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of the business. Operating earnings allows analysis of the Company’s performance relative to the Company’s business plan and facilitates comparisons to industry results.

Operating earnings is defined as operating revenues less operating expenses, both net of income tax.

The financial measures of operating revenues and operating expenses focus on the Company’s primary businesses principally by excluding the impact of market volatility, which could distort trends, and revenues and costs related to non-core products and divested businesses and certain entities required to be consolidated under GAAP. Also, these measures exclude results of discontinued operations and other businesses that have been or will be sold or exited by MetLife and are referred to as divested businesses. In addition, for the year ended December 31, 2016, operating revenues and operating expenses exclude the financial impact of converting the Company’s Japan operations to calendar year-end reporting without retrospective application of this change to prior periods and is referred to as lag elimination. Operating revenues also excludes net investment gains (losses) and net derivative gains (losses). Operating expenses also excludes goodwill impairments.

The following additional adjustments are made to revenues, in the line items indicated, in calculating operating revenues:

• Universal life and investment-type product policy fees excludes the amortization of unearned revenue related to net investment gains (losses) and net derivative gains (losses) and certain variable annuity GMIB fees (“GMIB Fees”);

• Net investment income: (i) includes earned income on derivatives and amortization of premium on derivatives that are hedges of investments or that are used to replicate certain investments, but do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment, (ii) includes income from discontinued real estate operations, (iii) excludes post-tax operating earnings adjustments relating to insurance joint ventures accounted for under the equity method, (iv) excludes certain amounts related to contractholder-directed unit-linked investments and (v) excludes certain amounts related to securitization entities that are VIEs consolidated under GAAP; and

• Other revenues are adjusted for settlements of foreign currency earnings hedges.

The following additional adjustments are made to expenses, in the line items indicated, in calculating operating expenses:

• Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends excludes: (i) changes in the policyholder dividend obligation related to net investment gains (losses) and net derivative gains (losses), (ii) inflation-indexed benefit adjustments associated with contracts backed by inflation-indexed investments and amounts associated with periodic crediting rate adjustments based on the total return of a contractually referenced pool of assets and other pass through adjustments, (iii) benefits and hedging costs related to GMIBs (“GMIB Costs”) and (iv) market value adjustments associated with surrenders or terminations of contracts (“Market Value Adjustments”);

• Interest credited to policyholder account balances includes adjustments for earned income on derivatives and amortization of premium on derivatives that are hedges of policyholder account balances but do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment and excludes amounts related to net investment income earned on contractholder-directed unit-linked investments;

• Amortization of DAC and VOBA excludes amounts related to: (i) net investment gains (losses) and net derivative gains (losses), (ii) GMIB Fees and GMIB Costs and (iii) Market Value Adjustments;

• Amortization of negative VOBA excludes amounts related to Market Value Adjustments;

• Interest expense on debt excludes certain amounts related to securitization entities that are VIEs consolidated under GAAP; and

• Other expenses excludes costs related to: (i) noncontrolling interests, (ii) implementation of new insurance regulatory requirements, and (iii) acquisition, integration and other costs.

Operating earnings also excludes the recognition of certain contingent assets and liabilities that could not be recognized at acquisition or adjusted for during the measurement period under GAAP business combination accounting guidance.

The tax impact of the adjustments mentioned above are calculated net of the U.S. or foreign statutory tax rate, which could differ from the Company’s effective tax rate. Additionally, the provision for income tax (expense) benefit also includes the impact related to the timing of certain tax credits, as well as certain tax reforms.

Set forth in the tables below is certain financial information with respect to the Company’s segments, as well as Corporate & Other, for the years endedDecember 31, 2016, 2015and2014and atDecember 31, 2016and2015. The segment accounting policies are the same as those used to prepare the Company’s consolidated financial statements, except for operating earnings adjustments as defined above. In addition, segment accounting policies include the method of capital allocation described below, with the exception of the Brighthouse Financial segment,for which equity is reflective of the historical equity of the legal entities which comprise Brighthouse and related companies, which will be eliminated upon Separation. The Brighthouse Financial segment equity is not indicative of Brighthouse and related companies’ equity on a combined standalone basis.

Economic capital is an internally developed risk capital model, the purpose of which is to measure the risk in the business and to provide a basis upon which capital is deployed. The economic capital model accounts for the unique and specific nature of the risks inherent in the Company’s business.

The Company’s economic capital model, coupled with considerations of local capital requirements, aligns segment allocated equity with emerging standards and consistent risk principles. The model applies statistics-based risk evaluation principles to the material risks to which the Company is exposed. These consistent risk principles include calibrating required economic capital shock factors to a specific confidence level and time horizon while applying an industry standard method for the inclusion of diversification benefits among risk types.The Company’s management is responsible for the ongoing production and enhancement of the economic capital model and reviews its approach periodically to ensure that it remains consistent with emerging industry practice standards.

Segment net investment income, with the exception of the Brighthouse Financial segment, is credited or charged based on the level of allocated equity; however, changes in allocated equity do not impact the Company’s consolidated net investment income, income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income tax or operating earnings. As noted above, the Brighthouse Financial segment’s net investment income represents that of the legal entities which comprise Brighthouse and related companies on a historical basis, however, may not be indicative of that on a combined standalone basis.

Net investment income is based upon the actual results of each segment’s specifically identifiable investment portfolios adjusted for allocated equity. Other costs are allocated to each of the segments based upon: (i) a review of the nature of such costs; (ii) time studies analyzing the amount of employee compensation costs incurred by each segment; and (iii) cost estimates included in the Company’s product pricing.

	Operating Results
Year Ended December 31, 2016	U.S.			Asia			Latin America			EMEA			MetLife Holdings			Brighthouse Financial			Corporate & Other			Total			Adjustments			Total Consolidated
	(In millions)
Revenues
Premiums	$	21,501		$	6,902		$	2,529		$	2,027		$	4,506		$	1,222		$	40		$	38,727		$	426		$	39,153
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees	989			1,487			1,025			391			1,436			3,491			(119		)	8,700			506			9,206
Net investment income	6,206			2,707			1,084			318			5,944			3,503			(62		)	19,700			247			19,947
Other revenues	784			61			34			73			581			735			(517		)	1,751			8			1,759
Net investment gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			171			171
Net derivative gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			(6,760		)	(6,760		)
Total revenues	29,480			11,157			4,672			2,809			12,467			8,951			(658		)	68,878			(5,402		)	63,476
Expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends	21,558			5,191			2,443			1,067			7,534			3,200			(23		)	40,970			1,090			42,060
Interest credited to policyholder account balances	1,302			1,298			328			112			1,042			1,162			5			5,249			1,033			6,282
Goodwill impairment	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			260			260
Capitalization of DAC	(471		)	(1,668		)	(321		)	(403		)	(281		)	(333		)	(7		)	(3,484		)	(105		)	(3,589		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	471			1,224			184			408			736			1,073			8			4,104			(1,463		)	2,641
Amortization of negative VOBA	—			(208		)	(1		)	(13		)	—			—			—			(222		)	(47		)	(269		)
Interest expense on debt	9			—			2			—			57			128			1,002			1,198			3			1,201
Other expenses	3,706			3,586			1,336			1,323			2,392			2,338			(192		)	14,489			596			15,085
Total expenses	26,575			9,423			3,971			2,494			11,480			7,568			793			62,304			1,367			63,671
Provision for income tax expense (benefit)	988			492			158			42			288			361			(947		)	1,382			(2,381		)	(999		)
Operating earnings	$	1,917		$	1,242		$	543		$	273		$	699		$	1,022		$	(504	)	5,192
Adjustments to:
Total revenues																						(5,402		)
Total expenses																						(1,367		)
Provision for income tax (expense) benefit																						2,381
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income tax																						$	804					$	804

At December 31, 2016	U.S.		Asia (1)		Latin America		EMEA		MetLife Holdings		Brighthouse Financial		Corporate & Other		Total
	(In millions)
Total assets	$	253,683	$	120,656	$	67,233	$	25,596	$	184,276	$	222,681	$	24,639	$	898,764
Separate account assets	$	85,950	$	8,020	$	48,455	$	4,329	$	48,823	$	113,043	$	—	$	308,620
Separate account liabilities	$	85,950	$	8,020	$	48,455	$	4,329	$	48,823	$	113,043	$	—	$	308,620

__________________

(1) Total assets includes $98.0 billion of assets from the Japan operations which represents 11% of total consolidated assets.

	Operating Results
Year Ended December 31, 2015	U.S.			Asia			Latin America			EMEA			MetLife Holdings			Brighthouse Financial			Corporate & Other			Total			Adjustments			Total Consolidated
	(In millions)
Revenues
Premiums	$	20,861		$	6,937		$	2,581		$	2,036		$	4,545		$	1,675		$	(87	)	$	38,548		$	(3	)	$	38,545
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees	943			1,542			1,117			424			1,482			3,718			(113		)	9,113			394			9,507
Net investment income	6,209			2,675			1,038			326			6,201			3,327			13			19,789			(508		)	19,281
Other revenues	751			105			41			61			930			422			(290		)	2,020			(37		)	1,983
Net investment gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			597			597
Net derivative gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			38			38
Total revenues	28,764			11,259			4,777			2,847			13,158			9,142			(477		)	69,470			481			69,951
Expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends	20,837			5,275			2,408			988			7,357			2,875			(175		)	39,565			537			40,102
Interest credited to policyholder account balances	1,216			1,309			349			120			1,062			1,255			23			5,334			276			5,610
Goodwill impairment	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Capitalization of DAC	(493		)	(1,720		)	(341		)	(472		)	(410		)	(399		)	(2		)	(3,837		)	—			(3,837		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	471			1,256			271			497			577			731			(1		)	3,802			134			3,936
Amortization of negative VOBA	—			(309		)	(1		)	(16		)	—			—			—			(326		)	(35		)	(361		)
Interest expense on debt	4			—			—			—			55			128			1,013			1,200			8			1,208
Other expenses	3,685			3,611			1,429			1,469			2,694			2,484			434			15,806			17			15,823
Total expenses	25,720			9,422			4,115			2,586			11,335			7,074			1,292			61,544			937			62,481
Provision for income tax expense (benefit)	1,040			457			37			21			581			555			(365		)	2,326			(178		)	2,148
Operating earnings	$	2,004		$	1,380		$	625		$	240		$	1,242		$	1,513		$	(1,404	)	5,600
Adjustments to:
Total revenues																						481
Total expenses																						(937		)
Provision for income tax (expense) benefit																						178
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income tax																						$	5,322					$	5,322

At December 31, 2015	U.S.		Asia (1)		Latin America		EMEA		MetLife Holdings		Brighthouse Financial		Corporate & Other		Total
	(In millions)
Total assets	$	237,858	$	113,895	$	64,808	$	26,767	$	187,677	$	226,792	$	20,136	$	877,933
Separate account assets	$	79,540	$	8,964	$	46,061	$	3,996	$	48,590	$	114,447	$	—	$	301,598
Separate account liabilities	$	79,540	$	8,964	$	46,061	$	3,996	$	48,590	$	114,447	$	—	$	301,598

__________________

(1) Total assets includes $90.0 billion of assets from the Japan operations which represents 10% of total consolidated assets.

	Operating Results
Year Ended December 31, 2014	U.S.			Asia			Latin America			EMEA			MetLife Holdings			Brighthouse Financial			Corporate & Other			Total			Adjustments			Total Consolidated
	(In millions)
Revenues
Premiums	$	20,243		$	7,566		$	2,796		$	2,309		$	4,545		$	1,474		$	89		$	39,022		$	45		$	39,067
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees	909			1,693			1,239			466			1,374			3,963			(103		)	9,541			405			9,946
Net investment income	6,111			2,886			1,219			428			6,409			3,156			275			20,484			669			21,153
Other revenues	721			106			33			60			1,062			534			(483		)	2,033			(3		)	2,030
Net investment gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			(197		)	(197		)
Net derivative gains (losses)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			1,317			1,317
Total revenues	27,984			12,251			5,287			3,263			13,390			9,127			(222		)	71,080			2,236			73,316
Expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends	20,110			5,724			2,615			1,053			7,217			2,711			48			39,478			1,000			40,478
Interest credited to policyholder account balances	1,168			1,544			394			148			1,098			1,275			34			5,661			1,282			6,943
Goodwill impairment	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Capitalization of DAC	(488		)	(1,914		)	(377		)	(680		)	(326		)	(397		)	—			(4,182		)	(1		)	(4,183		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	458			1,397			313			613			444			810			(8		)	4,027			105			4,132
Amortization of negative VOBA	—			(364		)	(1		)	(31		)	—			—			—			(396		)	(46		)	(442		)
Interest expense on debt	12			—			—			—			58			133			975			1,178			38			1,216
Other expenses	3,550			3,975			1,588			1,846			2,670			2,472			153			16,254			114			16,368
Total expenses	24,810			10,362			4,532			2,949			11,161			7,004			1,202			62,020			2,492			64,512
Provision for income tax expense (benefit)	1,073			582			129			29			714			570			(719		)	2,378			87			2,465
Operating earnings	$	2,101		$	1,307		$	626		$	285		$	1,515		$	1,553		$	(705	)	6,682
Adjustments to:
Total revenues																						2,236
Total expenses																						(2,492		)
Provision for income tax (expense) benefit																						(87		)
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income tax																						$	6,339					$	6,339

The following table presents total premiums, universal life and investment-type product policy fees and other revenues by major product groups of the Company’s segments, as well as Corporate & Other:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
	(In millions)
Life insurance	$	22,755	$	23,037	$	23,483
Accident & health insurance	14,150		13,090		13,336
Annuities	8,982		9,653		9,984
Property & casualty insurance	3,560		3,504		3,524
Non-insurance	671		751		716
Total	$	50,118	$	50,035	$	51,043

The following table presents total premiums, universal life and investment-type product policy fees and other revenues associated with the Company’s U.S. and foreign operations:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
	(In millions)
U.S.	$	34,895	$	35,042	$	34,536
Foreign:
Japan	7,088		6,264		6,917
Other	8,135		8,729		9,590
Total	$	50,118	$	50,035	$	51,043

Revenues derived from any customer did not exceed 10% of consolidated premiums, universal life and investment-type product policy fees and other revenues for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014.