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

No definition available.

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Disclosure of dividends paid to the registrant's parent by affiliates.

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Non-Cash dividends received on equity and other investments from subsidiaries during the current period.

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Non-Cash returns of capital from subsidiaries.

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Supplemental capital contributions to subsidiaries.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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Aggregate par or stated value of issued nonredeemable common stock (or common stock redeemable solely at the option of the issuer). This item includes treasury stock repurchased by the entity. Note: elements for number of nonredeemable common shares, par value and other disclosure concepts are in another section within stockholders' equity.

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Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
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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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Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 946
-SubTopic 320
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Aggregate par or stated value of issued nonredeemable preferred stock (or preferred stock redeemable solely at the option of the issuer). This item includes treasury stock repurchased by the entity. Note: elements for number of nonredeemable preferred shares, par value and other disclosure concepts are in another section within stockholders' equity.

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Condensed Financial Information (Parent Company) (Investment in Subsidiaries - Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 03, 2017	Feb. 29, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Dividends Paid To Registrant's Parent Company By Affiliates	$ 1,800
Preferred Stock, Value, Issued			$ 0	$ 0
Common Stock, Value, Issued			12	12
Parent Company
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Non Cash Dividends From Subsidiaries			0	0	$ 2,652
Capital Contributions To Subsidiaries			767	339	1,733
Investment in subsidiaries			66,567	73,274
Preferred Stock, Value, Issued			0	0
Common Stock, Value, Issued			12	12
Returns of capital from subsidiaries			3,844	17,518	372
Capital contributions to subsidiaries			$ 3,844	$ 15,655	$ 157
MetLife Insurance Company USA \| Parent Company
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Capital Contributions To Subsidiaries		$ 1,500
Metlife Reinsurance Company of Vermont \| Parent Company \| Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries						$ 50
MetLife Reinsurance Company of Delaware \| Parent Company \| Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries						45
MetLife Reinsurance Company Of South Carolina \| Parent Company \| Investments in Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Investment in subsidiaries						$ 25