CONTINGENCIES, COMMITMENTS AND GUARANTEES (Details 3) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	May 01, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013
MetLife Inc. (MetLife)
Guarantees
Payments made or placed in escrow accounts at end of period		$ 567,000,000
Amount required to be held in escrow		0
Amount released in accordance with the MetLife escrow agreement from the sale of ALICO	547,000,000
Standby letters of credit
Guarantees
Amount outstanding under standby letters of credit at end of period		306,000,000
Financial guarantees and indemnity arrangements
Guarantees
Maximum amount exposed under guarantee		0
Indemnifications | MetLife Inc. (MetLife)
Guarantees
Various deductible amounts under indemnifications		0
Tax indemnification | MetLife Inc. (MetLife)
Guarantees
Maximum amount exposed under guarantee		200,000,000
Aggregate deductible amount under guarantee		$ 50,000,000