Long-term and Short-term Debt (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long Term Debt Aggregate Maturities, Year One	$ 521,000,000
Long Term Debt Aggregate Maturities, Year Two	3,000,000
Long Term Debt Aggregate Maturities, Year Three	3,000,000
Long Term Debt Aggregate Maturities, Year Four	7,000,000
Long Term Debt Aggregate Maturities, Year Five	33,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five	1,400,000,000
Repayments of Long-term Debt	390,000,000	27,000,000	81,000,000
Short-term Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	0.10%	0.12%	0.17%
Interest Expense [Abstract]
Total interest expense	150,000,000	150,000,000	148,000,000
General Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Affiliated Borrower	MetLife, Inc. and MetLife Funding, Inc.
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	4,000,000,000
Collateral financing arrangements	0
Unused Commitments	3,316,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	May 30, 2019
Fees associated with credit facilities	3,000,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	684,000,000
General Credit Facility One [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	1,000,000,000
General Credit Facility Two [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	3,000,000,000
Committed Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	490,000,000
Fees associated with credit facilities	4,000,000	3,000,000	3,000,000
Committed Credit Facility One [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Affiliated Borrower	MetLife, Inc. & Missouri Reinsurance, Inc.
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	490,000,000
Collateral financing arrangements	0
Unused Commitments	0
Line of Credit Facility, Expiration Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	490,000,000
Scenario, Forecast [Member] | Committed Credit Facility One [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity				200,000,000
General Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Fees associated with credit facilities	4,000,000	3,000,000	3,000,000
Missouri Reinsurance [Member] | Committed Credit Facility One [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	490,000,000
Affiliated Entity [Member]
Interest Expense [Abstract]
Total interest expense	88,000,000	91,000,000	89,000,000
Surplus Note Affiliated September 2014 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Repayments of Long-term Debt	217,000,000
Mortgage Loans Affiliated January 2017 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Repayments of Long-term Debt	60,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	4.67%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Jan. 01, 2017
Mortgage Loans Affiliated January 2020 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Repayments of Long-term Debt	60,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	7.01%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Jan. 01, 2020
Notes Payable, Other Payables [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		373,000,000
Long-term debt, at estimated fair value, relating to variable interest entities	110,000,000	533,000,000
Senior Notes Affiliated [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount			80,000,000
Long-term debt, at estimated fair value, relating to variable interest entities	78,000,000	79,000,000
Consolidated Securitization Entities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, at estimated fair value, relating to variable interest entities	$ 13,000,000	$ 28,000,000