About MetLife
MetLife provides group disability coverage to millions of employees through employer-sponsored plans and holds a large portfolio of legacy individual disability insurance policies issued in prior decades.
While MetLife significantly reduced its sale of new individual policies in recent years — focusing instead on the more ERISA-protected group market — it continues to administer claims on older IDI policies and on group plans covering employees across Washington and Oregon in healthcare, finance, technology, and other sectors.
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2008 decision in Metropolitan Life v. Glenn recognized that MetLife's dual role as both funder and adjudicator of disability claims creates a conflict of interest that courts must weigh when reviewing its decisions.
How MetLife Denies Disability Claims
MetLife disability denials involve a range of tactics that disability attorneys see regularly across both group and individual policy claims. Common MetLife denial patterns include:
- Relying on in-house medical reviewers to override the conclusions of treating specialists
- Applying increasing scrutiny to long-running claims — terminating benefits after years of payment based on new or revisited medical reviews
- Using the Supreme Court-recognized conflict-of-interest framework against claimants by making denial decisions that favor financial interests
- Applying mental health or nervous system limitations to claims with a documented physical basis
- Conducting surveillance and reviewing social media activity to build a case against claimed limitations
- Requesting functional capacity evaluations through selected providers
- Transition from own-occupation to any-occupation used to cut off benefits at the 24-month mark
MetLife's claims infrastructure is sophisticated. So is Cowell Law's approach to challenging it. A well-prepared, thoroughly documented appeal puts you in the strongest position to reverse a MetLife denial — and to succeed in litigation if that becomes necessary.
How Cowell Law Fights MetLife Disability Denials
Cowell Law reviews MetLife denials by requesting the complete claim file and examining every piece of medical and vocational evidence MetLife used to reach its decision.
We are familiar with the arguments MetLife makes in both ERISA group plan appeals and legacy IDI disputes, and we tailor our response to the specific issues in your case.
Because MetLife still administers older individual disability policies that fall outside ERISA, we also handle state-law disability insurance disputes against MetLife — where a broader range of remedies, including bad faith claims, may be available.
If your MetLife denial involves an individually owned policy, that distinction matters and changes your legal options.
Our Claim Clarity Process™
- Schedule a Clarity Call — We review your policy, your denial, and your situation and explain what your options are.
- Build Your Strategy — We analyze the policy language, gather supporting documentation, and prepare a targeted response to the insurer.
- Move Forward — Whether through appeal, negotiation, or litigation, we represent you through every stage until your case is resolved.
Individual disability insurance cases require a different approach than some claims — and we have the experience to navigate that distinction on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions — MetLife Disability Denials
What does the Supreme Court case against MetLife mean for my claim?
In Metropolitan Life v. Glenn (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that when an insurance company both funds disability claims and makes eligibility decisions, that conflict of interest is a factor courts must consider when reviewing its decisions. For claimants, this means that MetLife's denials are not entitled to the same level of deference that might apply to a neutral third-party administrator — which can strengthen an ERISA lawsuit when the administrative record supports your claim.
MetLife approved my claim for two years and then terminated it. Is that legal?
MetLife — and other disability insurers — are permitted to revisit claims periodically and, if they believe the medical evidence no longer supports disability, to terminate benefits. However, that decision must be based on a genuine change in your condition or the applicable policy standard, not simply on a desire to reduce payouts. If your benefits were terminated despite no meaningful improvement in your medical situation, that termination can be challenged on appeal.
I have an old MetLife individual disability policy. Does ERISA apply?
Probably not. Individually owned disability policies — those you purchased yourself rather than receiving through an employer — are generally governed by state law rather than ERISA. That may actually work in your favor: state law in Washington and Oregon provides protections and remedies for bad faith claim handling that are not available under ERISA. Cowell Law handles both ERISA and state-law MetLife disability disputes.
See other insurance companies that we litigate against: Unum, The Hartford, Lincoln Financial Group, The Standard (Standard Insurance Company), Cigna (Life Insurance Company of North America), MetLife, Principal Financial Group, Mutual of Omaha, Sun Life Financial, Northwestern Mutual