
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 10, 1994                   TAG: 9405100127
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

METLIFE TO PAY VIRGINIANS FOR IMPROPER MARKETING PRACTICE

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. will pay $598,000 to settle claims that it improperly marketed insurance to Virginians as retirement plans, the State Corporation Commission said Monday.

The settlement mirrors an agreement MetLife reached with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners earlier this year that grew out of charges in Florida about the company's practices.

The SCC said its investigation and a national investigation by NAIC showed as many as 1,400 Virginia residents may have been affected by Metropolitan's allegedly deceptive marketing practice.

MetLife agents primarily targeted nurses with misleading letters describing the conditions and benefits of life insurance policies, the SCC said.

"It was further alleged that MetLife agents misled consumers into believing that they were contributing to a `retirement plan' instead of purchasing life insurance," a violation of Virginia law, the SCC said in a statement.

MetLife acknowledged responsibility and began a program to contact each buyer with an offer of a full refund or conversion to a more appropriate insurance plan.

MetLife also developed a new compliance plan.

In March, MetLife agreed with NAIC to pay $20 million in penalties to settle complaints from numerous states.

The $20 million was to be split between states depending on how many citizens were affected by MetLife practices.

The $598,000 paid to Virginia is the largest payment the SCC has ever collected from a company, the commission said.

by CNB