Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has paid $46,457 fine to the Utah Insurance Department after Insurance Commissioner Robert E. Wilcox ruled the company's agents misrepresented whole life insurance policies as retirement plans to 111 Utahns, many of whom were nurses and other professionals.

Wilcox said the department became aware of the violations of the Utah Insurance Code as a result of regulatory actions taken by other state insurance departments, primarily the one in Florida.Following an investigation by the Utah agency, Met Life entered into settlement efforts to resolve the concerns of the insurance departments about its life insurance marketing practices.

The restitution plan requires the company to contact all policyholders in Utah affected and make restitution. Met Life must offer a refund premium on each policy with interest or exchange each whole life policy to an annuity from the date of issue of the whole life policy or permit the policyholder to maintain the policy as it was issued.

Any Utahn who purchased a whole life insurance policy from Met Life between Jan. 1, 1990, and Oct. 31, 1993, has not received an offer of restitution from the company and feels they have been misled should contact the company at 1-800-566-6365 and request information about the settlement.

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Commenting on the situation, Wilcox said, "The Met Life case harmed a significant number of individuals in Utah and across the United States. I believe the settlement cures the damage done to individual Met Life policyholders and goes a long way toward reestablishing policyholder confidence in the life insurance industry."

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