MetLife Selected as a Dental Provider for Federal Employees; Fall Enrollment Important Opportunity to Enhance Oral Health Benefits

Business Wire, Sept 19, 2006

NEW YORK -- MetLife is pleased to announce it has been chosen by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to be a provider of dental benefits for Federal employees and annuitants. MetLife's dental benefits offerings can be selected by eligible Federal employees and annuitants during the open enrollment period that runs from November 13 to December 11, 2006.

MetLife's dental plan participants have the freedom to utilize any practicing dentist and receive benefits for covered services. Plan participants also have access to MetLife's Preferred Dentist Program (PDP) - a nationwide network of nearly 90,000 dentist locations consisting of carefully selected general and specialty dentists. Dentists participating in MetLife's PDP agree to accept MetLife's negotiated fees for all services covered by the plan. Participating dentists even agree to extend these fees for services not covered under the plan, such as cosmetic dentistry and adult orthodontia. Since MetLife's in-network dentists' fees are typically 10% to 35% less than the average fees in the local community, savings can be noteworthy. In addition, MetLife's dental plan participants also have the flexibility to see a specialist at any time without needing a referral.

MetLife administers dental benefits for nearly 21 million people, more than any other commercial carrier. MetLife has been working with Federal employees and their families for over fifty years - first with the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance program and then with the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program and the Federal Thrift Savings Plan.

"MetLife is pleased to be selected by OPM, and considers it an acknowledgment of the quality and value we offer," says Todd Katz, MetLife senior vice president, Institutional Business. "We believe oral health is essential for overall well being as evidenced by growing research linking certain oral diseases to overall medical health. Since research also indicates that more than half of employees without dental insurance coverage will fail to see a dentist, dental benefits can be a cost-effective way to obtain preventive care as well as help build financial peace of mind against unforeseen - and unbudgeted - dental issues."

MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to millions of individual and institutional customers throughout the United States. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner's insurance and retail banking services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.