US insurer MetLife has expanded its Group Life proposition in the Republic of Ireland with the addition of Legacy, a bereavement support and advance planning service delivered through its exclusive partnership with Everest Funeral Concierge, in a move that gives the carrier a verifiable product differentiator in a market it entered only six months ago.

Insurance Business Magazine reported that Legacy is available to eligible MetLife Group Life customers in Ireland from July 2026, building on a UK partnership established in October 2022 that has supported more than 76,000 families. No other Group Life carrier in Ireland or the UK offers the Everest service, giving MetLife a specific and exclusive feature that competing carriers cannot replicate.

Legacy covers three areas: advance planning before a death, active bereavement assistance, and legacy preparation including will writing. Employees can use Everest's digital tools to record funeral wishes, store key documents, and compare options and costs before a loss occurs. Everest advisers assist with funeral planning, administration, and repatriation, and operate independently of MetLife throughout the process.

The service is available around the clock on all 365 days of the year and covers employees and up to three generations of family members, including spouses, partners, parents, and in-laws.

Wayne Gibbons, Ireland country lead at MetLife, said Group Life insurance plays a foundational role for bereaved families and that Legacy addresses the wider dimensions of loss beyond the financial. He said: "Group Life insurance plays an important role in helping families maintain financial security following the death of a loved one," and added that bereavement also brings practical and emotional challenges that Legacy is designed to address through Everest's advisory model.

MetLife entered the Irish market in January 2026 with a broker-distributed Group Life product combining financial cover with its 360Health wellbeing service. Legacy extends that proposition and translates directly into a product feature brokers can present to employers at placement.

The broader context supports the strategic logic of the move. ABI and GRiD data show group life assurance paid £1.825 billion (approximately €2.16 billion) across 12,730 claims in 2024, with nearly 8,300 health and wellbeing interventions delivered by group risk insurers in 2025, of which mental health accounted for 48 per cent of cases.