I am firmly on record as believing with all my heart that MetLife may own the rights to use Snoopy, but morally they don’t deserve it. I first lost my patience with their Snoopy abuse when I found the bottom line on their patriotic offer to provide life insurance to active duty military personnel, even those with orders to dangerous places. Theoretically their only requirement is the soldier or sailor had to be stateside to apply and take the exam.

But the depth of their patriotism steered clear of our country’s finest, the special forces in all branches. Seal team 6 went in and got Bin Laden without a scratch. Snoopy would have been proud, and I’m not saying that MetLife wouldn’t have been proud, but they make it very clear in the extraordinarily fine print in their advertising that they would prefer not to participate in their risk.

And now they’ve drug Snoopy to a new low, partnering with Walmart to sell overpriced little joke of a life insurance policy right there at Wally World. Corey Dahl wrote an opinion about this new venture for LifeHealthpro news in which she explained,”An 18- to 44-year-old can purchase a one-year $10,000 policy for $69. Older people pay more, with a one-year $25,000 policy for a 60- to 65-year-old priced at $429. Consumers buy the insurance by picking up a prepaid card and then calling MetLife’s toll-free number to answer health questions posed by a life agent. If the customer qualifies for coverage, the policy is activated. If coverage is denied, the card can be returned to Walmart for a full refund.” OK. So I pay Walmart $429 and get this card and then call Met and answer a bunch of questions and they say you’re approved or you’re declined. I don’t think so. Even if you have all the right answers on the phone Met is going to take some “underwriting time” to check with MIB and make sure you were telling the truth. I would be shocked if Met and Wally don’t have it set up so they can hold your money for at least a few weeks. How can state insurance commissioners sign off on this kind of junk?

Doesn’t sound so sinister for those who don’t qualify, but let’s take to task for a moment the fate of those who do qualify. Have they just dodged the bullet of being helped by a professional only to find themselves the proud owner of one of the crappiest insurance deals of all time? I jumped on a quote engine with my first concern being the older folks. It’s bad enough they have to put up with AARP and it just seemed to me that that $429.00 seemed a bit high for a $25k policy that will only last for a year. It’s not guaranteed renewable at any price, so if you make it through this year and remember to go back to Walmart to renew, the price could be higher or you could be declined because of some change in your health. But wait! What if you knew you had less than a year to live? $429 for $25k is a great deal. Arghh! Remember the health questions? They are definitely not going to approve you if you have anything that could kill you within 10 years, let alone a year.

But for those who are approved, is that a reasonable rate? I checked on line and found that AXA Equitable will sell you a $25k non renewable one year term for $62 a year at age 64. What’s that, like 1/7th of the price?

Manish Bhatt, MetLife’s senior vice president of consumer direct business for Met, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “We believe more people want to buy insurance and be on sound financial footing, but they run into so many barriers. Some don’t want to talk to agents. Some find it confusing. By simplifying it and putting it in Walmart, it will make it easy for people to get started.” He goes on to say, “Eighty-five percent of the country goes through Walmart and Walmart is all about saving money,” Bhatt said. “This makes it easier for everyone to get life insurance.” All about doing what to money? 7 times more than the competition!

Bottom line. The most likely to fall for this terrible, awful idea are the elderly. I offer the AARP/New York Life program as evidence of that. MetLife and Walmart should be arrested for over 50 life insurance abuse. If you have any questions or need to know if your AARP or Walmart life insurance is a good deal, call or email me directly. My name is Ed Hinerman. Let’s talk about the facts.