I recommend against MetLife Total Control Account

Take the check!

Family member died unexpectedly and I was a beneficiary of the MetLife insurance policy. They offered a check or a “Total Control Account” (TCA).

I took the TCA option because I thought it would be faster and easier. I was wrong.

Family member took the check. He got it a week before I got the TCA info.

The TCA website is archaic – slow, and non-intuitive to navigate

It took me 20 minutes to log into the website due to the two factor authentication email taking ~7 minutes to get to me. I assumed the first one had failed, so I requested a new one.

Transfers out of the account require you to fill out a form (paper and scan/fax unless you have PDF edit software) and wait for them to add that account. I’ve been waiting 4 days now.

not so bad:

The checks (technically a “draft”) they send you have cleared relatively quickly.

The interest they offer (2% now, never less than 0.5%) is fine, but it’s easy to find better.