MetLife’s $84 Million Death Database Settlement Gets Final OK

MetLife Inc. received final approval from a Manhattan federal judge for an $84 million settlement with shareholders who accused the insurer of underreporting millions of dollars in liabilities for deceased policyholders.

The deal resolves a nine-year-old securities suit alleging MetLife misrepresented its financial condition through its use of the Social Security Administration’s database of reported deaths. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York signed the final approval order on Wednesday.

The shareholders are investors who acquired MetLife stock in 2010 and 2011. They say the insurer failed to properly account for ...