The head of insurer MetLife denies any responsibility in the settlement of the class action announced on April 30 and says he has no intention of paying a single cent to Sun Life Financial (SLF) to compensate for the loss resulting from that settlement.

On April 30, Sun Life announced that it had reached an out-of-court settlement in a class action filed against it before the Ontario courts. In this case summarized by Insurance Portal, the plaintiffs held four universal life insurance products purchased from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company between 1985 and 1998.

These policies ultimately became Sun Life’s responsibility following several subsequent transactions. If the class action settlement is approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which should occur by the end of 2026, Sun Life would provide up to $213.5 million in settlement value to eligible policyholders.

This would result in a $145 million charge reducing the net income reported for the first quarter of 2026, SLF indicated. “Accordingly, if the settlement is approved by the court, Sun Life will seek full recourse from MetLife pursuant to the indemnity,” SLF noted in its release.

A dispatch published by Best’s Review, a news site operated by rating agency AM Best, drew Insurance Portal’s attention to comments made by MetLife Inc. president and chief executive officer Michel Khalaf.

Published on May 8, the article summarized the insurer CEO’s response to a question asked during the conference call with analysts following the release of the first-quarter 2026 financial results, disclosed late on May 6.

After listening to the audio recording of the conference with financial analysts, Insurance Portal confirms that Khalaf’s comments were accurately reported.

“So I think you're, I believe you're referring to the April 30, 30 years press release by SunLife. You know, the claims made by Sun Life can best be characterized as baseless and misleading. MetLife was not named a defendant in the reference class action suit and SunLife has taken no legal action to enforce the alleged indemnity claim against MetLife,” says Khalaf.

“As a matter of fact, there are currently no legal proceedings between the parties. We vigorously dispute that we owe Sun Life any indemnity whatsoever for the claims made in the underlying settlement. And the last thing I would say is that Sun Life and only Sun Life is responsible for its own decisions and actions in this matter,” he adds.

Insurance Portal sought a reaction from SLF. In her email, company spokesperson Ariane Richard repeated what SLF had already stated in its release. “Once the settlement is approved by the court, which is expected to be within the year, Sun Life will seek full recourse from MetLife,” she writes.

Despite Insurance Portal’s insistence, the spokesperson declined to comment further on the situation.

In U.S. dollars, the amount SLF could claim from MetLife is US$157 million, according to the estimate made by Best’s Review.