Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Encyclopedia
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance
, annuities
, and employee benefit
programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries. The firm was founded on March 24, 1868.
On January 6, 1915, MetLife completed the mutualization
process, changing from a stock life insurance company owned by individuals to a mutual company operating without external shareholders and for the benefit of policyholders. The company went public in 2000. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia’s Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East. MetLife is the largest life insurer
in the United States
and serves 90 of the largest Fortune 500
companies. The company’s principal offices are located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas
in Midtown Manhattan
, New York City
, though it retains some executive offices and its boardroom in the MetLife Building
, located at 200 Park Avenue, New York City, which it sold in 2005.
The predecessor company to MetLife began in 1863 when a group of New York City
businessmen raised $100,000 to found the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. The company insured Civil War
sailors and soldiers against disabilities due to wartime wounds, accidents, and sickness. On March 24, 1868, it became known as Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and shifted its focus to the life insurance business. A severe business depression that began in the early 1870s forced the company to contract, until it reached its lowest point in the late 1870s. After observing the insurance industry in Great Britain in 1879, MetLife President Joseph F. Knapp brought “industrial” or “workingmen’s” insurance programs to the United States – insurance issued in small amounts on which premiums were collected weekly or monthly at the policyholder’s home. By 1880, sales had exceeded a quarter million of such policies, resulting in nearly $1 million in revenue from premiums. In 1909, MetLife had become the nation’s largest life insurer in the U.S., as measured by life insurance in force (the total value of life insurance policies issued).
In 1907, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower
was commissioned to serve as MetLife’s 23rd Street headquarters in Lower Manhattan. Completed two years later, the building was the world's tallest until 1913 and remained the company's headquarters until 2005. For many years, an illustration of the building (with light emanating from the tip of its spire and the slogan, "The Light That Never Fails") featured prominently in MetLife’s advertising
. By 1930, MetLife insured every fifth man, woman, and child in the United States and Canada
. During the 1930s, it also began to diversify its portfolio by reducing the percentage of individual mortgages in favor of public utility bonds, investments in government securities, and loans for commercial real estate. The company financed the construction of the Empire State Building
in 1929 as well as provided capital to build Rockefeller Center
in 1931. During World War II
, MetLife placed more than 51 percent of its total assets in war bonds, and was the largest single private contributor to the Allied
cause.
.
. Eighteen months later in April 2000, MetLife held an IPO
, resulting in the issuance of 202,000,000 shares at the price of $14.25 per share. At the time of the IPO, MetLife, Inc. had nine million shareholders and was the most widely held stock in North America. In 2001, MetLife was the first insurance company to establish a financial holding company with a nationally chartered bank through its purchase of Grand Bank, which was renamed MetLife Bank. The company also invested $1 billion in the U.S. stock market during 2001, immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
MetLife acquired Travelers Life & Annuity and substantially all of Citigroup’s international insurance businesses for $12 billion. At the time of the deal, which was completed on July 1, 2005, the Travelers acquisition made MetLife the largest individual life insurer in North America based on sales.
Current MetLife chairman C. Robert (Rob) Henrikson was appointed chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of MetLife in 2006. In 2008, MetLife Bank, N.A., a division of MetLife Inc., purchased the residential mortgage business of Memphis-based First Horizon National Corporation
. The purchase included the home loan unit of First Tennessee Bank
National Association (outside Tennessee), with 230 offices in the US. The same year, MetLife also purchased the reverse mortgage division of Florida-based Everbank
Financial Corp. Both transactions were completed in order to expand the company's stake in the US housing market. Later that year, MetLife split-off substantially all of its 52% stake in Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. MetLife had received the majority stake in RGA as a result of its 2000 acquisition of GenAmerica. The split-off gave MetLife shareholders the option to exchange MetLife shares for shares of RGA.
In 2010, MetLife completed its purchase of American Life Insurance Company (Alico), from American International Group (AIG). The $16.2 billion acquisition of Alico expanded the company’s life insurance and employee benefits business into more than 60 countries compared to 17 countries before the acquisition. On March 21, 2011, MetLife announced that Steven Kandarian, who had headed MetLife's investment department would succeed Robert Henrickson as President and CEO as of May 1, 2011.
Insurance products accounted for 53% of MetLife’s 2009 $49 billion of revenue. MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States and Mexico
and is the second-largest foreign provider of insurance in Japan and worldwide its customers total 90 million individuals.
products and services comprise term life insurance
and several types of permanent life insurance
, including whole life, universal life and variable universal life. The company also offers group life insurance, provided through employers, which consists of term life, group variable universal life and group universal life. MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States, based on life insurance in-force.
network included over 135,000 participating dentist locations nationwide while the dental HMO network included more than 13,000 participating dentist locations in California
, Florida
and Texas
. MetLife also administers dental continuing education program for dentists and allied health care professionals, which are recognized by the American Dental Association
(ADA) and the Academy of General Dentistry
(AGD).
and long term disability insurance. Short term disability insurance is structured to replace a portion of an individual’s income during the initial weeks of a disabling illness or accident. Long term disability Insurance serves to replace a portion of an individual’s income during an extended period of a disabling illness
or accident
. The company also maintains an absence management product which allows employers to track and manage both planned and unplanned employee absences. The product, which MetLife calls MetLife Total Absence Management, is structured for businesses with 1,000 or more employees.
in the world, recording $22.4 billion in sales during 2009. MetLife offers annuities which consist of fixed annuities, variable annuities, deferred annuities and immediate annuities. In 1921, MetLife was the first company to issue a group annuity contract. More recently in 2004, it was the first insurer to introduce a longevity insurance product. As of December 31, 2009, MetLife globally managed group annuity assets of $60 billion with $34 billion of transferred pension liabilities and provided benefit payments to over 600,000 annuitants per month.
According to its website, MetLife Auto & Home offers auto policies and home insurance, whether the policy owner lives in a house, condo, mobile home, or apartment. The companies also sell RV, ATV, boat, mobile home, collectible vehicle, and motorcycle policies and offers flood insurance policies as a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is managed by the federal government. Through an arrangement with Hyatt Legal Plans, a subsidiary of MetLife, MetLife Auto & Home underwrites group legal plans in many states. It was the first national insurer in the U.S. to offer identity-theft resolution services at no extra premium and as of 2011 continues to do so today in most U.S. states.
. Financial services include fee-based financial planning, retirement planning, wealth management, 529 Plans, banking, and commercial and residential mortgages. The company also provides retirement plan and other financial services to healthcare, education, and not-for-profit organizations. The MetLife Center for Special Needs Planning is a group of planners which serve families and individuals with special needs.
(AIG). MetLife [MET], which completed the deal on November 1, 2010, paid approximately $7.2 billion in cash and $9.0 billion in MetLife equity and other securities. The securities portion of the deal consisted of 78.2 million shares of MetLife common stock, 6.9 million shares of contingent convertible preferred stock and 40 million equity units. The values of the common and preferred stock were based on the closing price of MetLife’s common stock on October 29. Upon completion of the purchase, MetLife became a leading competitor in Japan
, the world’s second-largest life insurance market, and moved into a top five market position in many high growth emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The deal added 20 million customers to MetLife’s 70 million and according to Barron’s Magazine
more than doubled the percentage of operating profits that MetLife gets abroad to 40%.
, education
, civic affairs and culture
. In 2010, MetLife and MetLife Foundation contributed over $44.7 million to nonprofit organizations and $489 million in loans and investments for community development.
As of 2011, MetLife owns or operates six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
certified properties and 14 Energy Star
-rated facilities. Between 2006 and 2010, properties maintained by the company have reduced their energy consumption by more than 16 percent. The company has also invested more than $1 billion in renewable energy projects including Pattern Energy Group LP’s Gulf Wind
project and Xcel Energy
’s solar power plant in Colorado.
, and other Peanuts
characters have appeared in MetLife company promotional materials, sales literature, premium items and advertising. Campaigns include “Get Met. It pays.”, “have you met life today?”, and its current slogan, “Guarantees for the if in Life”. In 2002, MetLife signed a contract that allowed the company to continue to use the Peanuts cartoon characters in its advertising.
The MetLife blimp program began in 1987 with the “Snoopy 1” airship and, in 1994, expanded to include the “Snoopy 2” airship. The program provides aerial coverage to over 80 major sporting events every year and is currently the official aerial coverage provider of the PGA Tour. “Snoopy 1” and “Snoopy 2” also provide overhead television coverage for the NFL, CBS
College Football, the LPGA
, the NBA Finals
, the Preakness Stakes
, and the Kentucky Derby
. On August 23, 2011, MetLife agreed to a 25 year sponsorship deal to rename New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
, home of the NFL's New York Giants
and New York Jets
to MetLife Stadium.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, annuities
Annuity
Annuity may refer to:* Annuity : any terminating stream of fixed payments over a specified period of time* Life annuity: a financial contract providing payments for a person's lifetime* Annuity...
, and employee benefit
Employee benefit
Employee benefits and benefits in kind are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries...
programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries. The firm was founded on March 24, 1868.
On January 6, 1915, MetLife completed the mutualization
Mutualization
Mutualization or mutualisation is the process by which a joint stock company changes legal form to a mutual organization or a cooperative. Demutualization is the reverse process....
process, changing from a stock life insurance company owned by individuals to a mutual company operating without external shareholders and for the benefit of policyholders. The company went public in 2000. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia’s Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East. MetLife is the largest life insurer
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and serves 90 of the largest Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies. The company’s principal offices are located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas
1095 Avenue of the Americas
1095 Avenue Of The Americas is a 630 ft tall skyscraper in New York City, New York. It was constructed from 1972 to 1974 as headquarters of New York Telephone and has 41 floors. The building also served as the headquarters of Bell Atlantic. Kahn & Jacobs designed the building, which is the...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, though it retains some executive offices and its boardroom in the MetLife Building
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
, located at 200 Park Avenue, New York City, which it sold in 2005.
Early years
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
businessmen raised $100,000 to found the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. The company insured Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
sailors and soldiers against disabilities due to wartime wounds, accidents, and sickness. On March 24, 1868, it became known as Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and shifted its focus to the life insurance business. A severe business depression that began in the early 1870s forced the company to contract, until it reached its lowest point in the late 1870s. After observing the insurance industry in Great Britain in 1879, MetLife President Joseph F. Knapp brought “industrial” or “workingmen’s” insurance programs to the United States – insurance issued in small amounts on which premiums were collected weekly or monthly at the policyholder’s home. By 1880, sales had exceeded a quarter million of such policies, resulting in nearly $1 million in revenue from premiums. In 1909, MetLife had become the nation’s largest life insurer in the U.S., as measured by life insurance in force (the total value of life insurance policies issued).
In 1907, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, also known as the Metropolitan Life Tower or Met Life Tower, is a landmark skyscraper located on East 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, off of Madison Square Park. in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
was commissioned to serve as MetLife’s 23rd Street headquarters in Lower Manhattan. Completed two years later, the building was the world's tallest until 1913 and remained the company's headquarters until 2005. For many years, an illustration of the building (with light emanating from the tip of its spire and the slogan, "The Light That Never Fails") featured prominently in MetLife’s advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. By 1930, MetLife insured every fifth man, woman, and child in the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. During the 1930s, it also began to diversify its portfolio by reducing the percentage of individual mortgages in favor of public utility bonds, investments in government securities, and loans for commercial real estate. The company financed the construction of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
in 1929 as well as provided capital to build Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in 1931. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, MetLife placed more than 51 percent of its total assets in war bonds, and was the largest single private contributor to the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
cause.
Postwar
During the postwar era, the company expanded its suburban presence, decentralized operations, and refocused its career agency system to serve all market segments. It also began to market group insurance products to employers and institutions. By 1979, operations were segmented into four primary businesses: group insurance, personal insurance, pensions, and investments. In 1981, MetLife purchased what became known as the MetLife building for $400 million from a group that included Pan American World AirwaysPan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
.
Current era
In 1998, the board of directors authorized demutualizationDemutualization
Demutualization is the process by which a customer-owned mutual organization or co-operative changes legal form to a joint stock company. It is sometimes called stocking or privatization. As part of the demutualization process, members of a mutual usually receive a "windfall" payout, in the form...
. Eighteen months later in April 2000, MetLife held an IPO
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
, resulting in the issuance of 202,000,000 shares at the price of $14.25 per share. At the time of the IPO, MetLife, Inc. had nine million shareholders and was the most widely held stock in North America. In 2001, MetLife was the first insurance company to establish a financial holding company with a nationally chartered bank through its purchase of Grand Bank, which was renamed MetLife Bank. The company also invested $1 billion in the U.S. stock market during 2001, immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
MetLife acquired Travelers Life & Annuity and substantially all of Citigroup’s international insurance businesses for $12 billion. At the time of the deal, which was completed on July 1, 2005, the Travelers acquisition made MetLife the largest individual life insurer in North America based on sales.
Current MetLife chairman C. Robert (Rob) Henrikson was appointed chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of MetLife in 2006. In 2008, MetLife Bank, N.A., a division of MetLife Inc., purchased the residential mortgage business of Memphis-based First Horizon National Corporation
First Horizon National Corporation
First Horizon National Corporation is a large banking company based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It is the parent company of First Tennessee Bank and FTN Financial....
. The purchase included the home loan unit of First Tennessee Bank
First Tennessee Bank
First Tennessee is a financial services company based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corporation.-Corporate history:...
National Association (outside Tennessee), with 230 offices in the US. The same year, MetLife also purchased the reverse mortgage division of Florida-based Everbank
EverBank
EverBank is an American diversified financial services company providing banking, mortgages, and investing services. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It operates through standard banking offices, and through its Direct Banking division. EverBank Direct operates by telephone, mail, and...
Financial Corp. Both transactions were completed in order to expand the company's stake in the US housing market. Later that year, MetLife split-off substantially all of its 52% stake in Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. MetLife had received the majority stake in RGA as a result of its 2000 acquisition of GenAmerica. The split-off gave MetLife shareholders the option to exchange MetLife shares for shares of RGA.
In 2010, MetLife completed its purchase of American Life Insurance Company (Alico), from American International Group (AIG). The $16.2 billion acquisition of Alico expanded the company’s life insurance and employee benefits business into more than 60 countries compared to 17 countries before the acquisition. On March 21, 2011, MetLife announced that Steven Kandarian, who had headed MetLife's investment department would succeed Robert Henrickson as President and CEO as of May 1, 2011.
Products and services
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and is the second-largest foreign provider of insurance in Japan and worldwide its customers total 90 million individuals.
Life insurance
MetLife’s individual life insuranceLife insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
products and services comprise term life insurance
Term life insurance
Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or...
and several types of permanent life insurance
Permanent life insurance
Permanent life insurance is a form of life insurance such as whole life or endowment, where the policy is for the life of the insured, the payout is assured at the end of the policy and the policy accrues cash value....
, including whole life, universal life and variable universal life. The company also offers group life insurance, provided through employers, which consists of term life, group variable universal life and group universal life. MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States, based on life insurance in-force.
Dental
MetLife offers group dental benefit plans for individuals, employees, retirees and their families and provides dental plan administration for over 20 million people. Plans include MetLife’s Preferred Dentist Program (PPO) and the SafeGuard DHMO (available for both individuals and employees in CA, FL, and TX). As of May 2010, MetLife’s dental PPOPreferred provider organization
In health insurance in the United States, a preferred provider organization is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have covenanted with an insurer or a third-party administrator to provide health care at reduced...
network included over 135,000 participating dentist locations nationwide while the dental HMO network included more than 13,000 participating dentist locations in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. MetLife also administers dental continuing education program for dentists and allied health care professionals, which are recognized by the American Dental Association
American Dental Association
The American Dental Association is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 155,000 members. Based in Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental...
(ADA) and the Academy of General Dentistry
Academy of General Dentistry
The Academy of General Dentistry is a professional association of general dentists from Canada and the United States.-Foundation and mission:...
(AGD).
Disability
MetLife provides disability products for individuals as well as employee and association groups who receive them through their employer. For individuals, the company’s individual disability income insurance can replace a portion of lost income if an individual is unable to work due to sickness or injury. For groups, MetLife offers short term disability insuranceDisability insurance
Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability will make working uncomfortable , painful , or impossible...
and long term disability insurance. Short term disability insurance is structured to replace a portion of an individual’s income during the initial weeks of a disabling illness or accident. Long term disability Insurance serves to replace a portion of an individual’s income during an extended period of a disabling illness
Illness
Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
or accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
. The company also maintains an absence management product which allows employers to track and manage both planned and unplanned employee absences. The product, which MetLife calls MetLife Total Absence Management, is structured for businesses with 1,000 or more employees.
Annuities
MetLife is among the largest providers of annuitiesAnnuity (US financial products)
In the United States an annuity contract is created when an insured party, usually an individual, pays a life insurance company a single premium that will later be distributed back to the insured party over time...
in the world, recording $22.4 billion in sales during 2009. MetLife offers annuities which consist of fixed annuities, variable annuities, deferred annuities and immediate annuities. In 1921, MetLife was the first company to issue a group annuity contract. More recently in 2004, it was the first insurer to introduce a longevity insurance product. As of December 31, 2009, MetLife globally managed group annuity assets of $60 billion with $34 billion of transferred pension liabilities and provided benefit payments to over 600,000 annuitants per month.
Auto and home
MetLife Auto & Home is the brand name for MetLife’s nine affiliate personal lines insurance companies. Collectively these companies offer personal lines property and casualty insurance policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The flagship company in the MetLife Auto & Home group, Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company, was founded in 1972. MetLife Auto & Home companies presently have over 2.7 million active policies and service 58 of the Fortune 100 companies.According to its website, MetLife Auto & Home offers auto policies and home insurance, whether the policy owner lives in a house, condo, mobile home, or apartment. The companies also sell RV, ATV, boat, mobile home, collectible vehicle, and motorcycle policies and offers flood insurance policies as a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is managed by the federal government. Through an arrangement with Hyatt Legal Plans, a subsidiary of MetLife, MetLife Auto & Home underwrites group legal plans in many states. It was the first national insurer in the U.S. to offer identity-theft resolution services at no extra premium and as of 2011 continues to do so today in most U.S. states.
Other products
MetLife’s products also include critical illness insuranceCritical illness insurance
Critical illness insurance or critical illness cover is an insurance product, where the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed in the insurance policy....
. Financial services include fee-based financial planning, retirement planning, wealth management, 529 Plans, banking, and commercial and residential mortgages. The company also provides retirement plan and other financial services to healthcare, education, and not-for-profit organizations. The MetLife Center for Special Needs Planning is a group of planners which serve families and individuals with special needs.
International presence
Outside of the U.S., MetLife operates in Latin America, Europe, Asia’s Pacific region, and the Middle East, with leading market positions in Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Chile. On March 8, 2010, Met Life announced its intent to purchase the international leader life-insurance business, American Life Insurance Company (Alico), from American International GroupAmerican International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
(AIG). MetLife [MET], which completed the deal on November 1, 2010, paid approximately $7.2 billion in cash and $9.0 billion in MetLife equity and other securities. The securities portion of the deal consisted of 78.2 million shares of MetLife common stock, 6.9 million shares of contingent convertible preferred stock and 40 million equity units. The values of the common and preferred stock were based on the closing price of MetLife’s common stock on October 29. Upon completion of the purchase, MetLife became a leading competitor in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the world’s second-largest life insurance market, and moved into a top five market position in many high growth emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The deal added 20 million customers to MetLife’s 70 million and according to Barron’s Magazine
Barron's Magazine
Barron's is an American weekly newspaper covering U.S. financial information, market developments, and relevant statistics. Each issue provides a wrap-up of the previous week's market activity, news reports, and an informative outlook on the week to come....
more than doubled the percentage of operating profits that MetLife gets abroad to 40%.
Charitable activity
MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue the company’s philanthropic efforts and community involvement. The Foundation makes grants in healthHealth
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, civic affairs and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. In 2010, MetLife and MetLife Foundation contributed over $44.7 million to nonprofit organizations and $489 million in loans and investments for community development.
As of 2011, MetLife owns or operates six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certified properties and 14 Energy Star
Energy Star
Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. It was first created as a United States government program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted...
-rated facilities. Between 2006 and 2010, properties maintained by the company have reduced their energy consumption by more than 16 percent. The company has also invested more than $1 billion in renewable energy projects including Pattern Energy Group LP’s Gulf Wind
Gulf Wind Farm
The 283 megawatt Gulf Wind Farm is located on the Texas Gulf Coast in Kenedy County. It is owned by the Pattern Energy Group which is based in San Francisco. Most of the wind farm’s output has been contracted under long-term power purchase agreements....
project and Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy, Inc. is a public utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. Primary services are electricity and natural gas...
’s solar power plant in Colorado.
Relationship with Peanuts
Since 1985, SnoopySnoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
, and other Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
characters have appeared in MetLife company promotional materials, sales literature, premium items and advertising. Campaigns include “Get Met. It pays.”, “have you met life today?”, and its current slogan, “Guarantees for the if in Life”. In 2002, MetLife signed a contract that allowed the company to continue to use the Peanuts cartoon characters in its advertising.
Blimp and sports sponsorship
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
College Football, the LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
, the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
, and the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. On August 23, 2011, MetLife agreed to a 25 year sponsorship deal to rename New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
, home of the NFL's New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
to MetLife Stadium.
Awards
MetLife was named the “Best Managed Insurance Company for 2008” by Forbes magazine. For three consecutive years (2008–2010) the company has also appeared on FORTUNE’s list of the most-admired companies. MetLife was recognized by Diversity MBA magazine as one of its “Top 50 Companies for Diverse Managers” in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The magazine highlighted MetLife’s Enterprise Diversity Council and noted how the council helps “set direction, communicate strategy and ensure consistency of the diversity message across MetLife.” For eleven consecutive years (1999–2009) MetLife has been named by Working Mother magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers,” specifically for offering flexible schedules, remote working capabilities and various child care options. MetLife has also been awarded a perfect score for seven consecutive years (2004–2010) by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for its “Corporate Equality Index-Best Companies for People who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgendered.”Subsidiary and affiliate companies
Other MetLife subsidiaries and affiliates include MetLife Investors, MetLife Bank, MetLife Securities, Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, General American, Hyatt Legal, MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, MetLife Resources, New England Financial, Walnut Street Securities, Inc., Safeguard Health Enterprises, Inc., and Tower Square Securities, Inc.See also
- List of United States insurance companies
- Met EnglishMet EnglishMet English Language was an early computer language used by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company . It enabled MetLife to establish itself as a strong technology company in the early days of commercial computing. It has now been retired and is no longer in use.-Language characteristics:Met...
- Stuyvesant TownStuyvesant TownStuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village is a large private residential development on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, and one of the most iconic and successful post-World War II private housing communities...
- Park La Brea, Los Angeles, CaliforniaPark La Brea, Los Angeles, CaliforniaPark La Brea is a sprawling apartment complex in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles, California...
- Park Merced, San Francisco, CaliforniaPark Merced, San Francisco, CaliforniaParkmerced is the second-largest single-owner neighborhood of apartment blocks west of the Mississippi River after Park La Brea in Los Angeles. It was a planned neighborhood of high-rise apartment towers and low-rise garden apartments in southwestern San Francisco, California, for middle-income...
External links
- www.metlife.co.in MetLife India website.
- MetLifeHomeLoans.com MetLife Home Loans official website
- MetDental MetDental
- MyBenefits
- MetLife Bank
- MetLife Auto & Home
- MetLife Life Insurance Independent Profile
- MetLife Spain Website