MetLife.com offers various kinds of life insurance packages edit this microsummary

edit Company

Slogan: "Guarantees for the 'if' in life."

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is the largest life insurer in the United States. They are a global market leader in savings and retirement products, and in services for individuals, small business, and large institutions. Current estimates of outstanding life insurance policies held through MetLife put the dollar figure at around $2 trillion.

edit Products

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company offers both group benefit and individual benefit products. Their current policy portfolio includes:

• life insurance
• long-term care insurance
• retirement planning
• dental insurance
• auto and boat insurance
• disability income insurance
• home insurance
• banking and financial services

edit History

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company was first started in 1863 when a group of New York City businessmen raised $100,000 to found the company, which was originally named the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. Their first customers were sailors and soldiers in the American Civil War, and they were getting insurance against wartime wounds, accidents, and sickness. By 1879, the Civil War having long since been concluded, they turned their attention from accident insurance to life insurance.

This began a period of importing English agents over to America to show them how the insurance business was done; a kind of early form of hiring consultants. Under English guidance, the company was signing up 700 new industrial life insurance policies per day by 1880, and the new company was a great success. By 1930, MetLife had become the leading insurer in the insurance industry, with an estimated one out of every five citizens of the United States and Canada buying a policy from them.

The story of MetLife's growth is inextricably interwoven with American history. Metlife's investment capitol helped to build the Empire State Building in 1929, and Rockefeller Center in 1931. They played a pivitol role in World War 2 by their funding of war bonds. The company bought the Pan Am building in 1980, which was the record largest building purchase ever at that time.

MetLife in the 21st century has since matured from a former mutual organization into a public company. They have branched out into all facets of insurance and have also launched their own bank.

edit Culture

In what has proved to be one of the most prudent advertising moves ever, MetLife in 1980 began to have an arrangement with the late Charles M. Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, to have characters from that strip be used in marketing for Metlife, and in particular Snoopy is MetLife's mascot. The formula worked quite well through the decades, as the Peanuts strip remained uncontroversial, while at the same time has had broad appeal throughout American culture. To this day, Peanuts cartoon specials on television are almost always sponsored by Metlife.

The cross-influence of the Snoopy character has led Metlife to give the names "Snoopy One" and "Snoopy Two" to the two airships owned by Metlife which provide aerial coverage of American sporting events. Meanwhile, a generation of fans of Charles M. Schultz's strip have grown to associate MetLife with their favorite characters.

edit Website

MetLife.com is a serviceable website which acts as an information portal for the public to learn about MetLife policies, products, and business dealings. Its main categories are:

• Individuals
  • Sections pertaining to individual insurance and wealth management, including insurance, retirement, investments, banking, and employer benefits.
• Employers
  • Sections addressing the needs of businesses of all shapes and sizes, including benefits, small business plans, retirement, global solutions, and risk management.
• Brokers and consultants
  • About recommending MetLife products to business associates.
• Retirement
  • Including sections on retirement phases, what to consider in planning a retirement, and products and services.
• About Us
  • An extensive section with many subsections, pertaining to media, investors, corporate governance, ethics, careers at MetLife, diversity, corporate citizenship, affiliates, history, and much more.

Their products include homeowners, auto, boat, life, annuities, and IRA's. The Life Advice Center has advice for family, health, money, purchases, business, and insurance.

edit Business Profile

MetLife reported revenues totaling $44.776 billion in 2005. They employ 83,800 employees at locations throughout the United States and other countries. Their Fortune 500 ranking is #35.

edit Languages

English

edit Address

900 4th Ave # 1100

Seattle WA 98164 US

edit Contact

Schiller, John

+1 206 343 4814

edit Additional Information

edit Related Domains

edit External Links

• Alexa: MetLife.com