Company History
MetLife has been in the business of providing insurance and financial products for more than 140 years. The company got its start back in 1863 when a group of business men in New York City formed the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. The company’s primary focus was on insuring sailors and soldiers against wartime disabilities during the U.S. Civil War.
The company actually had a rough start, and by the end of 1864, it only had written 64 accident insurance policies and 17 life insurance policies – putting it solidly in last place among all of the life insurers that operated in the state of New York at that time.
Five years later, following a number of company reorganizations, the firm opted to do away with the casualty portion of the business and focus primarily on the life insurance side. That was the beginning of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Its initial office consisted of two rooms, with enough space for just six employees.
Although the company still had struggles ahead through the U.S. Great Depression, it later imported English agents to train its American sales force. By implementing successful British methods of selling insurance, MetLife was soon writing hundreds of policies each day – growing the company exponentially – and by 1909, MetLife was the largest life insurer in the United States in terms of policies in force.
Today, MetLife is still headquartered in New York City, New York, and it offers a full range of insurance and financial products to its customers. The firm is considered to be a leader in retirement and savings products, as well as the largest life insurer in terms of in-force coverage in North America.
Products Offered
MetLife offers a wide variety of insurance and investment products worldwide to both consumers and businesses. The company has a presence in nearly 50 different countries, and it continues to strengthen its global brand.
Products are offered via various distribution channels, including agents and brokers, banks, and direct marketing channels. For consumers, MetLife offers products such as life, disability income, auto, and home owner’s insurance, and retirement planning / investment products.
Life insurance products include the following options:
- Term Life Insurance – Term policies are considered to be the most basic, or core, type of coverage that is available in the market place today. This is because term life provides pure death benefit protection only, without any type of cash value or investment component. Because of this, term life is often the most affordable type of coverage as well – especially for those who are in good health at the time of application and for those seeking larger amounts of coverage, such as a million dollar life insurance policy. If you are not in the best health and feel a no medical exam life insurance policy would be best for you, we can help find the best carrier for your needs. Term policies are sold for specific time periods – or terms – such as 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or even 30 years – after which, the policy will expire. If the insured passes away while the policy is still in force, the named beneficiary will receive the stated amount of death benefit coverage.
- Whole Life Insurance – Whole life policies combine death benefit protection along with a cash value or savings component. This type of policy is considered to be “permanent” coverage because, as the name implies, it covers the insured for the whole of his or her life, provided that the premium is paid. The cash value in a whole life policy is guaranteed to grow by a certain percentage each year on a tax deferred basis. This means that no tax is due on the gain until the time that the cash is withdrawn. This tax deferred status can allow the funds to grow and compound a great deal over time.
- Universal Life Insurance – Universal coverage is another form of permanent coverage because, as long as the premium is paid, the policy will not expire like term policies. These policies also provide both death benefit protection and cash value. However, they offer more flexibility than whole life in that the policy holder can decide – within certain limits – when to make their premium payment, as well as how much to pay. In addition, they may allocate how much of their premium will go towards the death benefit and how much goes towards the cash value.
- Variable Life Insurance – Yet another type of permanent coverage, variable life, is also offered by MetLife. Here, policy holders have both death benefit and cash value. However, the cash value return is based upon the performance of underlying market-related “subaccounts.” Because of this, the funds can grow a great deal in positive market years. However, these accounts can also carry a higher amount of market related risk.
- Survivorship Life Insurance – Survivorship policies will typically cover more than one life. These policies will pay out the benefit upon the death of the second insured. Oftentimes, survivorship coverage is used by married couples for the purpose of estate planning and / or for other similar financial strategies.
In addition to life insurance, MetLife also offers a variety of fixed and variable annuities, as well as a number of investment and other retirement savings and planning products. Because the company provides access to such a wide array of products and services, consumers and businesses can diversify in order to meet a myriad of unique planning needs and goals.
MetLife Financial Ratings
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company holds high ratings from the insurer rating agencies. These include the following:
A.M. Best Company | Fitch Ratings | Moody’s Investors Service | Standard & Poor’s |
A+ | AA- | Aa3 | AA- |
Advantages and Considerations Before Purchasing Life Insurance from MetLife
When searching for coverage, certainly MetLife is a company that comes to mind. One reason for this is because it is one of the biggest and most well-recognized insurers in the industry today. It is also one of the top carriers – so this is definitely an advantage. Another plus is that MetLife offers a nice variety of coverage types – including term, whole life, universal life, and variable life – so, nearly any type of life insurance need can be covered in terms of policy configuration.
Aside from its products, the company also offers quality customer service. Representatives can be reached via either phone or email – and the customer service reps are known for being competent and knowledgeable. The company offers service on both a national and a local level in most cases, so this can help if assistance is needed quickly by a customer.
One area where an applicant for coverage may need additional assistance, however, is if they have an adverse health condition. Unfortunately, by going straight to just one single insurance company, you can often run the risk of being turned down if faced with particular health related issues. The good news is that there are solutions for that as well.
How and Where to Purchase the Best Coverage for Your Specific Needs
Any time you are searching for a policy – regardless of the type or the amount of coverage – it is important to do a thorough job of researching and comparing your policy options. Because this coverage will oftentimes represent the financial means that your loved ones will require should the unexpected occur, you don’t want to leave the decision to chance. Therefore, making the right choice when it comes to the policy amount, coverage type, and the carrier are all essential.
When you’re ready to start searching for the ideal carrier for your needs, we can help. I have partnered with Root Financial to provide detailed and customized quotes. They work with the top life insurance carriers in the market place today – and can get you all of the information that you need quickly and conveniently so that you can make the most informed decision possible. All you need to do in order to get the process started is fill out and submit the form on this page. Custom quotes that you can evaluate will be available immediately.
I understand that the purchase of life insurance can be a big decision – and you want to make sure that you have all of the pertinent details that you require in order to move forward with confidence. Using my preferred provider will make sure that you get the attention you want and the details you need to make the best decision.
Good Financial Cents, and author of the personal finance book Soldier of Finance. He was a financial planner for 16+ years having founded, Alliance Wealth Management, a SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm, before selling it to focus on his passion – educating the masses on the importance of financial freedom through this blog, his podcast, and YouTube channel.
Jeff holds a Bachelors in Science in Finance and minor in Accounting from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. In addition to his CFP® designation, he also earned the marks of AAMS® – Accredited Asset Management Specialist – and CRPC® – Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.
While a practicing financial advisor, Jeff was named to Investopedia’s distinguished list of Top 100 advisors (as high as #6) multiple times and CNBC’s Digital Advisory Council.
Jeff is an Iraqi combat veteran and served 9 years in the Army National Guard. His work is regularly featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.