MetLife, also known as the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is known as one of the largest providers of annuities, insurance and various employee benefit programs globally. Their reach is so large that it extends across more than 60 countries; naturally, they serve almost 100 million customers, due to that reach.
Products and services
As of 2010, MetLife had a "diverse product mix" which included insurance (home, car and life), variable life annuities and structured settlements, commercial mortgages and securities backed by commercial mortgages, and sovereign debt.
Life insurance
MetLife’s individual life insurance products and services comprise term life insurance and several types of permanent life insurance, including whole life, universal life, and final expense whole life insurance. These services vary in regards to the duration and amount of coverage available and whether a medical exam is required for coverage. The company also offers group life insurance, provided through employers, which consists of term life, permanent life, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. 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, TX, NJ and NY.). As of May 2010, MetLife’s dental PPO 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)
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. MetLife offers several individual disability income policies, including MetLife Income Guard, OMNI Advantage, OMNI Essential, Business Overhead Expense, and Buy-Sell. The policy options provided by the company vary in terms of eligibility and the provided coverage. For groups, MetLife offers short term disability insurance and long term disability insurance.[99] 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.
Annuities
MetLife is among the largest providers of annuities 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 & 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.[110] 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.
MetLife's home insurance solutions include homeowners insurance, condo insurance, renters insurance, insurance for landlords, and mobile home insurance. The available policies for MetLife's home insurance provide coverage for possessions, property damage from natural disaster or theft, and various legal expenses incurred resulting from injuries sustained on an individual's property. 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. MetLife's various types of coverage for auto insurance include liability protection, collision and comprehensive coverage, personal injury protection, rental car coverage, and uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage. 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 United States to offer identity-theft resolution services at no extra premium and as of 2012 continues to do so today in most United States states. In 2010, MetLife Auto & Home began offering their GrandProtect plan in most states. This GrandProtect policy simplifies complex insurance needs by combining a client's home, valuable items, autos, RVs, and boats into one comprehensive policy package. The ultimate benefits to the consumer are having one bill, only one deductible, comprehensive coverage, and typically lower rates than trying to get each policy individually.