MetLife

MetLife, Inc.
Company type	Public company
Industry	Insurance, Annuities, Employee benefits
Founded	March 24, 1868; 158 years ago
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Area served	Worldwide (over 60 countries)
Key people	Steven A. Kandarian (CEO as of 2011), C. Robert Henrikson (former chairman)
Products	Insurance, Annuities, Employee benefit solutions
Website	www.metlife.com

MetLife, Inc. functions as the parent company for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC) and its associated entities. As a leading global provider of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit solutions, MetLife caters to approximately 90 million clients in over 60 nations. Established on March 24, 1868, it secured the 43rd position on the Fortune 500 list in 2018 based on total revenue.

On January 6, 1915, MetLife underwent mutualization, transitioning from a stock-based life insurer to a mutual organization focused on serving policyholders. After operating as a mutual company for 85 years, it demutualized and went public with an initial offering in 2000. Its subsidiaries and affiliates maintain dominant market shares across the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Additionally, MetLife provides services to 90 of the largest firms listed in the Fortune 500.

The corporate headquarters and boardroom are situated within the MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Although the company sold this property in 2005, it began expanding its leased office space there starting in 2015.

In January 2016, MetLife revealed plans to spin off its U.S. retail operations—which include individual life insurance and annuity products—into a newly formed entity called Brighthouse Financial, which officially commenced operations in March 2017. The remaining MetLife organization retained the naming rights to MetLife Stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Early years

MetLife’s origins date back to 1863 when a group of businessmen from New York City established the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company, initially providing disability coverage for soldiers during the Civil War. On March 24, 1868, the company was renamed Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and shifted its focus toward life insurance.

Following the economic downturn caused by the Panic of 1873, MetLife President Joseph F. Knapp introduced "industrial" insurance policies—small-value plans with premiums collected weekly or monthly at customers’ homes—leading to revenues nearing $1 million by 1880. By 1909, MetLife had become the largest life insurer in the United States in terms of insurance in force.

In 1890, MetLife commissioned construction of its home office on Manhattan’s 23rd Street; this building was completed by 1905. The adjacent clock tower, finished in 1909, held the distinction of being the tallest building worldwide until 1913. This facility served as headquarters until 2005 and was a central element of MetLife’s branding under the slogan "The Light That Never Fails."

A significant legal milestone occurred in 1905 when a predecessor company lost the case Pavesich v. New England Life Insurance Company, which helped establish privacy rights within U.S. jurisprudence.

By 1930, MetLife provided insurance coverage to one out of every five individuals throughout the U.S. and Canada. During the 1930s, it diversified its investment portfolio beyond mortgages into public utility bonds, government securities, and commercial real estate loans. The company also financed iconic projects such as the Empire State Building (1929) and Rockefeller Center (1931). Throughout World War II, MetLife allocated more than half of its assets into war bonds, becoming the largest private contributor supporting the Allied forces.

Postwar Developments

Following World War II, MetLife broadened its reach into suburban markets, shifted toward decentralized management, and revamped its career agency framework to cater to a wider array of customer segments. The company also initiated marketing efforts for group insurance products targeting employers and institutional clients. By 1979, MetLife had structured its operations into four primary divisions: group insurance, personal insurance, pensions, and investment services. In 1981, MetLife purchased the Pan Am Building from a consortium that included Pan American World Airways for $400 million. Subsequently, the building was renamed and prominently featured the MetLife emblem.

Conversion to Public Company and IPO

In 2000, MetLife transformed from a mutual insurance entity into a publicly traded for-profit corporation. This strategic change facilitated entry into new insurance markets and permitted higher executive remuneration. During this transition, policyholders were issued shares in the newly formed company. Nevertheless, MetLife encountered allegations of providing misleading information to policyholders throughout the de-mutualization process, resulting in extended legal disputes that ultimately culminated in a $50 million settlement in 2009.

Strategic Acquisitions, Divestitures, and Key Transactions

1992 – merged with United Mutual Life Insurance Company, recognized as New York’s sole African-American life insurer.
1992 – acquired Executive Life’s single premium deferred annuity portfolio (approximately $1.2 billion) along with its life insurance operations (around $260 million).
1995 – divested Century 21 to Cendant while acquiring New England Mutual Life Insurance Company.
1997 – purchased Security First Group for $377 million.
1999 – obtained Lincoln National Corporation’s individual disability income segment and reinsurance firm GenAmerica Corporation for $1.2 billion; this acquisition included subsidiaries such as Reinsurance Group of America and Conning Corporation, collectively serving 7 million policyholders.
2000 – finalized de-mutualization alongside an initial public offering valued at $6.5 billion, marking the largest financial IPO in U.S. history at that time; policyholders opted for cash or stock options, positioning MetLife as the most broadly held U.S. publicly traded insurer; policyholder count rose to 11 million; solidified status as the top life insurer in the United States by sales volume.
2000 – entered into a $470 million contract with AT&T Solutions for voice and data network management services.
2001 – acquired Grand Bank of Kingston, which was subsequently rebranded as MetLife Bank.
2001 – invested $1 billion in the U.S. equity markets following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
2005 – purchased Citigroup’s Travelers Life & Annuity along with its international insurance operations for $11.8 billion, becoming North America’s largest individual life insurer by sales.
2006 – established a joint venture insurance enterprise in Shanghai; concurrently sold Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village residential complexes for $5.4 billion.
2010 – acquired American Life Insurance Company (Alico) from AIG for $15.5 billion.
2011 – exited retail banking by selling MetLife Bank to GE Capital.
2021 – Farmers Insurance Group completed acquisition of MetLife Auto & Home business from MetLife, Inc.

Current era

Between 2004 and 2011, MetLife held its status as the leading life insurance provider in the United States, managing $2.5 trillion in policies, overseeing $350 billion in assets, and serving more than 20 million clients worldwide. In 2003, the company reported a net income of $2.2 billion, with Barron's noting that at least 13 million American households owned a MetLife product.

Robert H. Benmosche acted as chairman and CEO from 1999 until 2006, after which C. Robert Henrikson took over leadership. Henrikson remained in charge until 2011, when Steven A. Kandarian—formerly chief investment officer responsible for a $450 billion portfolio—assumed the CEO role. Henrikson continued as chairman until his mandatory retirement at the close of 2011.

Despite the challenges posed by the Great Recession, MetLife experienced an 11.5% increase in sales between 2008 and 2009. In 2015, Fortune magazine ranked the company first in the Insurance: Life and Health category on its World's Most Admired Companies list.

In 2017, MetLife announced plans to grow its Global Technology Campus located in Cary, North Carolina, by adding a third office building encompassing 255,000 square feet. This development followed a $94 million incentive from North Carolina aimed at creating more than 2,600 jobs across Cary and Charlotte, supporting over 1,000 positions in engineering, software development, and technology.

"Too big to fail"

In 2012, MetLife did not pass the Federal Reserve’s Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review stress test, which evaluates a firm's ability to endure economic downturns. While the Fed required a minimum risk-based capital ratio of 8%, MetLife's was estimated at approximately 6%. The company had requested authorization for a $2 billion stock buyback and increased dividend payments to bolster its share price. Due to its ownership of MetLife Bank, it was subject to stricter regulatory standards and subsequently divested its banking operations to GE Capital. Furthermore, in November 2012, MetLife sold its mortgage servicing portfolio valued at $70 billion to JPMorgan Chase as part of a strategic shift focusing on insurance.

Despite these divestitures, MetLife was classified as a "systemically important financial institution" (SIFI) under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 in 2014, placing it under intensified Federal Reserve supervision and regulatory requirements. The company formally contested this classification by filing a lawsuit in January 2015—the first non-bank entity to do so—aiming to reverse the designation. Other nonbank SIFIs include AIG, General Electric, and Prudential Financial. As of 2015, legal proceedings were ongoing with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking dismissal of MetLife’s challenge.

Fines

On August 7, 2012, MetLife consented to pay $3.2 million in penalties following findings by the Federal Reserve regarding unsafe practices within its mortgage servicing and foreclosure processes.

In 2014, MetLife resolved lawsuits connected to unsolicited fax transmissions used for generating life insurance leads by agreeing to a $23 million settlement.

In 2015, MetLife Home Loans LLC paid $123.5 million to the United States Department of Justice to settle allegations that it issued government-insured mortgages failing to comply with federal underwriting standards.

Products and services

By 2010, MetLife's extensive range of offerings encompassed home, automobile, and life insurance, variable life annuities, structured settlements, commercial mortgage financing and associated securities, as well as sovereign debt holdings.

Life insurance

MetLife provides individual life insurance solutions including term life policies alongside several types of permanent life insurance, such as whole life, universal life, and final expense whole life plans. These products vary in terms of coverage length, benefit amounts, and medical examination prerequisites. Additionally, the company offers group life insurance through employer partnerships, featuring term life, permanent life, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. MetLife commands the largest share of the U.S. life insurance market based on active policies.

Dental

MetLife administers group dental benefit programs for individuals, employees, retirees, and their dependents, covering more than 20 million participants. Its dental product lineup includes the Preferred Dentist Program (PPO) and the SafeGuard DHMO plan, available in selected states. As of 2010, MetLife’s PPO network consisted of over 135,000 dental provider locations nationwide, complemented by more than 13,000 DHMO providers across California, Florida, and Texas. The company also oversees dental continuing education initiatives accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), underscoring its prominence in dental benefits management.

Disability

MetLife delivers disability insurance options to individuals as well as employee or association groups through employers. Individual disability income policies compensate for a portion of lost earnings due to illness or injury and include products such as MetLife Income Guard, OMNI Advantage, OMNI Essential, Business Overhead Expense, and Buy-Sell plans. Coverage specifics and eligibility criteria differ by plan. For group clients, MetLife offers both short-term and long-term disability insurance to replace income during initial weeks or extended periods of disabling conditions caused by illness or accidents. Furthermore, MetLife’s Total Absence Management solution assists employers with workforces exceeding 1,000 employees in monitoring and controlling both scheduled and unscheduled absences to improve productivity and absence oversight.

Annuities

Ranking among the globe’s top annuity providers, MetLife recorded $22.4 billion in annuity sales during 2009. Its annuity offerings include fixed, variable, deferred, and immediate annuities. The company was a pioneer in introducing group annuity contracts back in 1921 and launched longevity insurance products in 2004. By the close of 2009, MetLife managed $60 billion in global group annuity assets with $34 billion attributed to transferred pension liabilities while serving over 600,000 annuitants monthly.

Pet insurance

In 2019, MetLife entered the pet insurance market through its acquisition of PetFirst Healthcare, subsequently rebranding it as MetLife Pet Insurance Solutions. The company earned recognition as "Pet Insurance of the Year" at the Pet Innovation Award ceremony in 2023.

Auto & Home

MetLife Auto & Home consists of nine affiliated personal lines insurers providing property and casualty coverage throughout all 50 states plus Washington D.C. The flagship entity within this group is Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company, established in 1972. Notably, MetLife was the first national insurer to offer complimentary identity-theft resolution services nationwide—a feature it continued to provide in most states as of 2012.

Additional products

MetLife’s portfolio encompasses critical illness insurance as well as a range of financial services including fee-based financial planning, retirement strategies, wealth management, 529 college savings plans, banking solutions, and both commercial and residential mortgages. The firm also delivers retirement plans and financial services specifically designed for the healthcare, education, and nonprofit sectors. Through its MetLife Center for Special Needs Planning, the company offers support to families and individuals with special needs. In 2014, MetLife launched MetLife Defender, a digital product aimed at identity theft protection.

Organizational structure

By 2010, MetLife was segmented into five main divisions: Insurance Products, Retirement Products, US Business (covering Auto & Home and Corporate Benefit Funding), and International operations. The Insurance Products segment was the most significant, accounting for 53% of revenue in 2009. A new division named "Americas" had been created by 2015.

Governance

As of May 2019, Michel A. Khalaf held the position of CEO at MetLife, while Glenn Hubbard served as the board’s non-executive chairman. The company’s compensation committee emphasizes performance-based variable pay for senior leaders rather than fixed salary components.

By December 2023, MetLife’s board members included:

Glenn Hubbard – Non-executive chairman
Michel A. Khalaf – CEO, president, and director
John D. McCallion – CFO and EVP
Mark Alan Weinberger – Independent director
Bill Pappas – EVP of Global Technology & Operations

Subsidiaries and affiliated entities

MetLife’s network of subsidiaries and affiliates has comprised MetLife Investors, MetLife Bank, MetLife Securities, Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company along with its subsidiaries, General American, MetLife Legal Plans, MetLife Resources, New England Financial, Walnut Street Securities, Safeguard Health Enterprises, and Tower Square Securities. These companies have supported a varied product lineup and broadened market penetration.

The subsidiary MetLife Insurance Company USA is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, formerly recognized as MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut and before that as Travelers Insurance Company.

In 2013, MetLife divested its banking operations by selling MetLife Bank to GE Capital, allowing it to concentrate on insurance and associated financial services.

Through a strategic alliance with Tishman Realty & Construction, MetLife co-owns the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The land is leased from The Walt Disney Company, while ownership of the buildings lies with Tishman; these properties are managed by Marriott International under the Westin brand. This investment exemplifies MetLife’s diversified approach to business and real estate holdings.

Global operations

MetLife maintains a worldwide presence across Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, holding leading market shares in countries such as Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, and Chile.

On March 8, 2010, MetLife revealed its acquisition of American Life Insurance Company (Alico) from American International Group (AIG), finalizing the $16.2 billion cash-and-stock transaction by November 1 of that year. The deal consisted of $7.2 billion in cash alongside $9.0 billion in MetLife equity instruments including common stock, preferred stock, and equity units. This acquisition greatly expanded MetLife’s international footprint by positioning it as a leading competitor in Japan—the world’s second-largest life insurance market—and securing top-five rankings in emerging markets throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. This transaction added 20 million customers to MetLife’s existing base of 70 million and more than doubled the share of international operating profit to 40%.

In India, MetLife operates via India Insurance Company Limited (MetLife), founded in 2001 with headquarters located in Bangalore and Gurgaon. In 2012, a strategic partnership was formed with Punjab National Bank which acquired a 30% equity stake and distributes MetLife products through its branch network.

As of 2015, Julio Garcia-Villalon directs MetLife’s Middle East & Africa regional operations from its base at Dubai International Financial Centre. The company has maintained a presence in this region since the 1950s.

MetLife has been active in Bangladesh since 1952 and has held the position of leading life insurer there since 1997. Its headquarters in Bangladesh is situated in Dhaka’s Motijheel Commercial Area—the city’s primary business district.

MetLife Foundation

Founded in 1976, MetLife Foundation operates as the independent philanthropic branch of MetLife, primarily engaged in grant distribution. By early 2015, it had allocated grants exceeding $650 million. The foundation has been a key supporter of initiatives such as Habitat for Humanity since 2010 and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation starting in 2008.

In 2013, the foundation reoriented its strategic focus toward promoting financial inclusion. It introduced educational initiatives aimed at teaching fundamental financial planning skills to underprivileged youth and developed financial services tailored to low-income populations. This strategic direction supports its overarching goal of advancing economic empowerment on a global scale.

The OECD reported that in 2019, MetLife Foundation boosted its development funding by 20%, reaching $14 million. This increase underscores the foundation’s sustained dedication to social impact efforts aligned with MetLife’s corporate social responsibility objectives.

Relationship with Peanuts

Beginning in the mid-1980s, MetLife adopted Peanuts characters to soften its corporate image, countering the stereotype of insurance firms as impersonal, according to chief marketing officer Esther Lee. The company obtained licensing rights for Snoopy and other characters from Iconix Brand Group, which holds promotional rights to Charles M. Schulz’s creations. In 2010, Iconix collaborated with Schulz’s heirs to acquire these rights for $175 million, with MetLife reportedly paying an annual licensing fee of $12 million. Prior to this arrangement, MetLife licensed the characters through different rights holders.

The advertising campaign featuring Peanuts was produced by Young & Rubicam, with Foote Cone & Belding also contributing to related marketing efforts. On October 20, 2016, after a partnership spanning 31 years, MetLife discontinued its association with Peanuts following the sale of its life insurance division and a strategic pivot toward serving corporate clients. The introduction of a new blue and green logo attracted criticism for its resemblance to that of the comparison website Diffen.

In 2023, MetLife reintroduced Snoopy as the mascot for its Pet Insurance division, enhancing brand visibility within this growing market sector.

Blimp and sports sponsorship

MetLife initiated its blimp program in 1987 with the launch of the "Snoopy 1" airship and expanded it in 1994 by adding "Snoopy 2." This program provided aerial broadcasts for more than 80 prominent sporting events annually and was recognized as the official aerial provider for the PGA Tour. Coverage extended to NFL games, CBS College Football, LPGA events, NBA Finals, Copa Chile matches, as well as horse racing events like the Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby. The program concluded when MetLife phased out its Peanuts branding.

On August 23, 2011, MetLife secured naming rights for New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey—the home venue for NFL teams New York Giants and New York Jets—renaming it MetLife Stadium under a 25-year agreement. In January 2017, MetLife entered into a five-year sponsorship deal renaming Japan’s Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa as MetLife Dome.

Between 2014 and 2017, MetLife served as the title sponsor for the BWF Super Series badminton tournament.

Weight and longevity data

In 1959, The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company published tables outlining optimal weight ranges for each height aimed at maximizing lifespan, derived from insurance records. Updated tables released in 1983 from the 1979 Build Study conducted by the Society of Actuaries—which monitored 4.2 million individuals insured by 25 North American life insurance companies over an 18-year period—suggested higher “ideal” weights attributed to increased muscle mass resulting from improved physical fitness.

This dataset remains the most extensive used for analyzing longevity relative to weight. The Metropolitan Tables categorized body frames into ‘’small’’, ‘’medium’’, and ‘’large’’ groups based on elbow-girth measurements and correlated corresponding weight ranges by height, gender, and frame size with mortality rates. The medium frame midpoint served as the benchmark for “ideal” weight when calculating “excess weight” (actual minus ideal), a formula still utilized within bariatric surgery despite reduced precision by 2007 due to advancements in medical care and public health practices.

Archives and records

Records of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company housed at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.