MetLife, Inc. (MetLife), incorporated in 1999, is a provider of insurance and other financial services with operations throughout the United States, and the regions of Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Through the Company’s domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates, it offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowners insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations, and other institutions. MetLife operates in four business segments: Institutional, Individual, International and Auto & Home, as well as Corporate & Other. In May 2008, MetLife Bank, N.A., a unit of the Company, completed the acquisition of EverBank Reverse Mortgage LLC, from its parent, EverBank Financial Corp. EverBank Reverse Mortgage will be a wholly owned subsidiary of MetLife Bank. In May 2009, the Company sold Cova Corp., which is the parent company of Texas Life Insurance Co., to a third party.
Institutional
The Company’s Institutional segment offers a range of group insurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions and their respective employees. Group insurance products and services include group life insurance, non-medical health insurance products and related administrative services, as well as other benefits and services, such as employer-sponsored auto and homeowners insurance provided through the Auto & Home segment and prepaid legal services plans. Non-medical health insurance consists of products, such as accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), long-term care (LTC), short and long-term disability, individual disability income, dental insurance, and prepaid legal services. MetLife offers group insurance products as employer-paid benefits or as voluntary benefits, where all or a portion of the premiums are paid by the employee. Its retirement and savings products and services include an array of annuity and investment products, including defined contribution plans, guaranteed interest products and other stable value products, accumulation and income annuities, and separate account contracts for the investment management of defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets.
Individual
MetLife’s Individual segment offers a variety of protection and asset accumulation products aimed at serving the financial needs of its customers throughout their entire life cycle. Products offered by Individual include insurance products, such as traditional, variable and universal life insurance, and variable and fixed annuities. In addition, Individual sales representatives distribute disability insurance and LTC insurance products offered through the Institutional segment, investment products, such as mutual funds, as well as other products offered by the Company’s other businesses. Individual’s principal distribution channels are the agency distribution group and the independent distribution group. Individual also distributes products through several additional distribution channels, including Walnut Street Securities, Inc. (Walnut Street Securities), MetLife Resources, Tower Square Securities, Inc. (Tower Square Securities) and Texas Life Insurance Company (Texas Life).
International
International provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities and retirement and savings products to both individuals and groups. The Company focuses on emerging markets primarily within the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. MetLife operates in international markets through subsidiaries and joint ventures. The Company operates in the Latin America region in countries, including Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The operations in Mexico, Chile and Argentina represented 82% of the total premiums and fees in this region during 2008. MetLife operates in Europe in countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland and Ireland. The Company operates in the Asia Pacific region in countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and China. The operations in South Korea and Taiwan represented 70% of the total premiums and fees in this region during 2008.
Auto & Home
Auto & Home, operating through Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and its subsidiaries (MPC), offers personal lines property and casualty insurance directly to employees at their employer’s worksite, as well as to individuals through a variety of retail distribution channels, including the agency distribution group, independent agents, property and casualty specialists and direct response marketing. Auto & Home primarily sells auto insurance, which represented 69% of Auto & Home’s total net earned premiums during the year ended December 31, 2008, and homeowners and other insurance, which represented 31% of Auto & Home’s total net earned premiums during 2008. Auto & Home’s insurance products include auto, homeowners, renters, condominium and dwelling, and other personal lines.
Corporate & Other
Corporate & Other contains the excess capital not allocated to the business segments, which is invested to optimize investment spread and to fund company initiatives, various start-up entities, MetLife Bank which includes the 2008 acquisitions of a residential mortgage originating and servicing business and a reverse mortgage company, and run-off entities. Corporate & Other also includes interest expense related to the majority of its outstanding debt and expenses associated with certain legal proceedings. The elimination of all intersegment transactions from activity between segments occurs within Corporate & Other.
