MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company) has transitioned through several major corporate structures and milestones since its founding during the American Civil War.
The company's history can be broadly divided into several periods:
Founding and Early Growth (1863–1909)
- MetLife was founded in 1863 as the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company to insure Civil War soldiers. It reorganized in 1868 as the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, focusing on life insurance.
- In 1879, it introduced "industrial" insurance for working-class families.
- MetLife commissioned the Metropolitan Tower in New York in 1893 and became the largest life insurer in the U.S. by 1909.
Mutualization and Market Leadership (1915–1991)
- In 1915, MetLife became a mutual company owned by its policyholders.
- It issued the first group annuity contract in 1921 and helped finance major New York projects like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center in 1931.
- The company expanded its offerings with individual retirement annuities in 1975 and purchased the Pan Am Building in 1980.
- By 1991, MetLife was the first North American insurer to reach $1 trillion of life insurance in force.
Demutualization and Global Expansion (2000–Present)
- MetLife demutualized and went public with a large IPO in 2000.
- Major acquisitions included Travelers Life & Annuity in 2005 and American Life Insurance Company (Alico) in 2010, which significantly boosted its global presence.
- Recent strategic moves include spinning off its U.S. retail life insurance and annuities business into Brighthouse Financial in 2017 and selling its home and auto insurance business in 2021.
- MetLife unveiled a new strategy in 2024 focusing on technology and asset management and reported strong net income growth in early 2025.
Sources: [1] https://investor.metlife.com/news-releases/news-release-details/metlife-completes-separation-brighthouse-financial ; [2] https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/companyprofile/companyprofile?doFunction=getCompanyProfile&event=companyProfile&naic=87726 ; [3] https://www.brighthousefinancial.com/about-us/ ; [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighthouse_Financial
