History of Met Life

Posted in Met Life

October 3rd, 2009

Met Life, one of the best-known insurance providers in the United States, if not the world, was founded in 1863. Formed by a group of New York City businessmen, it was originally called the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. Many of its first customers were soldiers who were fighting in the Civil War, and who needed insurance coverage in case of injury. In 1868, Met Life switched its focus to life insurance coverage.

Origins

Met Life grew quickly, and after two years it had over $13,000,000 in insurance policies issued. By 1872, Met Life had become the third-largest seller of life insurance policies for that year. In 1879, the president of Met Life, Joseph Knapp, was fascinated by “workingmen’s” policies, which were sweeping Great Britain. Knapp borrowed this model and applied it to the United States, which was beginning to be transformed by the Industrial Revolution. The change in tactics was a huge success.

Over the years Met Life grew larger, and became one of the biggest insurers in the United States and Canada. In 1980, the company had to move to new headquarters, and purchased New York City’s famous PanAm building on Park Avenue. This internationally known skyscraper has been the home of Met Life ever since.

Met Life Today

Today, Met Life offers many financial services as well as the insurance it is so well-known for: Life. Met Life is the largest provider of life insurance in the United States and is responsible for $3.3 trillion dollars of insurance. Anyone who is looking for life insurance, auto insurance, home insurance, group life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, group dental insurance, as well as advice and access to such financial products and services as mutual funds, financial planning, retirement planning, wealth management, and banking and financial services would be well-advised to check out all that Met Life has to offer.

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