Businessmodel of MetLife

Customer Segments

MetLife provides a broad range of insurance products, serving approximately 100 million customers across multiple business sectors in more than 40 jurisdictions around the world. The Company’s customers can be organised into three principal categories:

• Consumers, comprising individuals, families, and groups;
• Corporations, comprising various medium and large commercial and corporate entities across multiple business sectors; and
• Institutions, comprising large national and regional institutions. The Company’s annuities business additionally offers a variety of variable and fixed annuities that are primarily sold to individuals and tax-qualified groups specifically in the education, healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. Revenues derived from any single customer did not exceed 10% of the Company’s revenue in any one of the past three years.

The bulk of MetLife’s business is conducted in North America, which accounts for the majority of the Company’s annual revenue. The Company, however, also serves an international customer base, doing business across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Value Propositions

MetLife provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• Its broad portfolio of products and services, with the Company offering abroad range of insurance products and services, including life, disability, property and casualty, dental, long-term care, accident, and health coverage to consumers and corporations;
• Its international sales reach, with the Company offering its portfolio of products to customers in more than 40 countries spread across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East;
• Its accessibility and flexibility, with the Company utilising various technology and delivery platforms, including an online customer portal, that enable customers to access products and services at work, at home, or on the go;
• Its product innovation process, with the Company seeking to develop innovative solutions for its customers that cover the unique challenges and needs in each market that it serves; and
• Its customer service, with the Company providing ongoing support to its customers through various support channels, as well as providing abroad range of resources. ### Channels

MetLife operates a website at www.MetLife.com, through which it provides information on various products, services, and activities. Customers are also able to obtain tailored rate quotes and find information on nearby provides through the MetLife website. The Company additionally operates an online customer portal, which allows customers to manage their accounts, make payments, and monitor policies, and iOS and Android mobile apps.

MetLife makes sales through a number of dedicated sales teams that operate out of the Company’s various offices and international branches, including a physical presence across operating jurisdictions in Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The Company also markets its personal lines property and casualty insurance products directly to employees at their employer’s worksite.

MetLife also works with a network of independent and third-party distributors. This includes independent agents, property and casualty specialists, general agencies, financial advisors, consultants, brokerage agencies, and other independent marketing organisations under contractual arrangements with the support of wholesalers. Additionally, wholesalers sell products through financial intermediaries, including regional broker-dealers, brokerage firms, financial planners and banks. International sales are also made via sponsoring organisations and affinity groups.

Customer Relationships

MetLife provides a range of services to customers on a self-service basis through its website and online customer portal. These channels enable customers manage and alter their account details, make transfers and payments, and access resources without interacting with members of the Company’s sales and support personnel. Customer can access similar functions independently via the MetLife mobile app.

MetLife provides personalised quotes and tailored services to its consumer, commercial, and institutional customers, with its sales personnel consulting directly with clients to ensure that their individual needs are met. The Company in particular maintains long-standing relationships with many of the largest corporate employers in the US, working closely with them over extended periods to provide appropriate coverage for employees. These larger customers are afforded their own relationship managers and account teams.

MetLife provides ongoing support services, with customers able to contact dedicated support teams over the phone or via email, in order to receive personalised assistance. The Company also provides a range of online resources, including lists of authorised brokers, a library or relevant forms, and FAQs. Customers are also able to follow and interact with the Company through its social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Key Activities

MetLife is a provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management services to general consumers, corporate entities, and institutions. The Company aligns its operations into six business segments: Retail; which is organised into two businesses, Life and Other and Annuities, and provides a full suite of life insurance products and services;

Group, Voluntary and Worksite Benefits, which includes life, dental, property and casualty, long-term care, accidental death and dismemberment, critical illness, vision, and accident and health coverages; Corporate Benefit Funding, which provides funding and financing solutions that help institutional customers manage liabilities; Latin America, which covers the Company’s activities in Latin America; Asia, which covers the Company’s activities in Asia Pacific; and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which covers the Company’s activities in the rest of the world.

Key Partners

MetLife works in conjunction with a range of companies and organisations across its operating segments. These partners include:

• Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of services, equipment, and technologies that are utilised across the Company’s various segments in support of the Company’s core operations;
• Channel and Distribution Partners, comprising the Company’s network of intermediaries, including agents, independent financial advisors, consultants, brokerage agencies, and other independent marketing organisations that extend the Company’s marketing and sales reach, particularly in foreign jurisdictions;
• Joint Venture Partners, comprising various other insurance providers and related companies, with which the Company provides services and products through mutually owned entities; and
• Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising companies from various sectors, with which the Company shares certain resources and collaborates on joint projects. MetLife has stablished a number of partnerships in recent years. This includes a deal with Lyft to provide auto insurance, and a partnership with PGA Tour to support its global expansion and marketing.

Key Resources

MetLife’s key resources are its brand and intellectual properties, its technology and online platform, its It and communications infrastructure, its network of intermediaries and third-party agents, its in-house sales and marketing infrastructure, its partnerships, and its personnel.

MetLife owns and or leases a number of physical properties across the US and abroad, principally comprising office space. The Company relies on a combination of contractual rights with third parties and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect its intellectual property. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office, however, identified no patent applications filed in MetLife’s name.

Cost Structure

MetLife incurs costs in relation to the development of its digital channels and technology platform, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the management of its network of intermediaries, the implementation of marketing and advertising campaigns, the procurement of professional services, and the retention of its personnel. In 2015 the Company’s largest cost related to the fulfilment of customer benefits and claims, which amounted to $38.71 billion.

Revenue Streams

MetLife generates revenue through the collection of fees and premiums associated with its various insurance coverage products and services. In 2015 MetLife generated annual revenue of $69.95 billion, down on the $73.32 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. Premiums comprised around $38.55 billion of this revenue, with investment comprising the bulk of the remainder, $19.28 billion. The Company’s largest revenue generator was its Retail segment, which accounted for $20.96 billion in annual revenue.