MetLife Broadens Middle Market Reach With Final Expense Whole Life – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Life Insurance
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
INN Exclusives
Life Insurance RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
May 13, 2014 Life Insurance No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

MetLife Broadens Middle Market Reach With Final Expense Whole Life

By Cyril Tuohy InsuranceNewsNet

By Cyril Tuohy

InsuranceNewsNet

MetLife has announced the launch of a final expense whole life insurance policy designed to appeal to middle-market customers 45 years old or older. Many of these consumers are still underinsured.

Rates vary from $10 a month for a 45-year-old woman seeking $2,500 in coverage to $326 a month for a 75-year-old man seeking $20,000 in coverage. The policy builds cash value and the premiums never go up, the company said.

“Everyone should have access to life insurance that is simple and affordable, but we know that many people perceive barriers that can make the coverage they want seem out of reach,” MetLife vice president Lewis Goldman said in a news release.

No medical underwriting is required and the coverage is available by phone and online, the company said.

Earlier this year, MetLife introduced a simplified-issue term life policy for coverage amounts of between $10,000 and $100,000, also with the medical exam.

Goldman said the company’s latest life insurance product launches were a continuation of MetLife's push into the consumer market, announced back in 2009.

“We see this as not just a huge opportunity but also a responsibility,” Goldberg told InsuranceNewsNet. “Life penetration is woefully low and the direct-to-consumer channel is complementary to the agent network.”

With baby boomers turning 65 at the rate of about 10,000 a day, and many of them living longer than they planned, a final expense whole life policy is designed to help the families pay medical bills, credit card debt and funeral costs for the deceased.

MetLife is keeping products sold through the direct-to-consumer channel simple, accessible and affordable, Goldman said.

MetLife reported first quarter net income of $1.29 billion, an increase of 36 percent over the year-ago period. Operating earnings were $1.56 billion, down 4 percent from the year-ago period.

Fewer than half of all American households own an individual life insurance policy, according to LIMRA insurance research. Of the households that are covered, many are underinsured for the coverage they need.

The latest available numbers issued by the American Council of Life Insurers show that at the end of 2012, individual in-force life insurance protection in the U.S. totaled $11.2 trillion, up 2 percent from 2011.

Annualized premiums for individual life insurance sales of universal life, variable universal life, term and whole life were flat in 2013 compared to 2012, according to LIMRA.

Face amounts and the number of individual life policies each declined by 3 percent last year compared to 2012, LIMRA also said.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at [email protected].

© Entire contents copyright 2014 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

 

Older

Athene USA Grabs A Foothold In FIAs

Newer

Survey Reveals Younger Investors Less Satisfied With Their Advisors

Advisor News

  • Retirement Savers Remain Confident Despite Short-Term Woes
  • City of Memphis Helps Employees With Financial Wellness Programs
  • IRI CEO: ‘I Am Optimistic for Our Industry’s Future’
  • 2/3 Of Near-Retirees Failed Or Barely Passed A Basic Social Security Quiz
  • Crypto As National Currency? Maybe Not A Good Idea
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • LibertyMark Freedom Fixed Indexed Annuities Launch
  • Nationwide Adds BNP Paribas Global H-Factor Index To FIA
  • Transamerica Launches Structured Index Advantage Annuity
  • Recommending FIAs: Start With The Client’s Objective
  • NC Man Wins First $5 Million Prize In Scratch-Off Game
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • EBRI Studies Expanding Pre-Deductible Coverage For Chronic Conditions
  • Most Consumers Choose To Pay Higher LTCi Premiums
  • CMS Creates More User-Friendly Medicare Website
  • Integrity Marketing Group Buys Ritter Insurance Marketing
  • Maine Powerless In Big Fight Between Its Largest Insurer And Hospital
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Property and Casualty News

  • Inflation Squeezes Homeowners, Commercial Property Insurers, Moody’s Reports
  • ‘Left With Nothing.’ Survivors Of Surfside Condo Collapse Seek More Settlement Money
  • Michigan Drivers Issued $3B In Auto Insurance Refunds
  • Hurricane Season Could Result In Higher Homeowners Insurance Rates
  • Progressive Unveils Flo’s Former Flame, Jon Hamm, In Latest Ad Campaign
More Property and Casualty News

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • OneAmerica Commits $1 Million Toward Financial Literacy
  • Transamerica Structured Index Advantage Annuity Offers Investors More Certainty with Upside Growth and Downside Protection
  • Senior Market Sales Creates First-of-Its-Kind Lead Acquisition Platform
  • Growing financial services firm Kuvare opens Des Moines office in East Village, continuing expansion in Iowa
  • BetterLife Selects iPipeline® to Digitally Transform Its Business & Better Serve Future Generations
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.