Swansea man joins dad in MetLife Hall of Fame

May 26--SWANSEA -- Swansea resident Thomas Durkin will join his father William as the only father and son to be inducted into the MetLife Hall of Fame based on financial services over the years.

Thomas Durkin, who has been with MetLife for the past 30 years, joins his father William, who was inducted in 1987 after just 10 years in sales.

"I knew I might be close on the points, but I was surprised when I received the call," Tom Durkin said. "This is the last Hall of Fame induction by MetLife, so it was good that I was able to get in with my father."

MetLife, which has been around since the 19th century, began a Hall of Fame in 1977 and set stringent standards for induction. At the time that Barrington resident William Durkin was inducted in 1987, he was only the 40th out of over 15,000 potential candidates to achieve Hall of Fame status. His photo is on the wall at the central headquarters in New York City.

The MetLife Hall of Fame takes into account field force members who have displayed superior leadership, integrity and commitment to excellence along with having outstanding numbers of clients and production.

William Durkin joined MetLife shortly before his father Thomas was completing his 40th year.

"I started out in Danbury, Connecticut, and was there as an agent for a year and a half and then went to Middletown, Connecticut, as an assistant manager," William Durkin said.

He spent time working in New York State before being made a district manager in Fall River in 1967 as he grew his client base.

While MetLife is know as a premier insurance agency, it has a financial planning component. William Durkin was building an impressive resume of clients, mostly in the Greater Fall River area, thanks to hours of effort.

"I would put in 13-hour days," William said. "I found that the harder you work, the luckier you get."

What also made his Hall of Fame induction remarkable was that he built his client base in an area that is not known for being high-income.

"In 1980-81 I was the leading producer in the country. I was at a convention in New Orleans and they thought I must have come from a high-income area," William said. "The people here are just as concerned about their future. I did my best to provide service for them."

He noted that there are ethical standards and compliance regulations that the field force would have to maintain.

William Durkin said he made a number of connections while a member of the Quequechan Club, where he served as president.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at Laguna Beach in California.

His son Thomas was not sure that he was going to get into the insurance business after graduating from Boston College in 1982.

"I had not seriously considered it until I was in my mid 20s," said Tom Durkin, and then added of his father. "I had a great mentor. It would not have happened without him. I owe so much to him. He was a great teacher and role model and example. He is someone well respected in the community."

He and his father worked together until William's retirement in 1995. Tom Durkin was able to grow his father's base of 700 to 800 clients up to approximately 1,500 using the same hard work ethic and did it without advertising.

"There is a lot of word of mouth. We have a reputation," Tom Durkin said. "There are clients here in retirement and pre-retirement. I have clients aged 29 to their 80s."

Tom Durkin said having a sister who is an attorney (Marita Durkin Gray) working in the same office is a big help for services she can provide for clients. He is adding a certified public account in July. He pointed out that today there is more sensitivity to the risk tolerance that a client would have.

He has his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Certified Long Term Care (CTLC) status. The CLTC certification came after an intensive three-day course while the CLU and ChFC required 13 courses over several years.

The MetLife has closed out its field agents and Tom Durkin is now working with MassMutual, which made him an offer. With MetLife closing out its field agents, the Durkins will be the only father-son combination to ever get into the Hall of Fame.

Tom Durkin noted that fewer people were working in the field, going from 15,000 to 3,500 in recent years.

"The average age of the field agents when I started was 32 years old and now it is 57 years old," Tom Durkin said of the trend. He noted with pride his family's legacy with MetLife.

"There has been someone from the family working for MetLife since Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic (1927)," Tom Durkin said.

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