MetLife Investors Distribution Co. has revamped its sales strategy as it prepares to integrate Travelers Life and Annuity, the big insurer its parent MetLife Inc. bought from Citigroup Inc. this summer for $11.5 billion.
MetLife's Newport, Calif., distribution subsidiary has shifted from a geographically based sales organization to one that distinguishes the type of institution being targeted, said Michael K. Farrell, the parent company's senior vice president of independent distribution.
"The key point is to deliver programs and services to focused clients," he said in an interview. "Our mantra is 'focus,' to the extent that if you're focused on a particular segment of the distribution platform you understand the specific needs and objectives of your clients and you can design product around those needs and objectives."
Before the reorganization, MetLife's salespeople were deployed to geographical territories under a single, national sales manager, he said. Now the distribution company, which has about 150 wholesalers, has been split into two sales organizations, one focused on annuities and long-term-care insurance and the other responsible for life insurance.
The annuity/long-term-care sales organization has, in turn, been subdivided into five distribution channels, four for annuities and a fifth for long-term-care insurance sales. Annuity sales have been organized around four channels - wire houses, independent planners, broker-dealers, and financial institutions like banks.
The life insurance sales team, likewise, has been divided into a channel for national accounts and one for independent companies and financial institutions. The national accounts channel includes sales through MetLife Investors' wealth management group.
The reorganization also merged the account management division, previously a separate unit of MetLife Investors, into the sales organizations, Mr. Farrell said. The account management team is responsible for client relationship management.
"We're rolling out new products because of the Travelers acquisition," Mr. Farrell said, "and we need to make sure that we're delivering the right kind of education and that client reps are comfortable with the new products and features."
Client education is particularly important in the bank channel because bank platform representatives typically are less familiar with insurance products than with traditional bank offerings, he said.
"We need to offer support through our sales desk so if the person on the platform has a question, they can get it answered quickly," Mr. Farrell said.
MetLife's sales in the bank channel have lagged this year because rates on bank certificates of deposit have gradually become competitive with fixed annuities' returns, he said. The Travelers purchase will enable MetLife to expand its menu of variable annuity offerings, however, which the company hopes will offset the slump in fixed annuity sales.
Travelers had developed proprietary insurance products in conjunction with its financial planning subsidiary, Duluth, Ga.-based Primerica Financial Services, and Citigroup's asset management arm, New York-based Smith Barney, he noted. These products, including the Marquis and Vintage annuities, have been added to the MetLife distribution platform, along with an asset allocation advice program sponsored by the Ibbotson Associates consulting firm in Chicago.
MetLife also plans to offer more insurance products that guarantee income for the life of the policyholder, Mr. Farrell said.
The annuity/long-term-care sales organization is led by Paul Sylvester, who has been instrumental in developing MetLife Investors' individual long-term-care insurance business. Paul LaPiana, who joined MetLife Investors in 2001 as the executive vice president of the wealth management group, is heading up the life insurance sales organization.
Mr. Sylvester and Mr. LaPiana report directly to Mr. Farrell.
