MetLife CFO: Gaining Market Share In Every Line Of Business
September 15 2009 - 9:15AM
Dow Jones News
Insurer MetLife Inc. (MET) is gaining market share in every one
of its lines of business, the company's chief financial officer
said Tuesday.
The company has had record fixed- and variable-annuity deposits,
good individual and group life insurance sales and a "significant
increase" in structured settlement sales, said CFO William J.
Wheeler at an investment conference sponsored by Barclays Capital
and broadcast over the Internet.
In recent quarters, MetLife has grown to a 15% market share in
variable annuity sales.
"The question is do we want a 15% market share," Wheeler said,
referring to rising costs in the product, which tracks broader
equity markets.
Sales increases in variable annuities in the beginning of the
year amounted to something of a "fire sale," as MetLife and other
annuity sellers prepared to cut benefits and raise prices on
variable annuity products. Some of the sales uptick was due to
customers rushing to buy the older version of the product.
Wheeler said the recession has had some unexpected effects on
various lines of business.
In its disability insurance business, MetLife's claims usually
rise during a recession, but that hasn't happened, Wheeler said,
echoing remarks made by other disability insurers. "We don't know
if that will last," Wheeler said.
MetLife is the largest group dental insurance carrier and
Wheeler said the company has seen "a large spike" in dental claims,
which he said is another effect of the recession.
With regard to its life insurance business, Wheeler said
individual mortality rates were very low in the second quarter,
which is a good thing. But longer term, Wheeler said he remains
concerned that "we and some of our competitiors sometimes get too
competitive" in pricing those products.
Shares of MetLife dropped 0.4% in early trading to $39.41.
-By Lavonne Kuykendall, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4141;
lavonne.kuykendall@dowjones.com