MetLife 2008 Annual Report Download - page 216

22. Business Segment Information
The Company is a leading provider of individual insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the
United States and the regions of Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Subsequent to the disposition of RGA and the elimination of the
Reinsurance segment as described in Notes 2 and 23, the Company’s business is divided into four operating segments: Institutional,
Individual, International, and Auto & Home, as well as Corporate & Other. These segments are managed separately because they either
provide different products and services, require different strategies or have different technology requirements.
Institutional offers a broad range of group insurance and retirement & savings products and services, including group life insurance,
non-medical health insurance, such as short and long-term disability, long-term care, and dental insurance, and other insurance products
and services. Individual offers a wide variety of protection and asset accumulation products, including life insurance, annuities and mutual
funds. International provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, annuities and retirement & savings products to both individuals
and groups. Auto & Home provides personal lines property and casualty insurance, including private passenger automobile, homeowners
and personal excess liability insurance.
Corporate & Other contains the excess capital not allocated to the business segments, various start-up entities, MetLife Bank and run-
off entities, as well as interest expense related to the majority of the Company’s outstanding debt and expenses associated with certain
legal proceedings and income tax audit issues. Corporate & Other also includes the elimination of all intersegment amounts, which
generally relate to intersegment loans, which bear interest rates commensurate with related borrowings, as well as intersegment
transactions. The operations of RGA are also reported in Corporate & Other as discontinued operations. Additionally, the Company’s
asset management business, including amounts reported as discontinued operations, is included in the results of operations for
Corporate & Other. See Note 23 for disclosures regarding discontinued operations, including real estate.
Economic capital is an internally developed risk capital model, the purpose of which is to measure the risk in the business and to provide
a basis upon which capital is deployed. The economic capital model accounts for the unique and specific nature of the risks inherent in
MetLife’s businesses. As a part of the economic capital process, a portion of net investment income is credited to the segments based on
the level of allocated equity.
F-93MetLife, Inc.
MetLife, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)