MetLife Opens First P&C Shop in State
by October 25, 2004 12:00 am 123 views
Denny Ledford became MetLife Auto & Home’s first property and casualty specialist in Arkansas on Sept. 20 when he opened an office in Pea Ridge. The 700-SF branch on Slack Street offers the firm’s Signature One program, which features group discounts to businesses and qualified entities, and other P&C products.
Publicly traded conglomerate MetLife Inc. of New York already had about 25 financial services agents in the state including six in Northwest Arkansas. But Ledford represents the auto and home subsidiary’s first foray into the market.
Ledford said he has already written polices for customers as far away as Pine Bluff.
“There are a lot of people moving into Northwest Arkansas from other larger metropolitan areas who have had MetLife before and they still want our products,” Ledford said.
Rick Cohen, director of MetLife Auto & Home in Kansas City, said the firm intends to “step up” its local presence with the addition of “talented and caring advisers like [Ledford].”
The P&C division previously targeted other areas of the country it thought would be the most profitable, but Cohen said it’s time for a push into “the Natural State.”
“In the last six months,” Cohen said, “we’ve really taken a hard look at Northwest Arkansas, and it’s a no-brainer that we need to be there.”
Ledford, 43, is an Elkins native. He earned his master’s degree in human resources management in 2001 from Webster University’s Fayetteville campus and most recently was a sales representative for Menco Industrial Supply Co. in Springdale.
The firm had $43.3 million in 2003 Arkansas life insurance premiums, up 13 percent from $38.3 in 2002, according to the state insurance department. Its accident and health insurance premiums in the state rose 9.5 percent from $9.5 million in 2002 to $10.4 million in 2003.