MetLife sells home and vehicle biz to Zurich’s Farmers for $4B

NEW YORK (AP) — MetLife is providing its dwelling and auto insurance policies organization to Farmers Group for $3.94 billion, the insurers explained Friday.

The offer is aspect of a 10-12 months strategic partnership in which Farmers, which is owned by Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance Group, will get obtain to MetLife’s network of agents and just take around its property and casualty procedures.

Farmers will be also capable to sell individual insurance plan items through MetLife’s team gains platforms. MetLife says that entry will let Farmers to achieve 3,800 employers and about 37 million qualified staff.

Shares in MetLife, based mostly in New York City, slipped a lot more than 1%.

Analysts count on much more consolidation in the insurance policy sector, which has viewed important losses thanks to the coronavirus outbreak.

Last thirty day period, RSA Insurance plan, a person of the U.K.’s oldest coverage providers, agreed to a takeover by Canada’s Intact Economic Corp. and Denmark’s Tryg in a money offer that valued it at about $9.4 billion.

Even before the virus outbreak, providers have been in search of acquisitions to cut prices. Late previous calendar year, New York Lifetime obtained the group existence and disability coverage business enterprise of the insurance company Cigna for extra than $6 billion.

MetLife and Farmers are hoping to shut the offer in the second quarter of 2021. MetLife expects to be divested of its house and casualty enterprise in the 1st quarter 2021.

Farmers was launched in 1928 in Los Angeles and acquired by Zurich in 1998.

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