Met Life to Acquire St. Paul Unit

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., the No. 2 U.S. life insurer, will buy St. Paul Cos.’ car and home insurance business for $600 million as it seeks to expand and increase the efficiency of its property and casualty unit. Met Life said the purchase will make it the 12th-largest U.S. insurer of homes and autos, up from 20th, with annual premiums of $2.7 billion. The New York-based insurer will gain access to St. Paul’s 3,000 independent agents, more than doubling its stable of property and casualty agents who sell for multiple companies. Met Life, a mutual insurer owned by its policyholders, has been cutting costs and trying to boost sales in anticipation of conversion to public ownership, perhaps in six to 12 months. Met Life has a network of 11,000 agents that sell insurance exclusively for the company. St. Paul said the sale will let the St. Paul, Minn.-based company concentrate on insuring business property and liabilities and on reinsuring other insurance companies.