INSURANCE

Metlife Agents Defied Warnings: Two years ago, a senior Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. executive issued a stern warning to agents in the company’s Tampa, Fla., office to stop sending misleading sales letters to potential customers, but the internal order didn’t stop the letters. A company audit six weeks later found that Tampa agents were still mailing the literature to nurses as business prospects. The letters used “improper or misleading statements,” auditors said, referring to insurance premiums as “deposits” and describing life insurance as an investment and a retirement savings plan. Only last week did the mailings stop, the company says. At least five states--Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and West Virginia--are examining the letters sent to potential customers in these areas. New York-based Metropolitan is the country’s second-largest life insurer with more than $150 billion in total assets.