Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) began in 1851 in Springfield, Massachusetts. George W. Rice was a young insurance agent who worked for Connecticut Mutual Life and wanted to start a business in neighboring Massachusetts.
MassMutual was set up as, and continues to be, a mutual company- a company owned by the policy holders.
Expansion and aggressive marketing spurred MassMutual’s growth for the next thirty years. The company expanded nationwide, including westward to San Francisco, and employed a large amount of agents, who sold policies to homeowners and workers.
The stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression hit MassMutual hard. However, with the introduction of new products such as a pension trust policy, family-income policy, and group coverage. These helped them to recover previous losses and grow business once again.
MassMutual was reorganized in 1983 into four business segments: Individual Products, Group Life and Health, Group Pensions, and Investments.
In 1989 the company had $25 billion in assets. MassMutual became involved in mortgage lending.
In 1990 MassMutual began to diversify into mutual fund management. It created subsidiary Concert Capital Management in 1993 to oversee $52 million in retirement assets and endowment assets.
MassMutual merged with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1995, creating the fifth-largest mutual life insurance company in the United States.
Today MassMutual has 1800 offices and 13 million clients worldwide. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement plan services, and annuities. MassMutual has 10,000 employees and had $25 billion in revenue in 2010.
