Growing market share the "old-fashioned" way

St. Paul, MN, September 7, 2004 — While some group life insurers grow their books of business with acquisitions, Minnesota Life, the nation’s seventh largest group life insurer, attributes its growth to new sales and satisfied clients.

In the latest A.M. Best report, Minnesota Life ended 2003 with the seventh largest book of group life business with nearly $313 billion in force. That’s an 18 percent increase over 2002 — none of it resulting from acquisitions. The company’s five-year compound annual growth rate in group life insurance in force is more than 20 percent; compared to the 6.7 percent average of the six larger group life writers.

"We’re growing", said Jim Johnson, Senior Vice President, "by providing more value." Minnesota Life offers online underwriting, claim filing, and account management for employees through a web site that appears as a page on the employer’s intranet. And when employees need help while they are online managing their accounts, they can send an instant message to a Minnesota Life customer services representative whose name and photo pops up, along with a greeting and an offer of assistance.

Client retention rates show the value strategy is working; the company’s three-year average lapse rate is 2.2 percent, while the top six writers’ average rate during the period was nine percent. In Minnesota Life’s most recent client satisfaction survey, group clients gave the company a remarkable 99 percent approval rating.

Minnesota Life has provided customized group life insurance programs to government, business, and associations for more than 80 years. It is highly rated by the major independent rating agencies that analyze the financial soundness and claims-paying ability of insurance companies. Read the A.M. Best report (pdf, 111k).

Contact: Maggie Jensen, 651-665-7558, maggie.jensen@securian.com