MetLife Asia President Lyndon Oliver, center, poses with MetLife Korea executives and employees at the 2024 Expert FSR Summit at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, July 10. Courtesy of MetLife Korea

MetLife Korea is enhancing training and operational support for its financial sales representatives (FSRs), so that it can meet increasing demand for expert services among corporate and high-net-worth clients, the insurer said Wednesday.

As a part of the measures, MetLife Korea held its first-ever 2024 Expert FSR Summit at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on July 10. The insurer shared its plans to develop expert agents and help them provide the best service possible. Expert FSRs are talented professionals such as doctors, lawyers, certified public accountants, tax accountants, patent attorneys, labor attorneys and appraisers who also work as insurance sales agents.

Expert agents are in demand because customers are increasingly finding it challenging to navigate tax and legal issues surrounding inheritance and donations. From 2019 to 2024, the number of MetLife Korea's expert FSRs increased by an average of 72 percent per annum.

Today, they work with other agents to provide in-depth expertise, enabling customers to receive comprehensive advice and solutions tailored to their insurance and savings needs.

More than 250 attendees including MetLife leaders and expert FSRs participated in the summit, reinforcing the vision for the team and sharing success stories.

"Korea is the important market for MetLife," MetLife Asia President Lyndon Oliver said during the summit.

"MetLife has built a respected brand in this market. Our goal is to set new benchmarks in customer care, product innovation and growth, so that we can stand out from our competitors," he said.

MetLife Korea CEO Song Young-rok said MetLife will reinforce the professional service.

"We will deliver a tailored program for expert FSRs to provide multi-faceted support for their growth, and also reinforce the professional consulting service for our corporate and high net-worth customers to address labor, tax and legal issues," Song said.

MetLife Korea, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, recently unveiled its ambition to become one of the top five life insurers in Korea in the next five years.