Henry S. Terry
Co-founder 1868Background
A prominent New York merchant and business leader in the post-Civil War era, Henry S. Terry possessed a profound understanding of the economic instability faced by urban working families. He served as the first president of the initial board, providing the visionary leadership and institutional credibility required to establish a mutual life insurance company that would operate with transparency and actuarial rigor.
Role at MetLife, Inc.
MetLife (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company) possesses a historic, foundational founding story, rooted in the precarious industrial expansion of post-Civil War America and defined by a revolutionary, empathetic approach to working-class financial security. The company was founded in 1868 in New York City by an ambitious group of local businessmen. Initially, the company was a failure; it attempted to sell traditional life insurance to wealthy individuals, but the market was saturated and the company nearly went bankrupt. The world-changing pivot occurred in 1879 under the visionary leadership of President Joseph F. Knapp. Knapp possessed a foundational 'eureka' moment after studying the successful 'industrial insurance' programs operating in Great Britain. At the time, the rapidly expanding class of American factory workers possessed no financial safety net; if a factory worker died, their family often could not even afford a basic funeral, resulting in shameful 'pauper's graves.' Knapp revolutionized American insurance by importing the British system. MetLife began selling 'Workingman's Insurance.' The masterstroke was the ingenious, localized payment structure. Instead of requiring an annual premium, MetLife employed an army of trusted local agents who physically walked the impoverished tenement neighborhoods of New York City, collecting premiums of just three to five cents a week directly from the workers. This localized, accessible model transformed MetLife from a struggling, elitist startup into a powerful, trusted institution that stabilized the American working class.