New Leadership Revamps MassMutual's Northwest Ohio Agency

TOLEDO, Ohio, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) announced Bruce Klinger will lead its Northwest Ohio Agency.

Klinger is a financial services industry veteran who previously worked for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for more than three decades, starting as an agent and then moving up into management roles.

Klinger moved to MassMutual to lead his own agency and create a greater impact in the Toledo area. Job creation and helping small business owners and families succeed in a vacillating economy are among his most important priorities, Klinger said.      

Klinger and MassMutual intend to fill more than 20 financial services positions this year with additional spots in 2013. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services [ODJFS] is projecting a near 4 percent increase in insurance and finance positions by 2018.

"Our mission is to impact our community's security by providing solid financial information and services to the public as well as create viable career opportunities in the community we choose to do business in," he said. "This agency, under the former leadership of Dale Seymour, has had a lasting effect on family and business wellbeing in the area. I intend to build on that."

Seymour recently retired.

The Northwest Ohio Agency has more than 23,000 clients in the Toledo area and more than 2.5 billion dollars of life insurance coverage in force protecting area families and small businesses.    

"Bruce has the business acumen and experience to continue to build on MassMutual's commitment to Northwest Ohio. Today many families have felt the need to cut back on insurance and other protection products perhaps when they need it the most. Bruce and his team are ready to provide solutions and help Ohioans make good financial decisions that will protect their loved ones and their retirement dreams," said John Vaccaro, Senior Vice President of Sales & Distribution for MassMutual.

Making a personal impact is what has helped Klinger remain in financial services for the past three decades.

"I was 23 when I realized the power of how this business helps people. One of my first clients died suddenly. It was my responsibility to visit his widow at their house," he said. "I had no idea what to expect. When I showed up, I was nervous. She hugged me and said thank you. You don't think about death or what can happen when you are 23. But that moment gave me perspective on what is important in life and that memory will stay with me for the rest of my own life."

Klinger said the main focus of MassMutual Northwest Ohio will be to underscore the value of products like whole life insurance to resident and business owners.

"Ohio has been through a lot with plant closures and other hard times. Like much of the country there is a shrinking social safety net. People and business owners need to plan financially like never before and consider conservative financial products like whole life insurance that grow in cash value over time to help round out their nest egg," he said.

Klinger has a Masters of Organizational Leadership from Lourdes University and a B.S in Accounting from Binghamton University. He resides in Sylvania with his wife Jayne and their 13-year-old daughter Samantha.

About MassMutual
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders every year since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or find MassMutual on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+.

Contact: Patty Norris Lubold
(413) 744-6957

SOURCE MassMutual