With 2009 being one of the worst years on record for both the auto and home industries, it seems logical that voluntary auto and homeowner insurance policies would have suffered a decline as well. Not so, say two of the industry's leading carriers. Both MetLife and Travelers actually saw worksite sales increase during the recession.

MetLife sales grew 11.5% from 2008 to 2009. "We've just come off of a very good year," says Karen Manning, vice president, customer sales and service.

Travelers credits their sales growth to recession-driven savings efforts by homeowners and employers that motivated them to search for the best deal. The recession has "impacted all companies to an extent, but hasn't impacted us dramatically," says Peter Crichton, vice president of business development for Travelers Personal Insurance. "While it's true that car purchases and home purchases ... drive auto and home insurance purchases, other things also drive auto and home insurance purchases - for example, refinancing of homes, which is actually slightly up year over year. Also, companies were looking to shop their auto and home policies in an effort to save money or to obtain better coverage. Some of those things going on at the same time have offset [the decline]."

Of course, achieving sales growth requires not only new employer contracts, but also what Manning refers to as "the second sale" - employee participation. MetLife more than doubled their goal of 800,000 new eligible employees. The company reached almost two million and sold approximately 246,000 policies. However, not all divisions saw growth. Retail sales "were pretty flat," but Manning is happy with where group sales are taking them. She attributes the group interest in part to the fact that MetLife's group auto/home division operates under a separate company. "We've been able to tailor our discounts and coverage offerings for the group," she says. "Payroll deduction, employment tenure discount, special vehicle rating groups that reflect how vehicles are used (not just how much they cost), all those things together allow us to have a very competitive price."

Payroll deduction in particular has been a driving force behind the sales. Manning used to underestimate the draw of no down payments, but "in this environment that really makes a difference."

Brokers and consultants play a key role in communicating the benefits of purchasing auto and homeowner insurance through the workplace, says Crichton. "It's often a broker that helps the company just understand how these programs work and the benefits in offering the program," he says, adding that they also help set expectations about what the policies mean and how many employees might sign up for them.

An effective communications strategy for auto and homeowner insurance is marketing it continuously throughout the year. "This is not an open enrollment-type program," says Crichton. "People will have their current insurance policies up for renewal throughout the year and that's when they're most likely to consider shopping, so we want to get word out to the employee base as often as possible."

While there was a "wave of innovations" in the marketplace a few years ago - identity theft coverage, safe driver deductible savings, new car replacement and a hybrid discount among them - "the product hasn't changed a whole lot in recent years," says Manning. "In the last couple of years the focus has been more on rate competitiveness than on product innovation across the industry."

Nonetheless, it's a mistake for consumers to have tunnel vision on rates, says Crichton. By forgetting factors such as ratings in financial strength, claims paying ability and use of local employees to settle claims, consumers may be making a big mistake.

Travelers has several product improvements in the works for 2010. On the homeowner front, a new discount is available for certified environmentally green repairs to a home. The company is also in the process of rolling out a paid-in-full discount for both auto and home policy premiums, and they recently launched a concierge claims program in which participants can bring a damaged vehicle to a Travelers facility to have the entire claims process managed and guaranteed for them as long as they own the vehicle.

Looking to the future, MetLife predicts continued growth for their auto and homeowner products, but perhaps not as aggressive as 2009 results. Marketing to small employers and associations is part of the growth strategy, says Manning. "Auto and home is a cornerstone voluntary benefit offering for MetLife," which already services 58 of the Fortune 100 companies, she says.

They're the "bread and butter products" for Travelers as well, says Crichton. "We've had two of our biggest years ever in terms of adding corporate clients," he says. After so many cutbacks, "this is a fairly easy way for the company to soften that impact to their employees by putting forth a program that allows them to help their employees save money on products they need to have anyway."