SEPTEMBER 2021 FOCUS OF THE MONTH
Life Insurance
FROM THE EDITOR
Not long after I got involved with ITL, going on eight years ago, I spoke at a conference where I heard an extraordinary question about life insurance. Following a presentation that highlighted the industry's desultory sales, an audience member stood up and said, "States require drivers to buy auto insurance. Banks require people to carry homeowners insurance if they have a mortgage. Do you think there's any way to have people be required to purchase life insurance?"
"Wow," I thought. "How bad off must the industry be if someone's best hope for increasing sales is to force people to buy the product?"
A lot has changed since then, as you can see from the six articles we're highlighting as part of this month's ITL Focus. The purchasing process has in many cases been sped up considerably, partly because of policies that no longer require medical exams or blood and urine tests. A better understanding of behavioral economics has helped carriers and agents get past some of the mental hurdles that have limited purchases. Some carriers are moving beyond the emphasis on the death benefit and providing what might be thought of as life benefits -- e.g., finding ways to encourage healthy behavior.
I suspect we're not even close to done with the progress. It seems to me that the lines will increasingly blur between life insurance and financial management, given that life insurance is an important financial asset; people often think about their finances, and life insurance can become a natural part of that focus. I could also see the trend toward embedded insurance expanding the life insurance market -- why couldn't a term life policy be, for instance, embedded in a mortgage when someone buys a building, to make sure the purchase is secure even if something happens to the buyer?
Over the years, I've had people tell me life insurance is boring. I don't see it that way at all.
- Paul Carroll, ITL's Editor-in-Chief
WHAT TO WATCH
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The Future of Blockchain: Usage in Life and AnnuitiesBlockchain is providing a solution for the insurance industry to share information easily and slash operating costs. Having explored the possibilities for blockchain in personal lines and commercial lines in P&C, we conclude our webinar series on the technology (for now) by taking a look at two use cases in life and annuities that are close to moving into production. |
WHAT TO READ
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What Is Happening to Life Insurance?IIS expert Ronnie Klein explores why so many are exiting individual life insurance, then explores a new model.
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How Life Insurers Can Reach MillennialsMillennials already understand the need for car and home insurance. The pandemic has given life insurers an opportunity.
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Behavioral Science and Life InsuranceCarriers must fully grasp human biases and behaviors and harness technologies to improve health.
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Where Does Life Insurance Go Now?Between the shift to a remote workforce, and the pandemic itself, life insurance had no choice but to evolve -- and there's no going back.
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Simplicity, Magic in Life Insurance SalesEverything we’ve learned about e-commerce design can be applied to the life insurance consumer--no matter where or how a policy is purchased.
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Solving Life Insurance Coverage GapWe are now seeing the fruits of our labors materialized into a genuine straight-through process for term life.
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WHO TO KNOW
Get to know this month's FOCUS article authors:
Samantha Chow |
Emmanuel Djengue |
Eric Gaubert |
International Insurance Society |
Sébastien Malherbe |
Christopher Snyder |
Mark Tattersall |
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