By Susan Rupe
December 21, 2018
The life insurance industry continues to go
through transitions and disruptions. But agents are still needed, a new survey
finds.
Consumers may go
online to get information about life insurance, but advice from an agent is
still a big part of the insurance-buying process.
That was the word
from Deloitte’s annual Insurance Industry Outlook for 2019.
“We found that
consumers want to do self-directed research when they are interested in buying
life insurance. And then, after they do the research and talk with family and
friends, they still want to talk to an advisor,” said Gary Shaw, Deloitte vice
chairman and U.S. leader for insurance.
“We also found that
25 percent of consumers said they were interested in going direct and buying
life insurance online, but only 10 percent actually do.”
What this means is
that consumers acknowledge that the life insurance purchase decision is
significant, said Kevin Sharps, a principal in the Deloitte Consulting
Insurance practices. “But the opportunity for the advisor to show up at the
right point in time around the point of sale and provide the right amount of
advice is becoming narrower.”
Carriers are still
spending much effort advertising their products to consumers, Shaw said. But
the flat rate of premium growth shows that “it’s just not moving the needle.”
One thing that the
researchers found, Sharps said, is that the life insurance industry is prepared
to serve high net worth individuals but not the middle market.
“We’re not bringing
consumers in from that middle market and growing with their needs," he
added. "Consumers still very much value advice and they want and need an
advisor around the purchase process.”
The industry used
to depend on its agent field force to educate consumers about life insurance,
he said. But he foresees that field force being replaced by what he called a
carrier/advisor/consumer partnership.
He described it as
“building the right kind of digital marketing capabilities that generate
awareness and then routing the right consumer to the right advisor at the right
time.”
So what should an
advisor do in the new year?
“Stay optimistic,”
Sharps said. “It’s a challenging marketplace, but it’s rewarding.
“The industry
overall is full of bright, creative people. When it finds the right idea, it
tends to get behind it in a big way.”
Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly
served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was
an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her atSusan.Rupe@innfeedback.com. Follow her
on Twitter @INNsusan.
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