By Harry N. Stout | October 28, 2020 at 02:03 AM
A former F&G president has ideas for increasing families'
access to private-sector solutions.
The pandemic has exposed the weak financial
foundations of American families. Emergency funds have been depleted,
retirement funds prematurely accessed, the lack of individual, non-employer
based life insurance protection exposed and the politically charged availability
of government provided safety net benefits made clear for all to see.
Most families have come to the realization
that they cannot depend on the government to be the last resort protector for
their major financial risks.
This is where expanded, more easily accessed
private sector solutions are needed. The insurance industry can provide
solutions to help minimize or eliminate many of the personal financial risks
Americans face. This can only be done, however, if consumers can have wider and
better access to the industry’s products and services. In so many ways our
current business practices and regulatory framework have a post-World War II
look and feel to them.
Despite growing consumer needs for protection
and retirement solutions, industry sales of life insurance and annuity products
has been stable to declining for decades. New individual life insurance sales
do not usually grow at the rate of GDP increase or in excess of the rate of
inflation. At the same time individual life insurance ownership continues to
decline year after year.
Recently, the pandemic has increased consumer
demand for protection products, which is long overdue. The industry’s
retirement offering of annuity products has suffered a similar fate with new
sales remaining around the quarter of trillion dollar level for a decade.
However, if you really look at new money sales
(not including 1035 exchanges), I think we would all be surprised at the amount
of new money flowing into the annuity industry. This is occurring at a time
when protected lifetime income and tax deferral are more important for
consumers than ever before.
So what can be done to expand the industry’s
sales pie? Here are eight ideas.
1. Financial Education
We mandate more training to get a driver’s
license than we do to manage our personal financial affairs. Most Americans of
all ages do not understand the basics of personal financial management.
Mandated and expanded financial education is obviously needed. A consumer will
not look to purchase a financial protection product if they do not understand
the risks they are protecting against.
2. Regulatory Rebuild
We have a state-based regulation system that
needs a shot in the arm to promote innovation and creativity. How can the
industry deliver Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions when dealing with an
underfunded and overworked regulatory framework?
3. Redefining Fixed
Products
With risk-free interest rates hovering around
zero it is clearly time to rethink what a fixed insurance product looks like.
For example, minimum fixed annuity contract guarantees could be reduced to
allow for losses of principal of up to 10% to 15%.
If this were the case, the large population of
life only contracted agents could sell some form of buffered annuity products
that currently offer a very good combination of upside and downside protections
for the consumer.
4. Digitalization
A regulatory environment should be created
that promotes actions taken to use available technology tools to improve
consumer product access and service delivery. The speed of technological change
will pass the industry by if it does not have the ability to use FinTech tools
that are being created.
5. Simple Products
A new category of simple products that allow
easier consumer access and purchase availability (with fewer regulatory
requirements) should be investigated. For example, simple life, fixed rate and
indexed products could be brought to market with lower dollar minimums and
simpler contracts. These products should be designed to be sold over the
internet with all related contract provisions and regulatory needs streamlined.
6. Combination
Products
A new category of products could be created
that covers life, health, wellness, disability and retirement risks in a
simpler to understand and purchase framework. Consumers need to accumulate more
assets to fund their longer life expectancies and related costs.
7. Trust Building
The industry needs to have a focused effort to
improve its image and trust scores. We see each year that consumers have a lack
of trust in buying certain of the industry’s products.
8. Sales Practice
Reform
We need to decide on our regulatory model for
sales practices as the current environment confuses the consumer. How can
consumers deal with the ever evolving flow of sales practice regulations,
including Reg. BI, a changing DOL Fiduciary Rule and new NAIC model annuity
sales practice requirements? We would all be better off with a holistic
cost/benefit review of how product sales are regulated.
Growing the industry sales pie to better
address consumer needs will take a combined effort of legislators, regulators,
insurance carriers and distribution organizations of all shapes and sizes.
America needs more private sector financial protections in place as our
government cannot provide complete personal financial safety nets for everyone.
Given the reset opportunity the pandemic has given us, the time is right for
collective action.
Harry N. Stout has been the president of Fidelity & Guaranty
Life, deputy chief executive of Old Mutual Financial Network, and managing
director of Insurance Insight Group. He is also the author of The
FinancialVerse personal finance books.
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