Tess Grace

What’s In Store In 2022?

It’s often said challenges reveal character. At Mutual of Omaha, our customer-centric purpose and talented associates have enabled our company to continue navigating one of the most challenging periods in our 112-year history.

Despite the ongoing presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to stand strong, helping our customers stay in their homes, keep their kids in school, pay their medical bills, protect their income when they’re sick and address countless other financial needs.

While the pandemic remains the most significant force in the external environment, there are many other drivers of change and uncertainty affecting the industry: Social unrest, economic volatility, digital acceleration, InsurTech growth, regulatory changes and increased competition for talent. We continue to closely monitor these forces to ensure Mutual of Omaha is well positioned to respond and compete in this rapidly changing landscape.

Our Unwavering Commitment
Amid the uncertainty, one constant is Mutual of Omaha’s commitment to its customers. As a highly rated mutual company, we are owned by our policyholders and driven to meet their changing needs, preferences and expectations. We strive to be a strong, stable and secure partner they can count on, especially during these unique times.

A major component of fulfilling our promises to our customers is partnering with you—our trusted brokers. Perhaps now more than ever, consumers are seeking sound advice and we are here to support you in serving your clients and providing an outstanding experience.

In 2021, Mutual of Omaha made some significant enhancements for our brokers and customers:

• We increased our guarantee to age 90 on our Life Protection Advantage IUL product. This protection-focused IUL offers coverage to age 120 at competitive premiums and now the option to guarantee coverage to age 90. We also offer a guaranteed refund option, no cap on an index loan, and early access to the death benefit for long term care, terminal and chronic illness policies.
• We monitored the 7702 regulation, which placed our product in a competitive position in cash accumulation/income within the IUL marketplace. Our Income Advantage product has some of the lowest internal costs in the industry.
• Our Guaranteed Refund Option rider (GRO) now has an increased maximum benefit amount of 50 percent to 80 percent of the specified death benefit. This rider provides clients with an extra safety net and added peace of mind with their IUL policy.
• Living benefits on our IUL Express product come at no cost to your client. This accelerated death benefit rider for terminal, chronic and critical illness may allow your clients to access a portion of the death benefit early.
• Our fully underwritten products (Life Protection IUL, Income Advantage IUL and AccumUL Answers) are now available on Drop Ticket on iPipeline, streamlining the application process.
• United of Omaha’s Indexed Universal Life products are now available to bridge into the InsMark Illustration software, which helps create concepts that demonstrate the long-term benefits of purchasing permanent life insurance.
• We introduced a new optional Dental Savings Plan for customers. This discount program makes it easy for members and their families to enjoy substantial savings at the time of service. It’s affordable and a simple solution to get the dental care clients need.
• We created and released a new Prescription Drug Plan e-app for the 2022 plan year. The new e-app allows you to do what you do best—sell! Now you can conveniently view your scope of appointment forms, applications and status updates on the e-app dashboard.
• We continued to help customers save money by offering competitive Medicare supplement rates.
• We focused on the broker experience and enhancing interactions with key services areas.
• We improved automated underwriting for Medicare supplement e-applications, providing decisions within two minutes of submission.
• Our multipolicy discount for dental insurance is now available in most states when clients purchase Med supp and dental coverage together.

Looking Ahead to 2022
In 2022, we will continue to build on our efforts to meet the evolving needs of consumers and their brokers with new solutions, services and technology enhancements:

• We will focus on adding more products to our e-application platform and streamlining the application submission and underwriting processes to provide an exceptional broker experience.
• We will continue to offer competitively priced IUL plans and evaluate marketplace positioning to bring you and your clients the most valuable IUL products.
• We will continue to focus on growing our business in the Simplified Issue and Indexed Universal Life product market.
• We will expand and improve our digital capabilities to provide convenient options for our sales partners and customers.
• We will continue to offer competitively priced Medicare supplement plans and value-add options for our senior-age clients.
• We will expand our commitment to the senior dental space in order to provide more customers with comprehensive health care coverage.

Since our founding, Mutual of Omaha has been delivering solid financial solutions for customers through every stage of life. We remain committed to our brokerage community and look forward to a continued strong and successful partnership in 2022. [TG] [RM]

Excellence In The Face Of Adversity

What a year we just experienced! The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of daily life. It has changed how people interact and how businesses operate. Consumers, brokers and insurance carriers are relying on technology to communicate and conduct business, making digital services more important than ever.

Beyond the pandemic, we’ve seen uncertainty in many aspects of our society in 2020, including a heightened focus on racial and economic inequalities. While Mutual of Omaha has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, we announced an initial set of additional actions to promote positive, meaningful change when it comes to social justice, both within our company and in our communities.

One step we took was retiring the Native American imagery associated with our corporate logo. In November, we unveiled our new corporate logo—a lion. This symbol of protection and strength represents who we are as a company and reflects our mission, values and loyalty to you and our customers.

Thriving in a Complex Environment
The health and safety of our associates, our customers, our business partners and our communities has been our highest priority and continues to guide our pandemic response, which we anticipate will continue for the foreseeable future.

Mutual of Omaha has responded to the uncertainties posed by the pandemic with great resiliency. We are committed to being a carrier of choice in a competitive landscape and continuing to operate with excellence. We remain financially strong and stable, able to withstand today’s challenges to fulfill the long-term promises we make.

We understand today’s business environment is moving rapidly and it’s critical for brokers to respond to their customers’ needs efficiently and effectively.

In order to support you in that endeavor, Mutual of Omaha implemented some notable enhancements in 2020:

• We launched Mutual Income Solutions^SM, a new disability income insurance solution. This product features expanded occupation classes, extended benefit periods and an increased maximum monthly benefit of $20,000. It also includes an electronic-only experience for sales professionals and customers.
• We monitored the AG49-A changes that could have affected our indexed universal life (IUL) products. The new regulation ultimately supported our long-standing commitment to developing simple, client-friendly IUL solutions. Our products did not require any changes as a result of AG49-A, and we’re proud to continue offering the same low-cost IUL products that can help your clients achieve their financial goals.
• We introduced Mutual of Omaha Premier, a new competitive prescription drug plan that offers a low monthly premium option for customers age 65 and over.
• We added our simplified issue IUL Express product to the iPipeline e-App, which includes a point-of-sale underwriting decision.
• We helped our customers save money by improving Medicare supplement rate competitiveness in several states.
• To enable convenient cross-selling for brokers, we added the Cancer and Heart Attack/Stroke products to the Med supp e-application.

Looking Ahead to 2021
In 2021, we will build on our strong, stable and secure foundation and continue to deliver value in many ways:

• We will focus on enhancing and streamlining our application submission and underwriting processes to provide an exceptional broker experience.
• We will continue to offer competitively priced Med supp plans and related offerings that add value to our senior health portfolio.
• We will continue to grow our market share in the simplified issue and indexed universal life product space.
• We will expand and improve our digital capabilities to provide convenient options for our sales partners and customers.

We look forward to working together to continue meeting the evolving needs of customers, especially during these unprecedented times. You’re an important part of our mutual success, and we appreciate the confidence you place in us. [TG] [RM]

2020 Vision: Looking To The Future

As we look to 2020, consumers, brokers and insurance carriers alike face a common reality: Our world is as complex as it’s ever been.
Technology continues to change at a rapid pace. We’ve evolved from smart phones to smart homes—digital devices are at the core of our daily lives. Technology has transformed the way consumers approach purchases, the way brokers reach consumers and the way carriers support both.

Political and economic headlines dominate the news, causing uncertainty for consumers and businesses. These realities influence the way we think and plan.

Interest rates remain at historically low levels. This sustained trend impacts the way consumers invest and save and the way brokers advise those consumers.

Healthcare costs continue to rise at an increasing rate. This trend impacts the way seniors approach insurance purchase decisions, as well as the way younger consumers plan for retirement.

And the list goes on. The only constant in today’s world is change. So, what does all of this mean for brokers and insurance carriers in 2020?

The Importance of Trust
In such a rapidly changing and complex world, consumers are increasingly seeking advice from sources they trust. Individuals and companies they can count on.

For 110 years our focus has been on earning the trust of our customers. As a highly-rated mutual company we are owned by our policyholders, so our interests are fully aligned with our customers. Our commitment to those customers is to fulfill the promises we make and to be a strong partner they can count on.

We continue to invest in new technology to address the changing needs of consumers and brokers. We continue to listen to customers, acting on what we hear to enhance the customer experience. And we continue to make sound financial decisions to ensure our long-term strength and stability.

In 2019, Mutual of Omaha partnered with brokers to continue earning the trust of their customers in some key ways:

• We introduced a new IUL Express product and promoted the solidity and strength of our IUL Advantage and IUL Protection products through our IUL Strong campaign.
• We introduced a new 5- and 7-year guaranteed deferred annuity product—Ultra Premier Annuity.
• We enhanced several underwriting tools including automated underwriting screen mobility, a smoother email signature process, a touch-enabled signing process and the ability to get a decision day or night.
• We provided updated long term care Cost of Care data to our field.
• We updated our products to comply with the 2017 CSO Tables.
• We expanded our Medicare Advantage product into two new markets—Dallas and Denver.
• We enhanced our Medicare supplement offerings with the nationwide release of a new High-Deductible Plan G and our new wellness program, Mutually Well.

In 2020, we will build on our strong, stable and secure foundation as a preferred insurance carrier and continue to earn the trust of brokers and customers in a variety of ways:

• We will be making some pricing adjustments on our Living Promise Level and Graded products to ensure our solutions are delivering value to customers in a competitive marketplace.
• We will be discontinuing our GUL product effective January 1, 2020, to focus on other more competitive and value-added solutions.
• We will continue to add automated underwriting for additional life insurance products.
• We will continue to expand technologies with e-applications and mobile quoting.
• We are continuing to refine the auto-issue process for our Children’s Whole Life product.
• We are working to develop and launch a new and improved Disability Income product.
• We will continue to focus on providing our customers age 65 and over competitive products that meet their healthcare needs.

Since 1909, Mutual of Omaha has been delivering solid financial solutions for every customer at every stage of life. We remain committed to our brokerage community, positioning you for success in 2020 and beyond. [TG] [RM]

What’s Important in 2019?
The one constant in today’s marketplace is change. As cliché as it may sound, it’s true.

We are experiencing change at an increasingly rapid pace. Gone are the days of a 24-hour news cycle – headlines are now real time, delivered to consumers on mobile devices. Those same mobile devices have changed consumer expectations dramatically. People have access to an unprecedented amount of information at their fingertips, empowering them to make well-informed decisions and purchases.

Consumer reviews and social media have made it possible for individuals to share their knowledge and experiences broadly, shaping brand perceptions in the marketplace. In this environment, businesses are constantly working to ensure they are meeting —and exceeding—consumer expectations. The ability to be nimble and responsive is a prerequisite to business success.

So what does all this mean for the insurance industry? And how will it impact brokers in 2019?

Responsiveness is Key
With consumer expectations constantly evolving, it’s more critical than ever for brokers to listen and deliver the new products and experiences their clients are seeking. To do that effectively, brokers are finding it increasingly important to partner with insurance carriers that are well-positioned to respond—and respond quickly.

This is our focus at Mutual of Omaha: Listening and responding. We understand today’s business environment is moving at a rapid pace and it’s critical for brokers to respond to their customers in real time. That’s why we’ve re-engineered many of our core business processes to better position our business to rapidly respond to market opportunities.

In 2018, Mutual of Omaha partnered with brokers to respond to their customers in some key ways:

• We introduced a new long term care rider for both of our indexed universal life (IUL) products—Life Protection Advantage and Income Advantage.
• We implemented several new underwriting enhancements, including accelerated underwriting for Term Life Answers, automated underwriting for Living Promise and voice signatures for the Speed eTicket process.
• To ensure our products are delivering value to customers in a competitive marketplace, we made pricing adjustments on our long-term guarantee premiums for Life Protection Advantage IUL, Term Life Answers and a 20 percent rate reduction on our Critical Advantage portfolio.
• We sought to meet the holistic healthcare needs of consumers age 65+, launching a nationwide Prescription Drug Plan and entering the Medicare Advantage market with plans in San Antonio and Cincinnati.

In 2019, we will build on our strong, stable and secure foundation as a preferred insurance carrier and continue to grow by introducing new products, services and technology enhancements:

• We will add automated underwriting for additional life insurance products.
• We will launch a new Indexed Universal Life Express product, a 5- and 7-year guaranteed deferred annuity product and a new disability product.
• We will continue to expand technologies with e-applications and mobile quoting, including an e-application for IUL.
• We are exploring an auto-issue process for our Children’s Whole Life product.
• We will expand Medicare Advantage in additional markets.
• We will implement changes to support a new Med Supp law that will take effect in 2020.

Since 1909, Mutual of Omaha has delivered solid financial solutions for every customer at every stage of life. And we remain a committed insurance carrier to our brokerage community, positioning you and your customers for success in 2019 and beyond. [TG] [RM]