This time of year in particular reminds me that our industry owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to two organizations—LIMRA and Life Happens. We are, of course, on the doorstep of September’s Life Insurance Awareness Month, and the cooperative efforts of those two organizations to energize sales campaigns, provide brokers with excellent information, marketing and client-centric presentation materials, and devote countless hours to public awareness campaigns is quite frankly priceless.
LIMRA has been serving the industry since 1916, offering industry knowledge, insights, connections and solutions to help more than 700 member organizations navigate change with confidence. Visit LIMRA at www.limra.com.
Life Happens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers take personal financial responsibility through the ownership of life insurance and related products. The organization does not endorse any product, company or insurance advisor. Since its inception in 1994, Life Happens has provided the highest quality, independent and objective information for people seeking help with their insurance buying decisions. To learn more, visit www.lifehappens.org.
That’s the stuff they attach at the end of their press releases, etc. More to the point they collaborate on an annual Insurance Barometer Study packed with useful statistics about consumer insurance purchasing attitudes, coverage gaps, misconceptions and more very useful information. Most of the following copy of any significance comes from the 2023 Insurance Barometer Study via the Life Happens website (https://lifehappens.org/press/new-study-shows-interest-in-life-insurance-at-all-time-high-in-2023/).
Per the study: “Overall, 52 percent of American adults report owning life insurance, and 41 percent of adults—both insured and uninsured—say they don’t have sufficient life insurance coverage. In comparison, just 40 percent of Gen Z adults and 48 percent of millennials say they own life insurance and nearly half say they either need to get coverage or increase their life insurance protection (49 percent and 47 percent, respectively), representing 53 million adults. (For more details, visit this page: https://a-llgtest.vev.site/gen-zy-barometer/)”
“Younger generations experienced a life-altering event just as they were starting their careers, getting married and having children,” said Alison Salka, Ph.D., senior vice president, head of LIMRA research. “The realization of how precarious life can be may have made them more aware of the need to protect their loved ones.”
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of single-mother households in the U.S. has increased by 40 percent since 1980. This year’s study looked at the growing single mothers market and found that less than half (41 percent) of single mothers say they have life insurance, 11 points below the general population rate. Because single mothers are often the sole source of financial support for their children, and typically have a heightened sense of financial concern, it is not surprising that their need for life insurance is higher. Fifty-nine percent of single mothers say they need life insurance coverage or more of it, representing five million adults.”
“Upon looking at parents in general, the study found parents of minor children were more likely than the general population to own life insurance (59 percent versus 52 percent), and they were also more likely to acknowledge they didn’t have enough coverage (47 percent versus 41 percent). Among younger parents, the need gap was greater. On average, 56 percent of Gen Z and millennial parents reported not having enough coverage.”
“Educating young adults is key because no one is going to buy what they don’t understand. Year after year, people significantly overestimate the cost of life insurance, while citing expense as the top reason for not getting coverage,” said Maggie Leyes, chief creative officer of Life Happens, and coauthor of the study. “It’s also important how we engage and educate them. Younger adults are increasingly looking to buy life insurance online and are more likely to use social media platforms―particularly Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok―to educate themselves. Our goal should always be to meet them where they are.”
“While two-thirds of Americans report their lives have largely returned to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 Insurance Barometer Study shows a record-high proportion of consumers (39 percent) who say they intend to purchase life insurance coverage within the next year. The intent to buy is even higher among Gen Z adults (44 percent) and millennials (50 percent).”
LIMRA and Life Happens have a wealth of information and resources to aid in Life Insurance Awareness Month initiatives, and hopefully bring an even more receptive public, but perhaps most importantly it is my hope that it strikes our industry’s awareness—producers’ awareness—that the most poignant real goal should be to convert the uninsured wherever possible and reach out to those who don’t even know they are underinsured. There’s a whole bunch of folks out there who desperately need you, and apparently they have never been more inclined to buy… So, Go Get ‘Em! [SPH]
