Thursday, March 28, 2024

Petersen International Underwriters 2024 Carrier Forecast

The Lloyd’s disability markets have had a few years of upheaval, primarily due to the international financial markets and low interest rates. For the past three years this insurance market has been pushing (kicking and screaming by many) with higher premiums and lower commissions, as well as more and more conservative terms and conditions in coverages.

As of 2023, these markets have finally slowed their big shifts in changes and become more stable and consistent. These changes have impacted all Lloyd’s Coverholders, which in turn, impact producers who sell excess and supplemental disability programs.

While these changes were happening some Coverholders early on had to adopt while others took an aggressive approach (contrary to market direction) and offered terms and conditions not seen before, such as individual policies with a 30-day cancellation clause. This allowed them to keep rates drastically lower. However, those offering the lesser quality wording are now facing the higher premiums the markets are demanding as well.

What does this all mean?

2024 and beyond are poised for more consistent and strong markets. Pricing is higher than three years ago, but so is the cost of a Big Mac! More stability of the markets also means less radical pricing and terms within the market.

Most standard disability carriers have increased their limits making the attachment point for excess disability insurance higher as well. Also, many carriers are now offering coverages to occupations which, historically, were not written, such as social media influencers and others that may actually work from home.

Does this mean fewer sales in the excess and special risk disability markets? Not at all! The Special risk disability programs from Lloyd’s address numerous situations which the standard disability carriers are unwilling to write. This may include occupations that are still “undesirable” as well as severe health issues (impaired risks), and there is still a need for layers over and above what is available for personal disability as well as business disability coverages.

Based upon a recent Milliman report, 45 percent of all disability sales are now written on a GSI basis. Top executives and professional occupations with high incomes still look to excess disability insurance also written on a GSI basis.

Bottom line, as rough and bouncy as 2020 to 2023 has been in these markets, these same markets are once again offering great products at reasonable (not cheap) prices with strong (not ultra-liberal) terms and conditions.[TP]

Hexure 2024 Carrier Forecast

Embrace Challenges. Seize Opportunities.

The unique conditions of the last few years presented our industry with several unexpected challenges and, in some cases, strategic opportunities. Odds are, we’re not done yet. We expect 2024 to have its fair share of twists, turns and curveballs.

The good news is with every challenge comes an opportunity. We all have the chance to evolve with—and even help shape—the insurance industry next year and beyond. A lot of changes will happen. What matters is how we respond.

New and Persistent Challenges
The greatest challenge for BGAs and IMOs in 2024 will be friction. Specifically, the friction in the sales process for life insurance, annuities and wealth management products.

Consumers in our industry don’t want to buy. They want to be sold. Even in what may prove to be a challenging year for BGAs, you can find ways to deliver that sales process consumers are looking for. An experiential environment that reduces friction but still manages to create trust between advisor and client.

A significant portion of this industry continues to use paper processes. Paper is an extremely coarse interaction you have with the client. It’s more like sandpaper roughing up what could otherwise be a smooth experience. If you think about any other industry, from P&C to banking, most industries in the world have moved away from paper.

What really is challenging to brokers right now is being able to interact with their clientele in a way that meets their expectations—quickly, efficiently and digitally. That doesn’t involve slow and erroneous paper processes. Brokers need to be empowered to respond to skyrocketing client expectations. To offer a sales experience on par with what they get from other industries.

And, this will all need to be accomplished in an increasingly strict regulatory environment. It’s counterintuitive, but the very technology we rely on to improve our sales processes invites more rules and regulations into the equation. We’re seeing this with the expansion of some rules coming out of the government. They are trying to change the way annuities are documented. And, while we already have this wonderful process for illustrating and creating audit trails, they want more.

Real struggles are coming down the pipe, with rules and regulations becoming more stringent. With these added consumer protections, we need to ensure that the consumer is part of the conversation when it comes time to adapt our processes in response.

Create Your Own Opportunities
With all these challenges encroaching, there is still opportunity to be successful for firms with the vision to see it.

Imagine if your firm is the one who eliminates that friction in the sales process. What if you could provide a single pane of glass? A centralized, end-to-end digital experience? The contract sold and executed fully within one platform. You don’t have to jump around from system to system. Or worse, to paper.

You manage every part of the sale in that one system, which allows other opportunities such as instant issue sales. That’s something Hexure has offered through multiple carriers on our platform. And it looks a lot more like the modern sales experience clients expect.

Now, that won’t be the same for annuities. Annuity sales are more about building and maintaining that client relationship as a trusted financial advisor. But you can still include the client in the conversation.

You can even find opportunities with the increased regulations. It is an opportunity to better inform and educate the consumers of these products. A chance to build trust with your clients.

Trust is an inextricable part of sales in our industry. You might consider yourself a savvy investor, but nobody is going to drop $100,000 on an annuity using a mobile app. That’s just not going to happen. We all want to have that experience that when we hand over our money, we trust it is going into good hands.

What we at Hexure are working on is finding ways to, yes, enable clients to interact with this industry the way that they want. But keeping those guardrails in place so it’s still a very safe and secure world. We think that’s accomplished through education and visualization. Providing the visualization tools that help clients see what their investment looks like over time. And does it in a clear and understandable way.

Taking the Long View
I believe that this industry is going through a transformation. No one knows exactly where it’s going. But, we can be there asking the right questions. We can all be doing things today to prepare for the long term.

That philosophy is driving what Hexure is doing to help our clients prepare for the future. More specifically, we’re:

  • Doubling down on our promise of providing an end-to-end digital sales process. Consumers expect it, which means advisors need it.
  • Focusing on our roadmap to deliver curated experiences for every persona interacting with our platform—vendor, carrier, distributor, advisor.
  • Using embedded APIs and an open-architecture strategy to avoid building a walled garden. We want to make the industry more efficient by breaking down barriers between systems. Legacy systems. Competing vendors. We don’t care. We want efficiency for carriers and distributors, and seamless experiences for advisors and consumers.
  • Continuing to scale the benefits we deliver by bringing more features and functionality into the fold. The perfect example is our recent acquisition of Vive, which further enhances our ability to provide a single, comprehensive distribution platform.

Further enabling firms to empower their advisors with a true multi-carrier sales solution for all lines of business.

A Bright Future
The last few years have brought their challenges, and 2024 will be no different. Don’t let that stop you from being optimistic about the future. Take the steps today that will make you more resilient tomorrow, and you can find opportunities in any situation. [LR]

Mutual of Omaha 2024 Carrier Forecast

Creating an Even Better Broker And Customer Experience In 2024

For 114 years, Mutual of Omaha has defined success by our ability to help people address their financial needs. Working with brokers, we have evolved to meet customers’ changing needs over generations, innovating and expanding into new markets to continue growing and serving even more people.

As many of our brokers know, serving clients in the current environment isn’t without its challenges. Inflation and interest rates remain high, contributing to increased expenses and reduced consumer purchasing power. Consumer expectations are constantly changing when it comes to digital, customized experiences. And the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has put a premium on companies’ ability to leverage data to better serve customers.

Growing With You
It takes our entire team–including our trusted brokers–to navigate this complex environment, operate with excellence and help even more customers with their financial needs. At Mutual of Omaha, we aim to provide an exceptional broker experience that enables you to serve your clients more easily and effectively.

One way we delivered on this commitment in 2023 was by releasing the Book of Business tool so producers can access their in-force policy information in one easy-to-sort file in Sales Professional Access.

Here are some of the other notable enhancements we implemented for our brokers and customers in 2023.

Life and Supplemental Health

  • We launched e-signature enhancements on our life insurance products, including text message signature capabilities.
  • We strengthened our indexed universal life product line by launching a fourth crediting strategy, the Bank of America U.S. Agility Index: One-Year Uncapped account.
  • We increased the maximum issue age on IUL Express and Term Life Express products to age 75.
  • We launched a new tool that enables producers to run their own in-force illustrations to provide better ongoing service to existing policyholders.
  • We added Mutual Income Solutions (disability income product) to our mobile quotes tool.
  • We updated the underwriting guidelines for Term Life Express and IUL Express. Marijuana is no longer considered an unlawful drug for the purposes of applying and underwriting.

Senior Health

  • We released a new e-App storefront, making it easier to cross-sell Medicare supplement, dental insurance and prescription drug plans.
  • We enhanced our dental insurance benefits in most states by offering a no-wait period, immediate coverage for major services and maximum benefit options up to $5,000.
  • We continued to help customers save money by offering competitive Medicare supplement rates and discounts.
  • We auto-decisioned over 70 percent of Medicare supplement underwritten applications, resulting in decisions in less than three minutes.
  • We formed a strategic alliance with Wellcare to offer co-branded Medicare Advantage PPO plans in Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Washington as well as in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston markets in Texas beginning with plan year 2024.
  • We focused on the broker experience and enhancing interactions with key service areas.

Looking Ahead to 2024
In 2024, we will build on our efforts to create an industry-leading broker experience in a variety of ways.

Life and Supplemental Health

  • We will continue to focus on enhancements and competitive pricing for our simplified issue portfolio.
  • We will continue to enhance our e-application platform and e-signature process for additional product lines.
  • We will continue offering our strong stand-alone long term care products.
  • We will expand and improve our digital capabilities to provide convenient options for our sales partners and customers.
  • We will plan to enter the fixed indexed annuity market.
  • 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 simplified issue and indexed universal life business.

Senior Health

  • We will expand the Book of Business tool to include prescription drug plans.
  • We will continue to offer comprehensive Medicare solutions and value-add options for our senior-aged clients.
  • We will continue to focus on our e-application capabilities as we strive to create the easiest and fastest experience in the industry.
  • We will roll out enhanced dental benefits in additional states.
  • We will explore additional Medicare Advantage opportunities to expand our footprint in the senior health market.

Mutual of Omaha’s purpose today remains the same as in 1909. We help our customers plan for the future and protect what matters most. We appreciate your ongoing support in fulfilling that mission and look forward to a successful 2024! [RM] [MS]

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America 2024 Carrier Forecast

Many Americans are stressed out about their finances. With increased cost of living, market volatility and other economic factors, they are worried about how they will fare in retirement.

In fact, at the end of 2023, 40 percent of Americans said they are more stressed than they were last year, according to the New Year’s Resolutions Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). That’s up from 34 percent at the end of 2022.

Americans want to find ways to relieve financial stress. A financial strategy that helps manage risk and volatility could help protect their journey through retirement.

Our lineup of products is designed for just that–to provide a level of protection. Here, we’ll address how our products can help mitigate risks like the rising cost of living and market volatility for a smoother retirement.

Protecting against rising cost of living
While inflation has slowed since recent highs, the cost of living does continue to increase. Because even in times of modest inflation, every dollar saved for retirement purchases less year after year. That’s why Allianz Life fixed index annuities (FIAs) and registered index linked annuities (RILAs) and fixed index universal life (FIUL) policies all offer innovative opportunities to help address this risk.

Our annuities offer increasing income potential that can help address the rising cost of living. Allianz FIAs and RILAs both offer guaranteed lifetime income that can increase each year the annuity earns a credit through either built-in or additional-cost riders.

Allianz FIUL policies also can help hedge against inflation with features like accumulation potential through indexed interest and Index Lock. Since inflation often coincides with rising interest rates, that typically creates an environment for raising the participation rates and caps on FIUL policies. This brings more accumulation potential to clients.

For our FIA contracts with increasing income potential, 90 percent have received an increase.1 This “annual reset method” for increasing income means that income will increase by the same percentage every year interest is credited. Previous lifetime income withdrawals, fees or index losses don’t factor in. This method, available with Allianz income benefits, often results in a client receiving more opportunities for income increases. For many Allianz FIA contract holders, their income has not only kept up with inflation but their purchasing power has increased over time.2

Rising cost of living includes medical costs too. As we celebrated our 10-year RILA anniversary in 2023, we enhanced our products with additional index options and features that can help retirees pay for certain long term care expenses.

The new Income Multiplier Benefit on the Allianz Index Advantage+ Income Variable Annuity is a unique feature that allows clients to withdraw up to twice their annual maximum income payment to pay certain acute and long term care needs or they could use it for any other desired objective. Income Multiplier Benefit is automatically with the contract, and with no separate fee other than the income benefit rider fee. The Income Multiplier Benefit is not a substitute for long term care insurance.3

Protection from market volatility
Nobody can predict the market. Allianz knows that timing the market rarely works out, so our products have features that help protect assets during periods of volatility.

Many of our products have a lock feature that gives clients the opportunity to lock in gains at any time once during a crediting period. With Index Lock (available with select index options in our FIAs and FIUL products), you can lock in an index value, track and view the index values online, and help minimize the effects of market volatility throughout the year. We also have Auto Lock4 that, when activated, automatically locks in when an index reaches a set target.

Many of our clients take advantage of these features to lock in index gains. Among our FIUL policies with an active Index Lock, the average locked-in value is 10.78 percent. On our FIAs, the average credit among account values with an active Index Lock is 6.3 percent.5

While Performance Lock6 has been a feature of Allianz RILAs for several years, we added an Early Reallocation feature also called Lock and Get Back In this year. This feature allows clients who have executed a Performance Lock to reallocate their locked index option values, beginning a new term without having to wait until the next index anniversary. Rather than remaining locked through the end of the index year, clients can get back in and participate in index returns. Allianz also added a new Index Dual Precision Strategy and bigger buffers on Index Performance Strategy to products in our Allianz Index Advantage+ RILA suite. The Index Dual Precision Strategy offers growth potential in not only a positive or zero market, but also in a down market if the negative index return is within the 10 percent buffer amount. This helps our Allianz Index Advantage+ products to offer growth potential with a flexible level of protection on the downside with enhanced functionality.

Similarly, Allianz FIUL policies have unique features that help provide some insulation from market volatility, including guarantees for the accumulation value.

That means you have the ability to react in a volatile market, but you aren’t trying to time the market.

Your protection partner
With the increasing stress and mounting worries, many Americans are more likely to seek out financial guidance in the coming year. The shifting dynamics of retirement mean that financial professionals are more important now than ever. Allianz wants to be a partner for you to provide more than just a product to your clients. We know that the distribution landscape is changing. But, whether you work for an entity that is independent or owner, Allianz wants to help you provide value to clients. Allianz products help address some of Americans biggest retirement fears like outliving their money. And, ongoing economic uncertainty is affecting how Americans feel about their long term financial strategies. Finding ways to help clients take part in the market while mitigating risks can be important.
Allianz wants to be a part of your client’s financial strategies to help provide reassurance and weather market downturns over the long term. The growth potential and levels of principal protection in FIAs, RILAs and FIUL policies can strengthen the outcomes of a holistic financial strategy and help manage risk.

Allianz continues to strive to help deliver levels of protection to your clients. Allianz products that address risk can play a pivotal role in helping clients protect their well-earned retirement. We believe that FIAs, RILAs and FIUL will continue to resonate with your clients in the New Year. And, we will continue to evolve to create new and updated products.

Looking ahead to 2024, we believe clients will continue to seek a financial strategy that helps them manage risks and volatility for a smooth ride through retirement. Insurance products like annuities and fixed index universal life insurance will continue to play an important role in those strategies to help ease some of the biggest worries about preparing for long term financial stability. We’re committed to being your partner for protection in the year ahead.

*Allianz Life conducted the 2023 New Year’s Resolutions Study online in November 2023 with a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Respondents age 18+.

Annuities can help you meet your long term retirement goals by offering tax-deferred growth potential, a death benefit during the accumulation phase, and a guaranteed stream of income at retirement.

Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Variable annuity guarantees do not apply to the performance of the variable subaccounts, which will fluctuate with market conditions.

Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Variable products are distributed by its affiliate, Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, member FINRA.

This content does not apply to the state of New York.

RILAs are subject to investment risk, including loss of principal, and contract values fluctuate daily. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions so that units, upon distribution, may be worth more or less than original cost.

Withdrawals will reduce contract values (including any Cash Value) and the value of any potential protection benefits. Withdrawals taken within the period stated in the prospectus will be subject to a withdrawal charge or a Market Value Adjustment (MVA), depending on the product.

All withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax and, if taken prior to age 59½, may be subject to a 10 percent federal additional tax.

For more complete information about registered index-linked annuities and the variable option, call Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC at 800.542.5427 for a prospectus. The prospectuses contain details on investment objectives, risks, fees, and expenses, as well as other information about the index variable annuity and the variable option, which your clients should carefully consider. Encourage your clients to read the prospectuses thoroughly before sending money.

For financial professional use only.

Reference:

  1. The total number of contracts used for this analysis was 42,416 and represents any increase of any amount in a given year. This data reflects fixed index annuities, which elected a withdrawal option using the annual reset increase method from 1/1/08 through 12/31/21, and would have been eligible to receive interest credits from 1/1/09 through 12/28/22. Past increases do not guarantee future increases.
  2. With Allianz, your lifetime income payments will continue for the rest of your life, as long as you follow the terms of your contract. And, every time you get a payment increase, that new higher payment is guaranteed for the rest of your life.
  3. Double income payments come from the Income Multiplier factor. We establish the Income Multiplier Benefit wait period and the income multiplier factor on the date the clients sign the application provided we receive the initial Purchase Payment within the required time period. Income Benefit supplements with terms for each Allianz RILA with Income Benefit can be found at www.allianzlife.com/rates.
  4. Auto Lock feature may be discontinued at any time.
  5. Average locked interest rate for clients who applied the Index Lock feature between Sept. 9, 2019 and Nov. 22, 2022. The total number of contracts used for this analysis was 7,970 and both one-year and two-year crediting methods were included. Potential interest varies by index strategy and index. Past results are not a guarantee of future performance. Exercising an Index Lock may result in a credit higher or lower than if the Index Lock had not been exercised. We will not provide advice or notify you regarding whether you should exercise an Index Lock or the optimal time for doing so.
  6. Executing a Performance Lock or Early Reallocation may result in you receiving less than the credit you would have received had you not locked the Index Option. It is possible to lock in a negative return. We will not provide advice or notify you regarding whether you should execute a Performance Lock or Early Reallocation, the optimal time to do so, or if you execute a Performance Lock or Early Reallocation at a suboptimal time. We are not responsible for any losses related to your decision whether or not to execute a Performance Lock or Early Reallocation.

Mutual Trust Life Solutions 2024 Carrier Forecast 

Better in 2023—More in 2024

At the close of almost every year I say to myself that the coming year can’t possibly be as challenging as this one. Fast forward to the end of the next year and…2023 was certainly no different. Rapidly rising interest rates helped improve portfolio yields for the first time in a long time. But those same rising interest rates made many financial service products more competitive as well. Add client concerns about inflation, the cost of housing and the economy in general and we saw a year where activity remained strong, but the money that clients were willing to put into life insurance declined.

We had some ups and we had some downs. We were reminded again that while nothing is ever quite as good as it seems, all is not lost. Sure there is uncertainty (when is there not?), but with that uncertainty comes opportunity. We can bring some certainty to an uncertain world by talking to clients about one thing that they’ll never have to worry about–a participating whole life policy. Whole life insurance provides certainty in premiums, certainty in cash values, certainty in death benefits and certainty in performance. Participating whole life provides certainty in premium. Whole life premiums are guaranteed and whole life policies come with non-forfeiture options that keep the policy in force if your client cannot pay their premium. Participating whole life provides certainty in cash values. Whole life policies not only provide guaranteed cash values that the client can access at any time for any reason, they also provide guaranteed cash value growth, every year. Participating whole life provides certainty in death benefits. Whole life death benefits are guaranteed. As long as your client pays the premium, the death benefit is guaranteed to stay in force regardless of changes in interest rates or the performance of a market index. Finally, participating whole life provides certainty in performance. With premiums, cash values and death benefits all guaranteed, your client knows exactly what they will have today, tomorrow and every day. In fact, the only way your client’s policy can change is if the company pays a dividend, and then it changes for the better! If your client elects to have dividends purchase paid up additions, which many clients do, the result is an increase in the guaranteed cash value and the guaranteed death benefit. Those increases are guaranteed for life!

Whole life can be a valuable part of any financial plan because of the certainty that it provides regardless of the uncertainty they might be experiencing in the rest of their financial world. Ensuring that clients hear this message is our challenge, so we can never stop trying to make our products better and easier to access for our clients and for our agents. At Mutual Trust Life Solutions we continue to do just that, finishing 2023 on a high note with more to come in 2024.

We introduced a new and improved version of our flagship product, Horizon Value.TM One of the best early guaranteed cash value products in the market is now even more competitive across the board. Shortly after we announced our largest dividend scale increase in decades. Great news for agents and great news for clients! Heading into 2024, you have to take a look at Mutual Trust.

Strong guarantees and a competitive dividend–take a look at Mutual Trust.

Flexible solution that works well with all the major selling systems–take a look at Mutual Trust. True single premium whole life–take a look at Mutual Trust.

Competitive first-year and renewal commissions–take a look at Mutual Trust.

For participating whole life solutions you can trust, you have to take a look at Mutual Trust.

More in 2024
We start the year bigger, safer and stronger with the acquisition of Encova Life. The acquisition enhances our scale in the United States and brings $60 million in revenues, $600 million in assets, $38 million in premiums and 82,000 lives.

We will introduce our first indexed UL product in the first quarter of 2024. The performance is built into the product so agents can easily explain how the product works and clients can actually understand what they are buying. Also with Vista Life IUL, agents will be able to talk to clients about the benefits of IUL and whole life in their plan. Imagine, the upside potential of IUL combined with the guaranteed growth of whole life. That’s a compelling argument!

And it’s not just product that will change in 2024. We will introduce a new, web-based version of our illustration software, accessible from anywhere and complete with new reports and capabilities. We will also make improvements to our underwriting process which will help us to collect better information and eliminate some exams and reports that add time and make your job more difficult.

So, a couple of things to remember in 2024. Whole life can be a valuable part of any financial plan. For whole life, you have to take a look at Mutual Trust Life Solutions in 2024. Because life is uncertain, but whole life is guaranteed.[LC]

SBLI of Massachusetts 2023 Carrier Forecast

Looking Back While Moving Forward

SBLI has always been a process innovator. Back in 2016 we were one of the first adopters of accelerated underwriting, and our avant-garde approach was a little different from our competitors. Indeed, our guaranteed AU process, within defined parameters, successfully fit into a distinct market niche and was a powerful market influence prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, more recently the industry at large has evolved rapidly with the utilization of new data sources, the reconfiguration of insurance processing fundamentals, and improvements in processing efficiencies. Consequently, we are looking to adjust our accelerated underwriting program to align more closely with today’s competition and be a partner of choice to a broader market.

As we looked to the future, we paused and reflected on the past—evaluating lessons learned, market changes, and the successes we’ve had with developing channel-specific digital products. In this context we observed:

  • InsurTechs have been influential. This term encompasses technological innovations that are created and implemented to improve the efficiency of the insurance industry. And an outcome of the missteps of some and the good or bad timing of others is that the more robust and market-sensitive InsurTechs gained sure footing and are now part of the marketplace fabric for any progressive process, platform, or digital product design. Consequently, a variety of great partners, resources and vendors have emerged.
  • Digitalization and InsurTechs were seen as the next frontier for insurance sales. Initially there was a belief that targeting customers directly and giving them the ability to do things independently would blow the doors off the market and make agents redundant. Our experience indicates that there is a significant reduction in the level of conversions to a product sale when agents are not an integral part of the process. While there is a place for a D2C strategy in specific environments, agents are still the key ingredient in most sales situations.
  • Pre-screening is important. The product fit for the customer depends largely on good pre-screening, which—in many instances—is taking the place of field underwriting. However, it has been made so easy to apply for life insurance that careful upfront screening is often not taking place, creating a potentially negative experience for the customer and a missed opportunity for agents to pivot to an alternative product that is a better fit.
  • Digital tools supporting needs such as pre-screening are part of the future. Tools of this nature, designed to assess the viability of the applicant and the product offering quickly and conveniently, are vital.

With that, we are kicking off 2023 with a new focus on the markets we want to participate in and the platforms, processes, and products we want to develop to gain broader market share and relevance, while being seen as a change agent in the years ahead. Realigning our traditional term product and unveiling a reimagined accelerated underwriting program supporting the agency model will be a major initiative this year.

As always, our objective is to make life insurance easy! Our focus is on providing ease of access, customer-centric processes, and convenience to agents to enable them to deliver coverage as quickly and efficiently as possible while also reestablishing our price competitiveness.

The Future of the Marketplace
In recent years Insurtechs have been the leaders in bringing innovative products to the market. With startups potentially recasting their model, we are going to see more carriers come to this space with their own state-of-the-art digital products.

As that happens, the delta between what was fully underwritten or accelerated underwritten—and now digital simplified issue—will continue to close, with better pricing, better flexibility and process flow, and better economics.

In the term insurance space, premium rates have declined over time because of the quest of insurance carriers for market share and volume. As a result, payouts have been driven downwards and the economics for placing these products have tightened. In many instances, general agents lose money on term business below $1,000 of premium.

While accelerated underwriting and in-session decisions have reduced case management, they have not eliminated it, so the margins for general agents have tightened. This has been countered by the introduction of the digital ecosystem where an agent or an agency can do such things as work with an applicant to do their own fulfillment online and have instant-issue capabilities. This eliminates the majority of the general agency’s overhead, so it becomes a much more beneficial economic model for everyone.

Conclusion: The Need for Diversification
As we position ourselves to move further into the digital space with realigned products and processes, the bottom line is this: We continue to recognize the value of the agent and their customer relationship and the absolute need for agents to have the right products, tools, and processes to diversify their business and take advantage of new opportunities.

To deliver on these needs, we have been working closely with a number of technology providers such as Afficiency and MRS (Management Research Services, Inc.) to support broader market coverage and distribution, develop and deploy products and digital tools that help agents interact more easily and cost-effectively, and help our partners diversify and grow their business.

We are excited about the initiatives being implemented at SBLI in response to slimming term sales margins and the market’s recognition that streamlining agency and agent involvement in the process is imperative. We look forward to making it happen together.

Petersen International Underwriters 2023 Carrier Forecast

2023: Will Things Change? Absolutely!

2022 seemed to flow as I predicted in this article a year ago. Since it has been a year, let me repeat a few of the key items discussed in January 2022 so that the current comments can make more sense.

The insurance industry follows a cycle from hard to soft markets. This is a global scale impacting all financial industries. During times of soft markets, there is lots of money needing to be put into play which means premiums are low, commissions are high and underwriting and terms/conditions are very liberal. The end of 2019 began the swing from soft to a hard market, which means there is less capacity (money) thus the need for better underwriting profits. Better underwriting profits usually mean higher premiums, lower commissions (or both) and more conservative underwriting.

The admitted carriers do not see these swings since their rates and forms are filed and “locked-in.” However, their reinsurance may change which means refilling of rates and forms will be necessary in the near future.

As a Lloyd’s Coverholder and a Lloyd’s Broker our markets are directly affected by the changes in the global markets. Producers who have done business with us for years were perplexed as to why the premiums changed so much as well as why the underwriting appeared to get very conservative! Remember, this is not a Petersen International issue, nor a Lloyd’s issue, but a global insurance market issue!

2022 we saw more stability than we had seen in 2020 and 2021. Markets have started getting a bit more bold again (slowly, but definitely more so). Like real estate, we have a new norm as to commissions and premiums for a while.

Will these change? Absolutely! They always do, but when and how much remains to be seen!

2022 we also saw many producers who sell Lloyd’s try and “Commoditize” the sale. Many producers are aware of several sources for accessing Lloyd’s coverages. They have also become aware that since Lloyd’s is a market, a proposal from one Coverholder is not necessarily the same as another. As such, these commodity driven producers try to spreadsheet excess and special risk coverages.

These producers have forgotten what the special risk markets are. A quick background is in order here:

Specialty disability plans are written on a surplus lines basis. In short, that means that access to these plans come only after the traditional/admitted disability writers can’t write such coverage. This is usually in the area of higher limits, difficult occupations (entertainers, athletes, pilots, etc.) and/or significant health issues. These specialty plans are custom designed for a specific risk! As such, a spreadsheet approach can be difficult as each case is custom made.

In 2022 we began “re-educating” producers that they need to get back to how disability producers used to review each policy as to what they really offer.

2022 we also saw a rise in electronic selling. Many producers and a few carriers have been trying to create platforms to make selling disability “easy” by offering a platform of carriers.

2022 saw a spike in inflation. The cost of living has slowed down many sales of disability insurance as producers are finding people reluctant to buy coverage perceived to “not be needed!”

So what do we see for 2023?

  • Producers getting back to comparing plans and terms and conditions and realizing that there are differences and cost is not always the driving factor–solving the risk problem is!
  • While there is always a good attempt (and good intentions) to make selling disability insurance quicker and easier by trying to do it online, most producers realize that disability insurance still must be sold and not just offered!
  • As inflation continues (same or increasing doesn’t matter), individual disability sales may slow some more. However, business disability markets will continue to always have sales as the need to protect a business will still be justified easily. (Note on this: Funny how people will protect a business first then look at protecting the one thing that makes all other things possible…the income!)
  • 2022 was a time for many to reflect on what has worked, what is working, and what needs to be done to make moving forward operational–2023 we will start to implement some plans which move this market forward. While underwriting will remain more conservative than five years ago, there are newer tools that are making the process more streamlined and easier, which should further create easier distribution and more profitability for the carriers.
  • The need for disability product sales remains unchanged. There is always an “excuse” not to sell, but there is never a valid reason to not sell disability insurance!

Mutual Trust Life Solutions 2023 Carrier Forecast

An Exciting New Chapter—Mutual Trust Life Solutions

Early in 2022, we announced the merger of Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company into Pan-American Life Insurance Company and the introduction of Mutual Trust Life Solutions. This next step in the integration process that began in 2015 makes Mutual Trust Life Solutions a fully integrated division of Pan-American Life Insurance Group and reaffirms our commitment to the Mutual Trust brand and to the whole life portfolio of products. The merger creates a company that is bigger, safer and stronger for our clients and our distribution partners, with more than double the capital and surplus and risk-based capital of more than 500 percent.

Greater financial strength is certainly one of the benefits of the merger, but just as important are the things that did not change. First and foremost, we are not demutualizing and there are no external investors. We are still a Mutual Holding Company owned by the policyholders. Second, Mutual Trust will continue to operate from its existing offices in Oak Brook, IL, providing the same high-quality service that you expect from the people that you trust with your business today. Third, our commitment to distributors, to guarantees and to participating whole life remains firm. We will continue to offer the same quality products with the same features, benefits and availability that our distribution partners enjoy today.

So what is changing? As mentioned before, we are bigger, safer and stronger than ever. Financial strength has been and always will be a key focus for the organization. To that end the merger allows us to diversify our risks, making writing new business more capital efficient, alleviating surplus strain and providing more flexibility in product development. From a marketing perspective, our name and our logo have changed but still honor the Mutual Trust brand that you have come to know. There is also an immediate benefit on the product side, as the merger also provides our distribution partners with easier access to all of the products that PALIG has to offer including group health products, accident products and life insurance products for foreign nationals.

So, as 2023 opens, we have a larger organization with even greater financial strength, a sterling ratings profile and an improved Risk-Based Capital ratio. We have expanded growth opportunities for the company and our distribution partners and we have a competitive product portfolio that will continue to expand throughout the year. Mid-year, look for us to add a critical illness rider to our whole life portfolio. Later in the year we will introduce our first indexed universal life product, adding a competitive cash accumulation product to the portfolio. And for early 2024, look for a new limited pay participating whole life product with guaranteed payment periods, guaranteed cash values and guaranteed cash value growth.

The New Year will bring new challenges and new opportunities as it always does. Over the last few years, as an industry, we showed the world the value that our products provide and the importance of what we do. Through economic uncertainty, political turmoil and a global pandemic, we showed the world that no one does more good for families, for businesses and for our communities than our industry does and has done for over one hundred years. There has never been a better time to be in our industry and I am excited for the role that Mutual Trust Life Solutions will play. From everyone here at Mutual Trust, we wish you and your families a happy and safe new year!

Mutual of Omaha 2023 Carrier Forecast

Rising To The Challenge In 2023

From our humble beginning in 1909 to our current standing as a Fortune 500 insurance and financial services company, Mutual of Omaha’s story has been characterized by growth for more than a century. Compelled by our noble purpose, our ambition has always been to help more individuals achieve their financial goals.

With a pioneering spirit and an innovative mindset, we’ve expanded into new markets over the years, finding new ways to meet the evolving needs of our customers and sales distributions.

That vision for growth takes center stage as we turn our attention to 2023. Thanks to the resiliency of our associates, sales partners and diversified business, we have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in a strong position to expand our mission, achieve profitable growth and help even more individuals for years to come.

Navigating an Uncertain Economy
Like you—our brokerage partners—we continue to operate in a highly dynamic and complex environment that presents numerous challenges. Perhaps chief among those challenges is economic uncertainty, driven by rising interest rates, high inflation and volatile equity markets. We understand these forces continue to impact brokers and their clients, making new purchases and the retention of existing policies more challenging.

We remain committed to helping you and your clients navigate this challenging economy in 2023 by providing competitive solutions that deliver peace of mind, backed by superior service and financial strength. In fact, Mutual of Omaha’s financial strength has been acknowledged by multiple third-party rating agencies, reinforcing our reputation as a strong, stable and secure company that fulfills the promises we make to our customers.

Enhancing the Customer and Broker Experience
Customer expectations have shifted over the last several years, and we understand brokers need to be able to meet—and even exceed—those expectations. At Mutual of Omaha, we’re continually enhancing our digital platforms for both producers and customers by implementing new capabilities and streamlining processes.

We want your interactions with us to be easy and convenient, and we’ll continue listening to your feedback on how we can best support you in serving your clients.

Here are a few key enhancements we made for our brokers and customers in 2022:

  • We extended the age for our Life Protection Advantage IUL long term no lapse protection guarantee. This product now features coverage to age 90 (previously age 85) with no additional cost for level pay.
  • We repriced our Living Promise graded product and decreased the rates in many of the age bands.
  • Our Term Life Express 30T with Return of Premium now has chronic and critical illness riders, in addition to the terminal illness rider. These riders complete the living benefits feature on our product.
  • We reintroduced the sale of long term care products and the long term care rider on our IUL products in the state of Washington.
  • We integrated illustrations on iPipeline e-App for IUL Express, which streamlines the application process for producers/agents.
  • We added the option to receive in-force data feeds, which allow for life and long term care pending business, licensing and appointments, and commission feeds.
  • We expanded our DTCC data feeds to better serve the financial institution marketplace.
  • We created and released our new Mutual of Omaha RxSM Essential Prescription Drug Plan, which is ideal for newly eligible Medicare clients with low drug utilization or clients on low-cost maintenance medications. All Mutual of Omaha Rx PDP plans are commissionable.
  • We continued to help customers save money by offering competitive Medicare supplement rates.
  • We auto-decisioned over 60 percent of Medicare supplement underwritten applications.
  • We focused on the broker experience and enhancing interactions with key services areas.

Looking Ahead to 2023
In 2023, we will build on our strong foundation as a preferred insurance carrier and continue to grow in the following ways:

  • We will continue to 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 offering our competitively priced critical illness products, including stand-alone cancer, heart attack and stroke insurance.
  • 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 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 continue to offer competitively priced Medicare supplement plans and value-add options for our senior-age clients.
  • We will enhance our dental insurance product offering in order to provide more customers with comprehensive health care coverage.

Thank you for your trust in Mutual of Omaha—we are committed to being your carrier of choice and a company you can depend on. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to working together to serve even more customers in 2023!

Haven Life 2023 Carrier Forecast

Driving Increased Sales In Today’s Market Requires A Partner Who Offers Simplicity, Affordability And Reliability

When Haven Life disrupted the traditional life insurance business eight years ago by launching an end-to-end digital solution, it was with a mission to create a better, more accessible way for average Americans who wanted to build their household’s financial security, often during a major life event like the birth of a child.

Purchasing a life insurance policy often comes during a time of major change, when a person has newly acquired assets or loved ones to protect. Understandably, many of your clients will have difficulty finding the time and focus needed to research policies available to them. They put their trust in you to help them make a complicated decision that will give them peace of mind and assurance. In turn, you need to trust that the company you partner with is 100 percent reliable and won’t leave their policyholders high and dry 10 years down the road. When you sell Haven Life products you can feel confident that we are backed and wholly owned by MassMutual, a company with over 170 years of financial strength and stability and that your clients will be protected throughout the term of their policy.

With the general turmoil of the last few years shifting into an economic recession, your clients are being buffeted with instability and insecurity from many sides. With Haven Life you can feel confident that you are helping your clients improve their household financial security with an undisputed industry leader. In turn, your clients can rest easy knowing you provided them with a solution that will be around for the rest of their lives and for future generations to follow.

Technology that Works for the Broker World
While the industry awakens to embedding insurance, we’ve been building out our technology for years with our in-house expertise. Partnering with us enables your clients to benefit from your advice and expertise while they also enjoy our unmatched speed and simple, easy-to-understand process. Our digital, end-to-end solution has been built to be adaptable and flexible. Furthermore, our speed of issuance is second to none, giving you a major sales advantage with a clientele that expects fast turnaround times as consumer patience wanes in favor of immediate service. Although the average cycle time in the industry is often around 8 weeks, Haven Life boasts an average cycle time from application to issuance of only 11 days with our Haven Term product. Our Haven Simple product, which requires no medical exam, has an even shorter average cycle time of 2.4 hours.

When combined with an astute and caring broker, we are confident that our exceptional products, flexible integration options and best-in-class marketing support will ensure that your clients see the best life insurance purchasing experience possible.

Telesales: Brokers who are primarily telesales-focused will find that Haven Life has one of the best portals available for agents to sell through. Our portal allows advisors to capture an applicant’s answers over the phone and includes streamlining features like conversational prompts. We’ve also incorporated SMS consent and voice signature capabilities that take 20 to 30 minutes out of the sales cycle, leading to an increased lead-to-close rate. In fact, approved customers can log into their account and start coverage immediately.

Web-based: For brokers that are primarily web-based, we have a suite of API tools that can do everything from embedding a quote widget to setting up a fully hosted application, seamlessly integrating with a platform to provide quote and application pre-filling. We will have fully bindable APIs in Q1 2023 and are constantly adding to our robust library of creative marketing assets to help our web-based partners engage and activate their audience.

Competitive Rates Well Below the Industry Average
We know that one size does not fit all so, in addition to our two main products, Haven Term (offering medically underwritten policies up to $3 million and coverage) and Haven Simple (no medical exam needed and an average cycle time of 2.4 hours) we are always rolling out new products to underserved audiences. However, no matter the product, continual innovation to our industry-leading machine learning and AI ensures that we can accurately assess the risk and affordably price each user to offer competitive rates consistently below the industry average.

For example, in the chart above, our Haven Term products are priced 30 percent to 52 percent lower than the industry average. Our pursuit of innovation has allowed us to reflect similar industry-leading competitive rates across our entire product portfolio.

Absolutely 100 Percent Reliable with Backing from MassMutual:
More than any other, life insurance is a market that demands consumer trust and reliability. The purpose of life insurance is to provide the consumer with peace of mind and comfort that their loved ones will be financially secure even amidst an uncertain future. Unfortunately, today’s market is cluttered with new digital applications and provider startups that often prioritize their investors’ needs and spend much of their time ensuring they can keep their office lights on, leaving little time to improve their product portfolio or customer service. With 85 percent of respondents in a recent Haven Life survey saying they were at least somewhat worried about an impending recession, partnering with us will let you remove at least one burden from your client’s shoulders with an ironclad assurance that they’ve chosen a policy that will protect them no matter the latest headline. With the financial backing of MassMutual, a company offering unparalleled financial strength and stability, Haven Life will provide you and your clients with the benefits of a nimble, innovative insurance agency but with the complete assurance of over 170 years of industry experience.

Get to Know Us Better
Our mission is to bring financial security to everyday American households, and we do this by constantly improving our digital term life insurance solutions so that they are simpler, faster, and more affordable than anything else in the market. We have tremendous direct-to-consumer expertise and are ready to bring it to your business to help your clients meet more of their needs at those exact times when asset protection is at the top of mind. We are looking forward to expanding access to our life insurance solutions in the new year with partners who value reliability and care as much as we do. If you would like more information about what Haven Life can offer your clients, please email me at wade@havenlife.com.

Haven Term is a term life insurance policy (ICC21 HAVEN TERM in certain states, including NC; HAVEN TERM CA21 in California) issued by C.M. Life Insurance Company (C.M. Life), Enfield, CT 06082. In New York (DTC-NY) and in other states it is issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001.

Haven Simple is a simplified issue term life insurance policy (ICC20 HAVEN SIMPLE in certain states, including NC) issued by C.M. Life Insurance Company, Enfield, CT 06082. Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and may not be available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is OK71922 and in Arkansas 100139527.

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