The Future Of Life Insurance Sales: New Digital Illustration Software And AI Solutions

Sales Illustration systems are evolving with enhanced functionalities designed to help life BGAs and advisors better connect with their clients. Cutting-edge tools and advanced technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), are driving this transformation. As we consider the 72 million millennials aged 27 to 42, who are becoming major consumers of life insurance, it’s crucial to recognize their preferences. These individuals are embarking on careers, starting families, and seeking visual solutions, self-service options, and engaging experiences. Let’s explore some of these innovative new tools.

My company, InsurTech Express, is excited to introduce our new AI tool, “InsurTech Navigator AI.” This tool boasts the largest repository of Life Insurance Technology content, allowing users to research and shop for software solutions seamlessly. It also provides access to leading carrier agent portals, industry events, and job opportunities, leveraging the ChatGPT API for natural language engagement. Additionally, InsurTech Navigator AI can summarize PDF documents while ensuring data privacy and generate images for your website and social media posts. A standout feature is the integration with other AI tools accessible via single sign-on. This includes “Midnight Underwriter,” a conversational AI Field Underwriting Tool with guidelines from 42 carriers and a medications database, and Proforce Ledger, offering a free version for IUL and VUL Illustrations. Visit InsurTech Navigator AI at https://ienavigator.ai/ to sign up.

Predictive Spreadsheeting with Proforce
Proforce can be used to quickly change UL illustrations in front of the client and do comparisons. It can also be used for running Inforce Ledgers without having to order them from the carrier home office. Proforce AI does not replace illustrations. You start with a fully compliant illustration that Proforce then analyzes. After that, what-if predictions and comparisons can be created instantly to facilitate understanding and improve decision-making. A fully compliant illustration will again be needed for submission. Repredictions are predictions layered upon other predictions. For example, your first prediction may be to show more retirement income. Based on these results, the client may wish to see what happens if a premium is skipped or another premium is added. Proforce uses pattern recognition from an existing compliant illustration. These non-linear patterns maintain all of the original crediting, expense, mortality and administrative assumptions, but quickly scale based on changes you input. It is a Patented AI technology.

Sales Enablement Innovation—Ensight Sales Stories
We are now several years down the road into the broad Fintech transformation era.

There is no doubt that insurtech platforms are now inspiring more financial advisors and consumers to consider and adopt life insurance. The growth opportunity exists for the BGA community if they direct their focus towards adopting and delivering new digital experiences where it matters most, at the Point-of-Sale (PoS).

For permanent life insurance, annuities, and long term care, new easy-to-understand, visually intuitive digital experiences can help make these products more accessible and adoptable to a wider range of agents, financial advisors, and consumers. Ensight is leading this effort, more than any other US technology partner today. Working closely with insurance carriers, Ensight Is now launching carrier “sales stories” (think “digital sales playbooks”) on the Ensight Intelligent Quote platform.

Let’s dive Into why this market development Is so Important for the brokerage community and the future of sales.

Digital sales experiences drive greater adoption in new segments and FAs
Transforming the digital sales and marketing experience of the permanent life product suite (as well as hybrid LTC and annuities) may help ignite the spark to ensuring strong sector growth in the years ahead.

Why? Let’s look at a few key market opportunity growth trends now in play which underpin this emerging landscape, if U.S. life and annuity distribution shift with the times:

  • A complete shift by financial advisors to digital planning and product experiences
  • Millennials now aging up to 45 and entering prime pre-retirement planning years
  • New agents (Millennials, GenZ) looking to learn and sell product on digital platforms
  • The emergence of field-oriented sales enablement platforms with “producer stickiness”

These macro trends paint a significant opportunity for the sector going forward.

Digitally codifying the old “sales playbook”
Sales has traditionally been an utterly human endeavor: understanding a client’s needs, building a relationship of trust with a client, interpreting questions and objections, and guiding the client through the stages of the sale.

Great “salesmanship” has always been an art. An art learned only from top salespeople through seminars, books, advice and years of practice. Today, great salesmanship—or at the very least aspects of the sale—can be learned and ingrained much more rapidly.

Why? The “art of selling” is now shifting onto platforms. The old “sales playbook” is being transcribed into an embedded digital sales platform, where new and Inexperienced agents and advisors are following a guided digital selling experience. This is the future of agent-based selling in the life, annuity and health sector. Today, Google and Apple maps tell us where to go, what adjustments to make based upon insight into traffic conditions. The platform helps guide the “the human act of driving.” As such, new “sales enablement” platforms are now increasingly helping guide the client engagement and sales discussion. Ensight Sales Stories—A partnership between Ensight and Insurance Carriers

Ensight™ has been driving sector Innovation for years. Today it is continuing to innovate in Its drive to help Its partners sell more permanent life, annuity and long term care (LTC) insurance products through “Sales Stories,” co-developed with partner insurance carriers. Sales Stories transform the agent-client engagement and discussion. Now more than ever it is critical to simplify the story of permanent life insurance, annuities and LTC. Ensight Sales Stories are a modern digital sales playbook, fostering a simpler, “easy to follow’’ client discussion combined with a more modern Interactive, financial planning experience. Sales Stories, created In partnership with insurance carriers for the benefit of distribution, provide the Ensight’s distribution community:

  • A sales enablement experience for wholesalers, producers and agents—right alongside the traditional Illustration PDF
  • A more client-focused experience, driving better client understanding and sales

So why are Ensight Sales Stories critical today? Because distribution dynamics are changing rapidly—and we need more agents and advisors more effectively selling permanent life, annuities and long term care. Because we now operate in an economy where consumers increasingly expect to “self-educate” as part of any financial decision-making process. Because a growing majority of advisor-client financial planning discussions now take place over an intuitive digital financial planning experience. Learn more about Ensight illustration solutions at ensightcloud.com.

The landscape of Sales Illustration systems is rapidly advancing, offering enhanced functionalities that empower life BGAs and advisors to better engage with their clients. As new tools and technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence, continue to emerge, it is crucial to adapt to the preferences of the 72 million millennials entering their prime purchasing years. These consumers value visual solutions, self-service options, and interactive experiences.

Innovative platforms like InsurTech Navigator AI from InsurTech Express are leading the charge with comprehensive tools that support seamless software solution research, carrier portal access, and industry event engagement. The integration of conversational AI tools, such as Midnight Underwriter and Proforce Ledger, further streamlines processes and enhances user experience.

Additionally, sales enablement innovations like Ensight Sales Stories are transforming the way permanent life insurance, annuities, and long term care products are presented and sold. By providing intuitive, digital sales playbooks, these platforms make it easier for agents and financial advisors to communicate complex products effectively.

As the industry continues to evolve, embracing these digital solutions will be key to capturing the growing market of tech-savvy consumers. By leveraging advanced technology and AI-driven tools, life BGAs and advisors can create more engaging and efficient sales processes, ultimately driving growth and success in the life insurance sector. Visit InsurTech Navigator AI at ienavigator.ai to sign up and learn more about Ensight illustration solutions at ensightcloud.com.

Ken Leibow is founder and CEO of InsurTech Express. He brings more than 36 years of insurance industry experience with an extensive background in insurance technology for distribution and back office systems.

Prior to founding InsurTech Express, Leibow worked for Genworth Financial, Mutual of Omaha, and as vice president of operations at Diversified Underwriters Services, Inc. As COO of Integrated Insurance Technologies, he built the largest life insurance data exchange hub in the industry, processing over one million policies per year and $30 billion of annuities (now owned by Oracle, Inc.). Some of the key initiatives he implemented include innovation in quoting and illustration tools, CRM’s, agency management systems, eApp platforms and ePolicy Delivery for long term care, life insurance and annuities.

Leibow is a leader for industry technology standards, working with ACORD, LDTC, LIDMA, NAILBA, LIMRA, LOMA and IRI. In 2019, he was appointed to sit on the ACLI Innovation Committee. He is on the ACORD Life & Annuity Program Advisory Council and won the ACORD Leadership Award in 2022 and ACORD Community 50th Anniversary Award in 2020. He is a past winner of the NAILBA Chairman’s Award and NAILBA’s ID20 Award. In 2022, he was the winner of the LIDMA Innovation Award.

Leibow can be reached by telephone at 402-740-7356. Email: ken@insurtechexpress.com.