Consumers Eager for Life Insurance, Buck Life Insurance Myths
Deloitte LLP, a financial advisory firm, has released the findings of its recent survey of life insurance buyers-and it has found something surprising: Many individuals don't have insurance coverage because no carrier has tried to sell them their products.
Deloitte said that, in fact, even insured individuals who are interested in purchasing new coverage reported not having been solicited by carriers-pointing to a new opportunity for insurers (and, of course, for insurance professionals who already have a life insurance continued education or insurance CE) to exploit.
"From our survey it is clear that life insurance is very much on the minds of many consumers," said Rebecca C. Amoroso, vice chairman and U.S. Insurance Leader for Deloitte, in an interview with insurancenewsnet.com. "A significant percentage of respondents have simply not been offered coverage recently; many also noted that they never shop for coverage on their own initiative. Not soliciting their business exacerbates this gap between insurers' interests and consumers' needs."
Sam Friedman, insurance leader for Deloitte Research and survey-project leader said: "A significant number of respondents frankly don't know if they need more insurance-or if they do, they don't know how much they might need to buy."
Deloitte said the survey, "The Voice of the Life Insurance Consumer," was designed and conducted to give life insurers insights into how people value life insurance, especially where coverage ranked among their other financial priorities, and how consumers wanted to be reached. In addition to priorities, the survey looked into buyers' and nonbuyers' beliefs, influences, motivations, and preferences.
Meanwhile, InsuranceHotline.com attempts to bust some myths about insurance, the least understood insurance line among buyers.
Myth 1:No need to buy insurance while still young. In truth, there are more good reasons to get coverage when still young than when one is older. One major reason: lower premiums. Another reason: the younger and healthier the individual is, the easier it is to qualify for coverage.
Myth 2. Insurance is expensive. Not really-not if the buyer shops around enough. There are ample options on the market today to make life insurance affordable for just about anyone. Term insurance policies are surprisingly affordable.
Myth 3.No-medical-exam insurance is the choice for you. Not always and certainly not for everyone. InsuranceHotline.com still recommends a traditional policy. Traditional policies give more options in policy length and coverage amounts.
Myth 4. Buyers must choose: term insurance whole life insurance? There really is no need to choose between the two because the wise decision is to have both. A whole policy is for the long-term, while a term policy is for the period when a life need requires a larger coverage.