A Survey Of Life Insurance Agents And Their Understanding Of Life Settlements
Life insurance industry publication Agent’s Sales Journal conducted its annual survey of life insurance producers to ascertain whether life settlements are a viable part of an agent’s business activity and if not, the reasons why not. ASJ conducted the survey in November 2009 and interviewed 340 life insurance producers who had sold at least one policy in the prior 12 months. Survey results were presented during the just-concluded Life Settlements Awareness Month hosted by Life Settlement Solutions Inc., a San Diego life settlement provider.
The survey asked the participants to respond to 15 questions about their life settlement business activities. Sample questions included “how many life settlement transactions have you ever completed”, “do you expect to perform a life settlement in the next 12 months” and “what is your biggest challenge to offering life settlements”. The survey summarized the results and compared to year by year responses for years 2006-09.
The survey has some revealing responses. When asked about their qualifying clients (age 75 or older) who had surrendered a policy, 60% of the respondents indicated they had never discussed the life settlement option – a number consistent with prior years. Going forward, 73% of respondents said they would discuss life settlements, up from 60% in 2006. This indicates an upward trend in the intent to do a life settlement transaction in the future. 41% of respondents expected to do a life settlement transaction in the next 12 months versus 27% in 2006.
The survey also indicated that 68% of respondents had never completed a life settlement transaction in their careers, down from 82% in 2006. Of those who had never completed a life settlement, 31% said the biggest help would be additional training and education. Interestingly, 23% of respondents who had completed at least one life settlement cited additional training and education as the biggest help versus 22% who cited heightened consumer awareness as being the biggest help to doing additional life settlement business. 89% of all respondents, whether or not they had ever done a life settlement, cited either never mentioning life settlements to their qualifying clients or waiting for the client to ask the question.
The results of the survey show that, while improving slightly, many agents are not discussing life settlements with qualifying clients because of a lack of training or knowledge. While some may blame lack of consumer awareness as the reason for not discussing life settlements, the readers of this newsletter know the responsibility to inform qualifying senior clients rest on the shoulders of the insurance advisor. Waiting for the client to initiate the conversation has not proven to be a successful strategy to doing life settlement business.
Located in Manhattan Beach, California, Opulen Capital is a specialized financial services firm focusing on products and services tailored for senior citizens. Opulen Capital is one of the leading firms offering Life Settlement opportunities for high net worth clientele. We leverage unrivaled experience and exclusive relationships in the life settlement marketplace to structure, obtain, and sell life insurance products to maximize cash profits for our valued clients. Opulen Capital’s mission is to continue to provide the best solutions for our clients through the highest level of integrity and service. For more information, visit our website at http://www.OpulenCapital.com or call Opulen at 877-OPULEN-1 (877-678-5361)
