As we enter Q2 of 2021, COVID-19 continues to take an unimaginable toll across America and around the world. The pandemic has heightened people’s anxieties around their physical, emotional, and financial health. NAIFA has partnered with Life Happens and LIMRA in promotion of their Help Protect Our Families campaign, a national effort to shed light on Americans who are at risk due to lack of appropriate insurance and financial guidance.

Notable statistics of the American population in relation to life insurance and financial security:

• There are 60 million uninsured and underinsured households with an average life insurance gap of $200,000, representing more than $12 trillion in market opportunity
• 29% of Americans say they are more likely to buy life insurance due to COVID-19; 68% of people who already have coverage say they are likely to buy more.
• Based on a life insurance study conducted by LIMRA, only about a third of Americans (34%) understand the basic concepts about life insurance. Consumers with higher knowledge are 30% more likely to have enough life insurance coverage
• More than half of Millennials (52%) say they haven’t purchased life insurance because no one has approached them.
• 41% of Americans say they want to work with an agent/advisor to purchase life insurance.

With the American population in desperate need of financial guidance, the significance of our industry cannot be understated. Here is how you can help:

1. Discuss life insurance with your younger clients. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Americans at every age. However, younger Americans are now eager to purchase policies. Thus, increasing sales opportunities for experts in our industry and aiding in the decrease of the uninsured. Reach out to your younger clients, or approach current clients with advertisements illustrating the importance of life insurance during all stages of life.
2. Ease Your Process. How easy it for your clients to discuss their finances with you, receive and sign documents? Younger generations have proven to excel at the technological requirements that the pandemic has forced us to master in order to stay safe. However, is your digital landscape user friendly to all? Focusing on easing your process from start to finish will enable clients to sign up for newer/better policies much easily, thus closing the coverage gap.
3. Utilize Social Media. According to LIMRA research, most people shop for life insurance after a major life event such as buying a house, getting married, losing a loved one, or having a baby. Many see their financial advisor as a trusted member of the family or friend, meaning they are more likely to be connected to clients via social media. Moreover, research shows 87% of consumers say they use the internet to research life insurance and 40% of consumers say they are likely to check an agent’s social media presence. If you break that down to just Millennials, 57% say they are likely to check an advisor’s presence on these platforms. Make sure that you reach out and connect with clients on their social accounts and reach out when they experience major life events that would put them in market for life insurance.

For more information on the Help Protect Our Families campaign and how to help close the life insurance coverage gap, visit, www.limra.com/helpprotectourfamilies