人寿保险新生活：重振行业增长

Aligning marketing and distribution can bridge the lifeinsurance coverage gap and boost industry growth. By Rebecca Stephens-Wells, Andrew Schwedel, Jacob Crandall,Bryan Hodgens, Laura Murach, Todd Silverhart Authors and acknowledgments Rebecca Stephens-Wellsis a partner in Bain & Company’s Financial Services practice, with a focus Andrew Schwedelis a partner in Bain & Company’s Financial Services, Strategy, and Organization Jacob Crandallis a partner in Bain & Company’s Customer Strategy & Marketing practices. Bryan Hodgensis the senior vice president and head of research for LIMRA and LOMA. Laura Murachis the research director, distribution research, for LIMRA and LOMA. Todd Silverhartis the corporate vice present, research quality & market research, for LIMRA and This report is a collaborative effort between Bain & Company and LIMRA and LOMA. The authors would The authors are especially grateful to the chief marketing officers who generously shared their time and Thanks also to Jason Yoffe, manager; Anna Beeck, marketing; and Emily Gref and the editorial team for New Life for Life Insurance: Revitalizing Industry Growth At a Glance According to LIMRA consumer research, 42% of US adults identify a coverage need. Closing the As a result, Bain & Company and LIMRA surveyed consumers and financial professionals to Before purchasing life insurance, 90% of consumers want to understand it better. While 72% of consumers with a self-reported need say they want to speak with a financial Carriers should increase their marketing investments in strategies that drive consumer engagement. Stagnating growth, declining penetration Despite expansion across other financial services sectors, individual life insurance has seen essentiallyzero growth in real terms over the past decade (see Figure 1). Inflation-adjusted sales did see a bump Alongside stagnating growth, individual life insurance has seen declining penetration (see Figure 2).Fewer US consumers have life insurance policies. And yet, while ownership of retail life insurance has The “protection gap” In 2024, 42% of US adults reported not having enough, or any, life insurance coverage despite recognizinga need for it. This need is significant: Half of consumers within the “protection gap” indicate they are likelyto buy coverage. Yet they aren’t buying it. Affordability is a genuine challenge, with more than 66% of thisgroup citing cost or other financial priorities as the main reason for not purchasing life insurance.Inflationary environments exacerbate perceived affordability; however, affordability isn’t the primary issue.In reality, the protection gap spans income bands and ages. More than 80% of individuals within the New Life for Life Insurance: Revitalizing Industry Growth US individual life insurance annualized premium equivalent,in lation-adjusted ($ billion, indexed to 2014) Retail life ownership has declined~8 pptsover the last 20 years The protection gap has increased~11 ppts over the last 10 years Consumer perception of retail life insuranceownership (percentage of US adults reportingcoverage) Life insurance protection gap, 2014–24(percentage of US adults) New Life for Life Insurance: Revitalizing Industry Growth Understanding consumer behavior Consumers self-report a need for life insurance, and many have the income to afford it. So, what’s stoppingthem from purchasing? In short, insurance carriers are failing to convert consumer interest into action(see Figure 4). During the life insurance discovery process, consumer behavior reveals three key barriers New Life for Life Insurance: Revitalizing Industry Growth Consumers want information, and increasingly, the first place they look is online. Nine out of 10 consumerscite a desire to “understand life insurance for themselves” before purchasing it, and they indicate thatwebsites are their primary, trusted sources of self-education. However, navigating carrier websites can bechallenging, and the information they provide is often complex and difficult to comprehend, frequently In fact, lack of price transparency may be one of the biggest barriers to purchase and may explain, in part,why so many consumers view life insurance as financially unattainable. The misconceptions around priceare staggering: Nearly three-quarters of Americans overestimate the true cost of a basic term life policy, In addition to the cost of coverage, consumers worry about the affordability of professional advice. Thisapprehension, coupled with the difficulty of finding clear information online, prevents them from seekinghelp from a qualified financial professional. According to joint Bain/LIMRA research, 72% of prospects Aligning marketing and distribution to drive growth Building a customer journey that makes it easy to find well-matched financial professionals and clear,digestible information (about both product value and cost) will help close the coverage gap. Current carrier Compared to other