14 ID Trends NAILBA
Impacts on DI market
As advisors head into a third year of pandemic worries , a July 2021 survey from MDRT reveals perceptions around disability insurance and protecting family needs .
Forty-two percent of Americans who acquired new insurance policies since March 2020 said COVID-19 was a factor in their decision , according to an MDRT public opinion survey . That makes COVID-19 the primary reason for Americans to acquire new policies since the pandemic started .
“ It ’ s the biggest societal driver of insurance sales since World War II ,” said Sara Samuels , J . D ., CLU , RICP , a Chicago-based Wealth Management Advisor with Northwestern Mutual .
Family Comes First
Money doesn ’ t buy insurance . Good health does .
Baker Ronn
Article provided by MDRT , the Premier Association of Financial Professionals ®. For more information , please visit https :// www . mdrt . org / and follow them on Twitter (@ MDRtweet ).
The survey revealed Americans with at-home dependents became especially worried about COVID-19 , with 61 % saying the virus made them more anxious about dying early , becoming disabled or needing long-term care , compared to 50 % of Americans without at-home dependents .
This demographic split carries over into insurance purchases , with more Americans with athome dependents than Americans without any saying they purchased life , long-term disability and long-term care insurance since March 2020 . According to the survey : 26 % of Americans with at-home dependents said they purchased life insurance , compared to 10 % of Americans without at-home dependents . 12 % of Americans with at-home dependents said they purchased long-term disability insurance , compared to 5 % of Americans without at-home dependents . 11 % of Americans with at-home dependents said they purchased long-term care insurance , compared to 3 % of Americans without at-home dependents .
“ In a time where we have so much illness and death surrounding us , it ’ s reassuring to know that people are focusing on protecting their families ,” said Ann Baker Ronn , CLU , ChFC , LUTCF , Director of Insurance with The AFP Group , LLC , in Houston .
Wanting to provide for one ’ s family after death was a primary motivation for clients to acquire insurance before the pandemic , and it remains the case now . According to the survey , 36 % of Americans who said they acquired new insurance policies since March 2020 also listed that reason as a factor in their purchases .
But not all Americans seeking new insurance policies have families , according to Samuels . “ I ’ ve had many millennial clients wanting to proactively engage in this kind of financial planning . We are seeing our clients doing more planning at younger ages , and well ahead of traditional planning points like getting married or having children .”