Having 6 – 8 weeks to put a life policy in force is laughable . I ’ m convinced we ’ re at a crossroads of technology change in our business like we ’ ve never seen before . Why ? Out of necessity . Fix the problem or perish . We ’ re starting to see the ability to electronically quote – underwrite – bind and issue a policy in as little as 5 minutes . A game changer , no doubt . Now we just need the industry to embrace the technology and we ’ ll be a growth industry .
Eric Griffin : The biggest change for us within the last 12 months has been the continued adoption of electronic applications and e-policy delivery . It was a struggle to get many advisors to break the habit of long-form paper applications . When COVID happened it forced their hand and there has been no going back . Prior to March 2020 , only about 50 % of incoming applications were e-apps . Currently 83 % of our applications are e-apps and that is only increasing .
Tim Bellig : The great challenge remains the same , that is , educating and advising our clients on how our protection products can greatly improve their needs and objectives . Our value is in being there every year for the client with a high level of expertise and access to a national platform .
Angie Hughes : And , let ’ s not forget Medicare . If you aren ’ t already in this space , you need to start now . Lots of prospects , great renewable income stream and , now , thanks to the technology , lots of tools to make quoting super easy .
Matt Essick : The challenge for life and annuity insurance carriers and distributors is that they rapidly need to improve the overall “ digital fitness ” of the organization . Organizations that can meet this challenge will accrue outsized returns and competitive advantage in the next decade . Organizations that fail to meet this challenge stand a high likelihood of diminishing sales and scale .
Every sector is being re-thought , and the insurance sector is now broadly at the technology doorstep . My recommendation – challenge the norms ; rethink business models ; trust your ideas , be bold and strive for re-invention . Blair Farwell : My advice for carving out a path for success would be to be dedicated in your pursuit of the meeting . Brokers need to work with their clients to gauge where they are , rectify pain points , inconveniences or things in the insurance purchasing experience that are inherently unpleasant . I believe you can add a great deal of value to the insurance distribution system if you continue to evolve your needs assessment , underwriting experience and serve your clients in a unique way while optimizing the insurance purchasing experience .
Mike Pepe : Ultimately , no matter what your title is , the buyer ( the policyowner ) is who we are all here to serve . We got into this business because we want to make a difference for the millions of people who rely on their life insurance coverage every day . And those people are demanding that we modernize the way we sell and manage life insurance . It ’ s up to us to rise to the occasion .
Pam Sheehan Vice President , NAILBA ID Media Network PSheehan @ nailba . org www . nailba . org 15