The Life Insurance Evolution: Adapting To Modern Consumers
The growth of digital distribution is changing how the life insurance industry serves modern consumers.
In this podcast episode, we spoke with Marc Verbos, Executive Vice President, and Mike English, Sales Operations & Implementation Manager at AIMCOR Group about modern consumer expectations, how the insurance buying process needs to evolve, and understanding why there is still such a large under-served, uninsured market.
Join us as we discuss:
How AIMCOR is innovating to meet consumer expectations from a distribution perspective
Streamlining the insurance buying process & new digital expectations of agents
Tapping into the under-served market by using digital data sources
The future of digital distribution
“I've learned a great deal about the industry, but more so about how this industry is so ripe for change.” — Mike English
From legacy to forward-looking
Ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, and most wouldn’t say they want to work in insurance. Marc, however, wanted and did exactly that. His grandfather was a founding member of a prestigious firm, and Marc decided to follow in his family footsteps. He soon realized there’s a lot more work involved in helping people secure the proper coverage , but he’s still proud to be a leader of the insurance industry as an EVP at AIMCOR.
Mike’s journey took a slightly different trajectory. From the investment and banking world, he became an expert at helping clients leave their legacy processes behind and migrate to newer, more advanced platforms.
Golf brought them together, and now they’re driven by the vast opportunities for industry growth and change.
“It’s exciting to come and work with people who are always thinking ahead,” says Mike, “not looking at how we've always done things, but how can we do them better in the future?”
The rapidly evolving consumer landscape
As Marc points out, “Everything around us is moving to a digital environment or a digital experience.” Insurance has been lagging behind for some time now, and that just doesn’t fly anymore.
It’s all about serving the customer. Consumers today demand nearly instant gratification in every aspect of life. Due to the pandemic, people feel more comfortable performing whatever transactions they can in the virtual world.
“If you're going to say you're moving in one direction, have everyone moving alongside and be ready to go.” — Mike English
Layered behavioral change
Leading a digital transformation is no easy feat. Especially in the insurance world, it requires a big mindset shift that begins at the agent level. Hanging on to the idea that face-to-face interactions (and traditional processes) is necessary for the industry will only drive customers away.
How do you even get started on streamlining the insurance buying process? Mike says it’s crucial to get everyone on the same page, from customer service reps to the C-suite.
Marc gives the carriers credit for their willingness to adopt change and have confidence in new technology. With AI-powered underwriting, more resources can be directed towards growth — and reaching out to the underserved.
Growing toward a positive direction
There’s more demand now for life insurance than ever before. Marc feels that the industry is definitely moving the right way, but there are still plenty of challenges, especially when it comes to managing expectations for both customers and agents.
Mike says there’s a simple, two-pronged approach that works:
Digitally enable the front line to spend less time on paperwork and more time growing the business.
Dive deeper into providing relevant services and authentic value to your customers.
He also believes that a unified system across all carriers will allow more access to clients via nontraditional distributors.
“For distributors, in order to sell more and to reach more people, they have to process less.” — Marc Verbos
Distribution and the underserved market
There’s more demand for life insurance products than ever before and a huge potential market for the currently uninsured.
But there’s also pushback because of profitability. Marc acknowledges that “you can't profitably focus time and energy on that business because you're losing $5 for every dollar you're making.”
He stresses that “we have to be willing to give up some of those back-office things through technology, through centralization” in order to fully engage these new clients on every channel.
More digitally-savvy “New Wave” carriers with instant-issue products are basking in that market right now.
An Integrated state
So what does the future hold for distribution? Marc envisions a fully integrated environment of insurance and financial products, a one-stop shop for consumers that will maintain and engage with them for life.
According to Mike, the entire quote process has to become more dynamic, and algorithmic underwriting will make that happen. Somewhat ironically, automation will enable pricing and products that are much more individualized. Harnessing the power of data will take field underwriting to the next level.
The last two years greatly increased the pace of change, but Mike fears we’re beginning to slow down again. We need to keep the momentum moving forward, as Marc encourages us “to be prepared, ready, and willing to meet the challenges of the future so that we can deliver on our commitment to the consumer, which is to protect their financial futures and families.”
Improving processes, focusing on building relationships, aligning with authentic partnerships and making the buying experience easier and faster — that’s how the industry will evolve to adapt to modern consumers.
Never miss an episode of Digital Insurance Innovator at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.
