BY
New Orleans
David Woods, CEO of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors as well as head of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, spoke about the issues that the task force is addressing in an interview here with National Underwriter.
Woods said the 2 main threats to the industry are the lower number of new recruits in the agency force, along with low retention, and the reduction in the number of people who own life insurance.
There are millions of Americans, he said, who dont own life insurance and thus who dont talk to Congress about concerns involving life insurance.
There is a need to preserve the tax benefits of life insurance, Woods said, but if Congress comes to believe the tax benefits are only for the rich, the tax benefits may not be preserved.
Woods noted that a recent survey showed that 50 million people under age 65 said they need more life insurance. However, he added, fewer than 10 million policies were sold last year, a shortfall of 40 million, which he called an "appalling statistic."
Woods said he is convinced the vast majority of the 40 million are in the middle market and that the market is not being served. Woods said his gut feeling is that of those 40 million people, 35 million didnt buy it because no one asked them.
