Producers excelling despite economic woes

By Daniel Williams

Commentary December 01, 2008 at 07:00 PM

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Although the economy has hit a full-blown recession, according to government reports, independent advisors have been faring very well.

A LIMRA survey conducted last month with nearly 700 producers found that advisors are making the best of tough times by making a connection with their clients.

What advice are advisors giving their clients? According to the survey, "85 percent of individual producers reassured their clients to stay the course, while nearly three-quarters provided their clients with information about the financial stability of a company or product. In addition, about two-thirds of these advisors suggested to some clients that this is a good time to invest."

That advice appears to be working. Robert Baranoff, LIMRA senior vice president for member benefits, says, "producers report that almost 90 percent of their clients made no changes to their financial portfolios as a result of the financial crisis and 46 percent of the producers surveyed obtained new referrals during this period."

Other tidbits that came out of the survey:

One-third of respondents think the U.S. economy will stabilize within one year.
More than 90 percent of producers surveyed think their business in 2009 will be as good as or better than it was in 2008.
Producers want better communication from carriers. In particular, they want carriers to be more proactive in communicating the security of life insurance.

Let us know how your business is doing. Has it picked up in recent months, decreased in activity or stayed roughly the same?

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