HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — A nationally known economics forecaster said here that he believes this is a great time to sell insurance products.
But he qualified the comment.
It is a great time for selling insurance as long as producers are confident that the company can deliver on the products, said Don Ratajczak, who is regents professor emeritus of economics at Georgia State University, Atlanta.
Speaking during a breakout session at the annual meeting of National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies, Fairfax, Va., Ratajczak reviewed events leading up to the economic crisis of the past year and offered his own assessment of what might be next.
At one point, he asked, "Is there something better [for consumers] than investing in bank certificates of deposit?"
"Sure," he continued, "as long at they [consumers] are sure of the security of the product. That is why they are putting money into banks–so they [are sure] they will get their money back."
That certainty is what makes this a great time for insurance products, he said.
"This is the best market you can have," he said, adding that insurance is "so much more dominant than the other products that are available."
As for the status of the U.S. economy, Ratajczak said it is still on government life support via the stimulus program. "We need to see real earning power created by the economy" before recovery can be assured, he said.
The vital signs for the economy look okay, he said, but there is no real earnings growth as of yet.
