According to a December LIMRA survey of industry leaders, 59 percent of insurance executives believe individual life insurance sales will stay flat, and 68 percent believe group life sales will halt this year.
LIMRA senior vice president Robert Baranoff says, though sales may not grow by much in 2011, they do predict certain products to "stand out in the low-interest environment."
A third of executives believe indexed insurance products had the most growth potential in 2011. With the resolution of 151A and lower interest rates, indexed life insurance has become more attractive to producers and has more carriers entering the market. Twenty-seven percent of executives believe whole life insurance will grow the most in 2011. Universal life and term products each garnered about a fifth of the votes.
The majority of executives believe there will be sales growth in middle market, which will result in an increase in policy count. Companies are targeting this market because of the high number of U.S. households that are uninsured or underinsured.
