6 Important New Things to Know About Life Insurance Now

Analysts at Conning aren't letting reporters see their new life and annuity distribution and marketing review.

They have included a few interesting numbers in an executive summary.

One has to do with the relationship between "first-year direct" life insurance premiums and new life insurance sales.

Conning analysts have to be careful to cut renewal premiums out of the total direct premiums, because life insurers get a lot more of their total direct premium revenue from renewal premiums.

From 2013 through 2017, renewal premiums averaged 73% of life insurers' total direct premiums, Conning said.

Analysts at the Hartford, Connecticut-based firm also revealed that:

60 of the 276 insurer groups that reported individual life insurance sales reported no individual annuity sales.
Life insurers have been selling 9.5 million to 11 million new policies per year, but the number of lapses and surrenders is higher than the number of new policy sales.
Sales look reasonably stable, because the death benefits are higher, but market penetration is down.

Here's a look at five other recent life market happenings.

1. American International Group Inc.

AIG's Houston-based life insurance business has added online centers for its indexed universal life (IUL) products.

The company has posted a center for its Quality of Life IUL products at http://www.aig.com/QoLIUL.

The company has added an online center for its other IUL products at http://www.aig.com/IUL.

The company also has a collection of life insurance-related tools available here.

AIG writes its IUL products through American General Life Insurance Company.

2. Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial had the idea of reducing coverage prices.

The Radnor, Pennsylvania-based company says it will reduce prices for customers ages 30 and older who buy Lincoln LifeElements Level Term life insurance with a death benefit of $1 million or more.

The company will also lower premiums for purchasers ages 55 and older who choose a death benefit of $500,000 or more.

Lincoln did not say why it chose to lower rates for those specific types of customers.

The company writes the policies through Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.

3. Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal is expanding a program that rewards life insurance insureds' for taking steps to improve their physical and financial health.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based company was offering its My Principal Lifestyle app program to holders of a few policies in just three states.

Now, any qualifying life insurance policyholder in an approved state can participate fully in the program.

Participants earn points for taking steps such as exercising and meeting daily goals. Participants who earn enough points can exchange the points for gift cards.

People who simply want to improve their wellness levels, and not earn gift cards, can get and use the app even if they do not have life insurance from Principal.

Greg Linde, a senior vice president at Principal, said the company thought offering the app would be a good way to reward customers who were making positive lifestyle choices, and to give others an incentive to make positive choices.

About 54% of the early program participants have lost weight, Principal says.

Participants average about 7,000 steps per stay, compared with an estimated national average of about 2,000 steps per day.

4. Haven Life Insurance Agency

Haven Life, a New York-based startup backed by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, is now expanding access to the Haven Term life policy, which the company sells through a website with an automated underwriting system.

Haven Life will now offer to coverage to consumers based in the United States who are not U.S. citizens.

Offering coverage to people who are living in the United States using visas or green cards could increase the number of people eligible to apply by about 22 million, the company says.

The company has also started offering the term life coverage to people with chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, anxiety, depression, sleep apnea, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Haven Life did not estimate how many people its new chronic illness guidelines might add to its market potential.

Haven Life gets the coverage it sells from MassMutual.

5. Global Atlantic Financial Group

Global Atlantic has introduced the Lifetime Foundation ELITE indexed universal life insurance policy.

Global Atlantic says it s aiming the policy at consumers who want simple, affordable death benefit guarantees.

The maximum guarantee period will depend on the purchaser's underwriting class.

A purchaser in the best underwriting class for death benefit guarantees can have the policy death benefit guaranteed up to age 90, or up to 40 years, whichever comes first.

A purchaser can buy a terminal illness accelerated death benefit rider.

A purchaser can also buy an Accelerated Access rider. That rider makes the death benefit available to an insured who suffers a chronic illness or a critical illness.

A third rider, a Wellness for Life Rider, provides rewards for insureds who practice healthy habits.

Global Atlantic is issuing the policy through its Accordia Life and Annuity Company unit.

— Read Life Application Activity Inches Higher: MIB, on ThinkAdvisor.

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