Though sales of life insurance through
direct channels in the US has been around for a long time, little
detail about their significance has been available.
This has been changed by a study undertaken by
research and consulting organisation LIMRA International which
reveals that direct channels account for one out of every five
individual policies sold.
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“For the first time, we have been able to
quantify the amount of individual life insurance sold through
direct channels, like the internet, direct mail and telephone,”
said Ron Neyer, a senior analyst at LIMRA’s distribution research
unit.
“Direct marketing accounts for a much larger
portion of life insurance sales than previously reported.”
Neyer added that limra’s quantification
includes sales generated directly through carriers as well as by
third-party quoting aggregators.
LIMRA estimates that, in 2008, over 2m
individual life insurance policies were purchased through direct
channels. In addition, direct response sales totaled $675m in new
premium income in 2008 and total face value reached $233bn.
The internet has been the biggest driver of
direct sales, with number of consumers who bought insurance online
doubling between 2006 and 2008.
