September is Life Insurance Awareness Month

Many Americans do not have adequate life insurance protection. According to LIMRA, 30 % of US households have no life insurance whatsoever. There are 11 million fewer American households covered by life insurance today compared with six years ago.

In fact, Life Insurance ownership is at a 50 year low.

Agents who sell Life Insurance need to understand today's environment and plan their marketing efforts accordingly.

Some statistics:

* 30% of U.S. households have no life insurance at all; only 44% have individual life insurance.

* 50% of U.S. households (58 million) say they need more life insurance.

* The average amount of coverage for U.S. adults has dropped to $167,000, down $30,000 from the average coverage in 2004.

Why Aren't Consumers Buying Life Insurance?

* "Everyday expenses" such as energy costs, food, clothing and transportation were cited by more than half of consumers surveyed as limits on ability to save for financial goals.

* 86% of consumers who believe they need life insurance haven't bought it because they think it is too expensive.

* When surveyed on financial issues, "money for a comfortable retirement" was the top pick of 67% of consumers. By contrast, concerns that life insurance coverage traditionally addresses (such as premature death, funeral expenses and leaving an inheritance) registered as a top priority for less than 40% of consumers surveyed.

* Among households saying they are likely to buy life insurance in the next 12 months, 35% say the reason they have not yet bought more life insurance is because no one has approached them about it.       

But, thousands of Consumers are Buying Life Insurance Every Day

*   41% percent of Life Insurance shoppers say life events (marriage, children, buying a house, etc.) motivated them to shop for life insurance. Insurance agents should concentrate on marketing to these key trigger groups.   New Homeowner and New Parents list are easy to obtain and Insurance agents should make it a priority to reach out to these key market groups – especially knowing that 41% of life insurance buyers are from these groups.

Insurance agents can obtain New Homeowner data on a weekly basis and personalize their list by selecting the purchase price of the home. Dataman Group provides this data weekly and scrubs their telephone numbers twice a month against state and national Do Not Call lists so agents who prefer to contact their prospects via phone can call with confidence.

Insurance agents can also obtain lists of New Parents from Dataman Group, personalizing their lists with demographic information about the parent as well as household income.

Consumers Prefer to Shop & Buy Life Insurance Face-to-Face

* Face-to-face is still the most preferred method for buying life insurance. While 86% of consumers use the Internet to research life insurance before purchasing, only 16% percent of consumers would prefer to buy insurance completely online. 

*But how can Insurance Agents reach key consumers to set the appointment?

Direct Mail Works

* Direct mail is the   only way   to consistently reach the top Life Insurance trigger groups of New Homeowners and New Parents. A well thought out letter with appropriate premium will earn Insurance Agents a coveted face-to-face appointment.   People buy insurance from people.

Insurance agents who commit to consistent marketing to the top insurance buyer groups - New Homeowners and New Parents - will write the most policies.