Whole Life Insurance: Emerging Challenges in 2024
July 2024
Written by: Karen Terry , FLMI assistant vice president, LIMRA Insurance Product Research; and Nancy Moussa , associate research director, LIMRA Insurance Product Research
For over 10 years, whole life (WL) has held the largest annualized premium product share. Today, it remains the most popular permanent life insurance product on the market due to its ability to provide long-term coverage, access to cash values, and potential to earn dividends that can help grow wealth over time. LIMRA surveyed WL carriers for a more in-depth look at what is driving trends in this market.
Sales Trends
With WL’s inherent premium and coverage guarantees, this product becomes increasingly desirable in times of uncertainty. Whole life sales grew substantially from 2020 to 2021 when in-person sales resumed after the global pandemic and amidst regulatory changes, including the update to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7702. In 2022, the increased consumer demand and mortality concerns brought on by the pandemic began to wane, but in 2023 WL sales hit a record high.
Figure 1. Whole Life Insurance Annualized Premium Sales
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Although WL's annualized premium has jumped up roughly 50 percent since 2013, its market share levels have remained relatively steady as other product lines have also experienced significant gains over the past few years. Whole life products are starting to experience headwinds as the prolonged high interest rate environment is reducing its appeal compared with other life insurance products and investment options.
Product Features
With only four survey participants confirming they have a standalone juvenile WL product and eight confirming they have a standalone final expense product, the majority confirmed using a traditional WL product to sell to the juvenile or final expense market.
The sweet spot for WL sales seems to be in the ...
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7 个月Thank you for this very interesting article. Do you know any whole life insurance offers in the UK?
I am in the problems business.
7 个月One of the OLDEST policies in our Industry...STRONG