The results of a study performed by the LIFE Foundation and LIMRA have indicated that Americans – particularly those in younger age groups – would rather make their life insurance purchases online, through the mail, or by phone.
Though the majority – 64 percent – of consumers continue to make their life insurance purchases from an insurance agent, that number is rapidly decreasing when compared to the 1996 statistics. In that year, 80 percent of people were buying their insurance in person.
According to president and CEO Marvin H. Feldman, of the LIFE Foundation, over the last 15 years, the internet has made a significant difference in the way consumers make their purchases. He added that by identifying the increasing desire that consumers have to use online tools to research and purchase their life insurance, insurers and agents have come up with innovative new efforts to engage with these consumers and to better serve them “through their websites and social media platforms that are more convenient for the customer.”
Three quarters of Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 years make the internet their first choice for buying life insurance.
The research also showed that 86 percent of consumers feel that life insurance is a necessity for people in general, though only 70 percent believe that they, themselves need life insurance. Sixty-three percent say that they already have some kind of life insurance.
According to Feldman, while life insurance is easier to obtain and less expensive now than ever before, millions of people still admit that they have put off buying a policy, regardless of believing that it is important to have one.