LIMRA's MarketFacts Quarterly

The cost of new insurance sales has a major impact on every company's bottom line. In November 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) made a change to the insurance industry's accounting rules for deferring acquisition costs for fiscal years beginning December 15, 2011 and carrying through 2012 and beyond. The new FASB accounting rules change the accounting treatment of all costs related to the sales of insurance products.

This article — adapted from LIMRA's 2012 Getting Social: Using Social Media to Support Your Business Strategies report — looks at the current state of social media in the financial services industry. It specifically examines insurance carriers' individual lines of business and how companies are using social media with key audiences (the public, producers, and internally).

This article — adapted from the combined LIMRA/SOA/InFRE 2011 report The Financial Recovery for Retirees Continues — explores the attitudes of the 461 retirees who were in the original 2008 and 2009 studies and contrasts the 2011 results with those of the two prior studies. Several major themes appear in the results culled from last year's retiree responses.

Individual DI continues to be a difficult product to sell. While it is valued by consumers, it is perceived as too costly and not the greatest value at its current price. Since DI is a complex product to sell, it really needs face-to-face interaction with prospects to explain it. This article offers four solutions for insurers to grow their DI sales — specifically, insurers need to

1. Continue to look for ways to reach a broader audience
2. Encourage their advisors (who are meeting with customers face to face) not to rush the process
3. Encourage advisors to approach their customers about DI needs
4. Expand and monitor their Internet presence

This section provides an overview of featured LIMRA/LOMA conferences and events scheduled in 2012. In this issue, learn the details of LIMRA's 2012 Marketing & Research Conference scheduled for May 30–June 1. Also, we revisit some of last years' networking and speaker highlights of LIMRA's Annual Conference in October, The Advanced Sales Forum and The Social Media Conference for Financial Services — both held in August, respectively, and the Group & Worksite Benefits Conference in September. In addition, preview upcoming LIMRA/LOMA meeting details and find a full schedule of all LIMRA/LOMA conferences scheduled for 2012.

Distribution cost ratios are an important tool for understanding and managing your distribution expense levels. The cost of distribution and company profitability are closely linked. Selling new policies or certificates almost invariably costs more than a company takes in on the first year of a new sale and impacts the margins available in future years as well. But when distribution costs exceed those of similar companies for more than a couple of years, something has to give. All else being equal, the competitiveness and features of products and/or level of customer service provided must be trimmed when a company consistently outspends others on sales and marketing.

Producers want to do what they do best: sell. Anything that distracts them from this can erode their relationship and lead to a negative perception of the companies with which they do business. This article helps companies avoid producer distractions.

With the decline of defined benefit plans and the uncertainty of Social Security, the need for individual retirement savings has increased dramatically. However, this need doesn't mean that consumers' propensity to save for their retirement years has also
increased — even though employer plans are making it far easier than before to do so.

Fee-based — or fee-only — compensation for financial advisors will be a topic of debate among financial services companies operating in North America in 2012 and beyond. Already, commissions for financial advisors have been banned in the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and other countries. Currently, many organizations in the United States and Canada are thinking about changing their business models to fee-based — or fee-only — compensation for advisors but are unsure where to start.

Marketing and selling to women is not about using stereotypical approaches that have been used in the past (such as designing marketing brochures in flowering colors); instead, it's about learning how women think about buying, how they build trust with their advisors, how they think about money matters, and how they understand that these patterns are usually very different from those of their male counterparts. And, as this article reports, we have more than enough research to support these facts.

Mobile technology tools have increased in usage and have grown more sophisticated and easy to use. If you market through a field force, you need to offer mobile options to your producers. Recommendations include:

• Start now (if you have not already)
• Monitor mobile interest
• Ask your producers . . . and listen (seek out to understand the mobile services and features that your producers want and how they will access them)
• Prepare for the future mobile generation

With investments in producers increasing as their jobs become more complex, financial services companies have been accelerating their search for ways to increase producer productivity. Recent LIMRA research looked into productivity gains that are associated with both increased leverage and collaboration for producers. This article reveals some of the key highlights of the research findings.

This article — adapted from LIMRA' s 2012 To Buy or Not to Buy Life Insurance — digs deeper into the differences between buyers and nonbuyers, what the buyers buy, and why nonbuyers don't buy. It covers:

• Consumers who have the opportunity to buy life insurance
• Buying experiences
• Differences between buyers and nonbuyers
• What buyers purchase
• Why nonbuyers don't buy and what could have changed their decisions

Single mothers are acutely aware of their financial limitations, and most tend to base their coverage purchases on the premiums they think they can afford, and so they risk being underinsured. Most single mothers would appreciate regular reviews of their financial situations. Financial professionals can use these opportunities to advise their clients to slowly increase their coverage levels over time as their financial situations improve through better budget management. This strategy is likely to have the additional effect of building trust — and increasing the likelihood of future purchases: Two thirds of single mothers say that trusted financial professionals are likely to influence their decisions to purchase life insurance.