Advisors remain crucial to the future of distribution

Agents and advisors remain crucial to the future of insurance distribution, a panel of industry leaders said at Protectors 2026.

“We’ll still need advisors and agents to sell our product,” said Bill Shelow, CEO and president of LIBRA Insurance Partners.

“How do we work with property/casualty agents, with accountants, with benefit firms to penetrate the market to get better access to consumers? How do we get more people in this business to wake up every day and realize that selling life insurance is a bigger and better part of what we do? How do we get the message, motivation, education and partnering to the point where we generate more activity? And how do we get advisors to see what we do collectively for their clients?

The distributor that wins in the future is the one that helps advisors serve clients, said Patrick Kelly, CEO and cofounder of Signal Advisors. And technology is the way to do that.

“With artificial intelligence, you can build a financial plan in 10 minutes now instead of spreadsheeting stuff,” he said, adding that AI can also support advisors who want to add more product lines to their offerings.

The industry’s best days are ahead, said Todd Buchanan, president of AmeriLife Wealth and CEO of Crump Life Insurance Services.

“We have a more educated consumer base than ever,” he said. “Clients are coming to us, and they know what product they want, but there are several variations of that product. That's where the advisor comes in.

“We want to make insurance the place where the cool kids hang out. We need to bring new people in and help them make the win immediately.”

'Compensation must change'

The foundation of recruiting agents must change, said Rona Guymon, president of retail life and annuity with Prosperity Life.

”Compensation must change and training must change to give them a life path to success,” she said.

Shelow called for the industry to take responsibility for educating the public about insurance and financial products.

“In the media, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about life insurance and what it does for individuals and businesses,” he said.

“If we’re going to make a dent in the underserved population, we must be more effective about that. That way, when an agent calls a prospect and says they want to talk about life insurance, there is a little more receptivity.”

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Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at susan.rupe@innfeedback.com.