Could You Sell A Life Insurance Policy To Al Bundy?

BALTIMORE -- Al Bundy would not be a good life insurance prospect, but Jay Pritchett would be a warm one.

The two iconic television characters played by actor Ed O'Neill represent the hot and cold of prospecting, said Vikram Kamath, director of the LIMRA Center of Excellence for Analytics.

Kamath shared the results of new analytics LIMRA is using to drill deeper and more accurately identify who makes a good prospect, and also who makes a good agent. The session highlighted the final day of the 2019 Life Insurance Conference.

Kamath had fun recalling the Al Bundy character with the audience. The sad-sack Bundy starred in "Married... with Children," a Fox series that ran from 1986 to 1997. A shoe salesman of modest means, Bundy was forever losing in career, finances and family efforts.

"Judging by the way he was always talking about his high school football days, he didn't go to college and it never seemed like anything good was happening for him," Kamath said.

LIMRA research shows that ideal prospects are married, younger, have a decent income, have young children, have a financial advisor, and own a home or property. Not every strong prospect has all of those things, Kamath explained, but the more of them they have, the better the odds they are receptive to life insurance.

But those demographics are well known. Through its analytics algorithm, LIMRA is able to determine how much those demographics increase the likelihood of buying. And that is the new and fascinating piece of data, Kamath said.

#LifeConf new @LIMRA data on how much life milestones increase the likelihood of buying life insurance. pic.twitter.com/v7spSZbZQC

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The Jay Pritchett character, however, lives in a very upscale California home, has a big, loving family, and despite his senior citizen status, had a baby during season four of "Modern Family." The ABC show is in its 10th season.

Jay Pritchett is the kind of prospect agents want to be targeting, Kamath said.

Does that mean success is guaranteed? Of course not. To illustrate the additional barriers, Kamath used himself as an example. He is 31, married, owns a home, makes a decent salary and has a financial advisor.

"I do recognize that I have the need, but I just haven't bought yet," he said.

Who Makes A Good Agent?

The second part of Kamath's research sought to identify what makes a good agent. He found the most successful agents are older, but not too old. Otherwise, those who cannot make it wash out pretty quickly.

"If you can't make a living selling life insurance, you're going to find something else to do pretty quickly," Kamath said.

The top agents tend to have about 12 years of experience on average, he explained. Once agents reach four years of experience, the departure rate drops down to about 10 percent.

What makes a good insurance agent? #LifeConf pic.twitter.com/eovYcuYp3a

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In what Kamath called a controversial finding, the LIMRA study found that young agents who receive a salary floor, or compensation apart from commissions, produce at a lower rate.

"It's not effective," he said. "They're more likely to leave and they're more likely to produce less premium."

Subsidizing agents doesn't work, says Vikram Kamath of @LIMRA #LifeConf pic.twitter.com/YHCyMIFYef

— INNJohn (@INNJohnH) April 3, 2019

On a positive note, Kamath found that agents who "license up" turn out to be very productive. That includes Series 6, 7, 63, 65 and 66.

"Agents who get these licenses early are more productive throughout their career," Kamath said, adding that insurers and agencies should encourage and even subsidize agent education/licensing.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.