INN Readers Had Powerball Fever In 2016

When it comes to the most widely read life insurance articles for 2016, InsuranceNewsNet readers proved that they like a good fantasy as much as anyone else.

We looked at the most popular articles for the year and found that the record $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot in January generated the most readership among our life insurance articles. It wasn’t the record Powerball payout alone that attracted our readers’ interest. It was the combined commissions of as much as $7.5 million that an advisor could earn by providing insurance to cover potential estate taxes on the Powerball jackpot.

A related article that spelled out why a life insurance agent could be the real winner in the Powerball frenzy also made it into our Top 10 list of life insurance articles.

News that Genworth was suspending new sales of life insurance products and fixed annuities to help reverse financial losses was the second-most-read life insurance article for the year. The article was one of a string of news stories about challenges facing the carrier, which announced in October that it would become a standalone subsidiary of China Oceanwide.

The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule extends into the world of life insurance and into our Top 10 life insurance article list. The impact of the DOL rule on life insurance sales was No. 3 on our list.

In our No. 4 article, a contributor provided a tale of how families of those who don’t have life insurance are increasingly turning to crowdfunding as a way of generating funds to pay for funerals and other expenses. Describing life insurance as a way of encouraging people to “gofund themselves” earned this article a place on our Top 10 list.

Cost of insurance increases made the news in 2016 and two articles on that subject made our Top 10 list. Life carriers that imposed huge rate hikes on some policyholders generated a great deal of reader interest, as did a related article on the likelihood of class action suits stemming from these rate hikes.

The most popular life insurance articles weren’t all about bad news. Innovation among life insurance carriers was the subject of one of our Top 10 articles.

Change is one of the few constants in life, and an article on how the insurance sales model is due for some major changes made it into our Top 10 list.

And finally, every client has a “bucket list” of things they want to achieve before they leave this earth. An argument for having life insurance on a client’s bucket list wound up our list of Top 10 life insurance articles.

Susan Rupe is managing editor 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 [email protected].

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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 [email protected].