A.M. BestTV at ACLI: Life Insurers Face Regulatory Entanglements and Shrinking Producer Force

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In this episode of ^A.M.BestTV from the American Council of Life Insurers Conference (ACLI) in Washington, D.C., attendees said a range of issues, including California's new privacy rules and confusion over short-term health coverage, have insurers mounting various information campaigns. Additionally, recruitment lags as the coming wave of producers retire. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=acli11018 to view the entire program.

“This is a great time to come into this business,” said Marvin Feldman, president & chief executive officer, Life Happens. “Nevertheless, the lag in recruiting that is taking place in the industry is a concern. Research shows that the industry is going to lose 40% of its agents and advisers over the next eight to 10 years. Since our retention is only around 15%, the industry would have to hire 80,000 each year just to stay even. However, research shows that the industry is only hiring 30,000-34,000 per year. Consequently, you can see how this is a problem.”

Brian Bayerle, senior actuary, ACLI, said the rate of change is the biggest challenge facing the industry.

“The biggest challenge for the industry is the rate of change,” said Bayerle. “Everything that is going on with insurtech and big data shows that there are a lot of opportunities available. However, that means that we have to work past a lot of outdated ways of doing things. So the opportunities are there, but with them come a lot of risks,” he said.

Other people that appear in this episode:

Susan Neely, president and chief executive officer, ACLI;
Paige Freeman, senior vice president, general counsel corporate secretary, Munich American Reassurance Company;

Chuck Piacentini, vice president, insurance regulation & associate general counsel, ACLI; and
Dorothy Andrews, associate, society of actuaries, Insurance Strategies Consulting.

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

A.M. Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information.