There was an interesting call out from the MetLife CEO in a recent A.M. Best article regarding the concern around finding recipients of annuity payments where there is little to no valid information to do so. Often, people who are beneficiaries of insurance products can’t be reached by carriers, so making proper payments can be a significant challenge. This issue can be viewed as an IT problem to utilize how to best match up the data internal to the carrier to external data to then find valid addresses or phone numbers to track people down.
It is clear that a strong data strategy is key to support business challenges like this. However, there is another way to look at this message, which is that as an industry we must modernize and put our customers first. We need to take the extra step to put the industry, as a whole, in a better light. Ultimately, the message must be that insurance carriers and “Big Insurance Companies” care about their customers and stand behind their products enough to go the extra mile to deliver.
For an industry that has been challenged with low sales numbers or market headwinds, this is an important message. Americans are increasingly struggling with the dilemma of figuring out how to retire or manage through life changes past their primary career. Being able to trust companies to help and provide a guaranteed level of income beyond social security can be an important aspect of a retirement plan. On this theme, Prudential announced the launch of a direct-sale deferred income annuity through the group insurance business. This certainly supports a known need in the industry to help back secure retirement, but it also recognizes the need for carriers to move beyond their existing products and channels to grow and fill demand.
It is great to see carriers challenging themselves, challenging each other, transforming services, and putting customers at the center of their activities. These investments will undoubtedly enhance the market and support carriers as they continue to endure headwinds.
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