The last two years have dramatically shaped the life insurance industry. As the pandemic has gone on, remote work, a talent shortage, social distancing, and direct reminders of mortality have been impacting the daily lives of customers, advisors, and insurers.
These factors have led to changes in the processes for underwriting, applying for policies, and distribution. Ongoing changes in employee demographics and a shift to primarily remote work have led insurers to prioritize digital experiences and introduce ancillary benefit solutions.
But these new hurdles have not eliminated the challenges life insurers were facing before the pandemic began. Long product development cycles, growing amounts of regulation, and the low interest rate environment are still key areas of focus for life insurers. Carriers in this space are balancing these activities with investments in innovation.
Aite-Novarica Group has identified ten top trends that will impact the life/annuity/benefits space in 2022. Some of these trends are:
- Insurers will go fully digital. Digital capabilities are no longer optional for stakeholders. Customers, employees, and agents all need a simple online user experience.
- Personalized benefits plans will become table stakes. One-size-fits-all benefits plans are a thing of the past. An organization’s employees may span up to four generations; that means employers need to have benefits packages that fit a wide range of individual needs.
- Talent retention will require creative solutions. Insurers are among the employers working hard to attract and retain top technical talent. Keeping talented employees on board will mean focusing on better training programs, flexible work options, and a broader geographical range for finding candidates.
- Cloud, data, and analytics are now foundational technologies. Once viewed as emerging technologies, cloud, data, and analytics capabilities are now necessities. Successful business models in 2022 will operate on cloud-based platforms, leverage powerful analytics tools, and derive actionable insight from their large data stores.
This year, life insurers will keep prioritizing capabilities that enable growth along with longstanding activities that keep their businesses running. Efforts by carriers in this market will be focused on improving customer engagement and building strong relationships, making it easy for agents to do business, and lowering operating costs.
To learn about the rest of the top ten trends Aite-Novarica Group has identified for life/annuity/benefits insurers for 2022, read our full report Top 10 Trends in Life, Annuities, and Benefits: Balancing Optimization With Innovation and Growth.
We will also be holding a webinar on these trends on February 10. Register here to make sure you don’t miss out on this vital discussion.