The Overconfident U.S. Life-Insurance Consumer
Report Summary
The Overconfident U.S. Life-Insurance Consumer
Americans are not adequately insured, but many of them think they are, giving insurers an enormous opportunity to educate them.
Boston, February 1, 2012 – A new report from Aite Group provides insight into one of the reasons that American lives are inadequately insured: the huge gap between how much life insurance Americans think they need and how much they actually need. Based on an October 2011 Aite Group survey of 1,024 U.S. consumers, the report explores U.S. consumers’ attitudes concerning their life insurance sales and purchasing experience, reasons for seeking coverage, and current life insurance coverage.
No matter how you slice and dice the results, the amount of insurance Americans own is nowhere near sufficient for them to achieve their goals. This overwhelming disparity represents a huge opportunity for life insurers to better educate consumers about the importance of the industry’s core value proposition.
“Conveying this information to consumers won’t be an easy task, given that many don’t want to hear about their own mortality,” says Clark Troy, research director with Aite Group and co-author of this report. “Nevertheless, opportunities will open up to insurers who are willing and able to inform consumers about their true insurance needs.”
This 16-page Impact Note contains 10 figures. Clients of Aite Group’s Life Insurance service can download the report.