Scaling Back or Doubling Down: Which Is Your Stance on DEI?
By Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
A recent article in Life Annuity Specialist (September 24, 2024) was titled, "Corporate DEI at a Crossroads: Companies Split Between Scaling Back and Doubling Down" (subscription required). This got me thinking about when this movement began earnestly impacting my "corporate life" as part of senior leadership of a life insurance company.
It's not as if we weren't already discussing diversity, equity and inclusion, and the concept of unconscious bias, but what happened in America after George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement truly sparked new and more intense conversations on race and culture. For some Baby...
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Industry News
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Preneed Insurance Sales Nearly $3 Billion in 2023
Demand for preneed insurance (prefunded funeral arrangements) rose in 2023, according to the latest annual LIC Preneed Survey Report. Among the 16 survey participants, the total number of cases grew to over 517,000, representing $2.9 billion in sales. In 2023, the average face amount was $5,352 for single premium policies, $6,356 for multi-pay policies, and $4,803 for preneed annuities.
The report is available for nonparticipating companies to purchase, with discounts for LIC Members and LIMRA/LOMA Members.
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Picture Yourself in Clearwater at the 2025 LIC Annual Conference & Winter CEO Forum
Registration is open now for the LIC Annual Conference, February 5-7, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. This year's theme is "Unlocking Potential: Research-Fueled Decision Making."
Insurance company CEOs should arrive early for the LIC Winter CEO Forum at the same location, February 4-5, 2025.
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Insurers Struggle to Meet Policyholder Expectations
The Capgemini Research Institute's World Life Insurance Report 2025, published October 15, 2024, reveals that the life insurance industry is struggling to meet today's customer experience expectations, with legacy technology being a major barrier to driving meaningful change. However, the report identifies a small group of life insurers globally delivering quantifiably outstanding customer experience to achieve "best-in-class" status.
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LIC Preneed Forum Features Customer Experience Panel
Customer Experience will be one of the featured topics at the 2024 LIC Preneed Forum, November 6-7 at Physicians Mutual in Omaha. Jeff Dahms, Director of Customer Experience and Insights at Physicians Mutual will moderate the panel discussion with Judy Olson, Vice President, Sales and Business Development at National Guardian Life; Scott Morris, VP Business Development at Homesteaders; and Melissa Kaisershot, Director of Customer Service at Physicians Mutual. They'll be exploring the unique and varied customer types in the preneed space, challenges and successes of creating best-in-class experiences for each. Space is still available, and all companies in or interested in preneed are encouraged to attend.
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Transamerica Broadens Reach in Final Expense Market
In a September 20, 2024, article in Life Annuity Specialist, it was reported that Transamerica has issued a new digitally distributed final expense product. The article cited market data from LIC's annual Final Expense Survey.
In other news... LIC's Final Expense Survey was also cited in an August 2024 Life Annuity Specialist article: "Final Expense Insurers Are Struggling, But Don't Write Their Obituaries Yet."
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Small-to-Midsize Insurer/Fraternal CEO Compensation Study Available
The American Fraternal Alliance/LIC 2024 CEO Compensation Survey was completed in October 2024, with 56 companies responding (21 insurance companies and 35 fraternal benefit societies). The study covers CEO, #2 staff, and Board compensation and related policies, overall and by asset class. Nonparticipants can purchase the report for $400 from the American Fraternal Alliance.
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Gallagher Re Offers Webinar on PE-Backed Reinsurers
Panelists will discuss the AIR market and the impact of private equity-backed reinsurers in a Gallagher Re webinar at 10 a.m. ET on October 31, 2024.
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LIC Strategy Execution Webinar Series Recordings Available
A three-part LIC webinar series on Strategy Execution, presented by Heaton Consulting in April, July, and September 2024, is now available for streaming. Recordings include:
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Studies Point to COVID's Lasting Impact on Mortality
Four years after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, several reports delve into its current and continuing impact on mortality. Many countries are still reporting elevated all-cause excess mortality compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to a September 2024 report from Swiss Re. This report was also featured in a Life Annuity Specialist article.
Focusing on the United States, an August 2024 Milliman white paper, "COVID-19 mortality: The past, present, and future," explores mortality trends based on the Milliman COVID-19 Claims Survey and other mortality data.
RGA also released a white paper in August 2024. "Post-pandemic US Population Mortality: How to track it and why it matters" cites CDC death data and USCB population estimates in an analysis of COVID's mortality impact and predictions for the future.
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Insurer Risk Officers Contend with Evolving Cyber, Geopolitical Risks
An S&P article titled "IN/sights 2024: Insurer CROs flag evolving cyber, geopolitical risks" (subscription required) cited chief risk officers from Guardian Life and Ascot Group, who spoke at the October 2024 conference. Evolving cyber and geopolitical risks present some of the most significant threats facing insurers, they said.
In other ERM news... A study by the Society of Actuaries (Does Enterprise Risk Management Enhance Insurers' Resilience? Empirical Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic Period) found that insurers with more sophisticated ERM frameworks suffered fewer losses than those whose ERM frameworks were less sophisticated.
LIC's ERM Committee aims to help smaller companies strengthen their ERM programs through topical programming and peer-to-peer discussion. The fall conference call is open for registration; anyone involved in enterprise risk management is welcome to register at www.loma.org/LICERMFall.
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Bloomberg: The Math Says It's Getting Harder to Break Into the American Middle Class
Some major milestones are becoming frustratingly unattainable for many families, helping to create economic pessimism that hangs over the election, according to an October 17, 2024, Bloomberg article.
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Western & Southern Offers Career Pathway for UC Students
Western & Southern is partnering with the University of Cincinnati 1819 Innovation Hub on a program that allows UC students to work on campus as part of the Western & Southern Accelerated Career Program. The partnership provides students with real-world professional experience while creating a pathway toward full-time employment.
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MassMutual To Shut Down Insurtech Subsidiary
InsuranceNewsNet reported that MassMutual is folding its insurtech subsidiary Haven Technologies at the end of 2024.
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Rating Downgrades Outnumber Upgrades in First Half of 2024
Credit rating downgrades in the U.S. life/annuity and health insurance segments in first-half 2024 outnumbered upgrades and more than doubled compared with the same prior-year period, primarily due to deterioration in risk-adjusted capitalization and balance sheet metrics, according to a new AM Best special report.
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Interest Rates, AI Usage Among Drivers of Growth in Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance sales are expected to increase in the months ahead due to a combination of industry trends and changing economic conditions, according to insights from a recent LIMRA webinar, as reported by InsuranceNewsNet.
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Globe Life Targeted in Extortion Attempt
MarketWatch reported that Globe Life, targeted in an extortion attempt by an "unknown threat actor," does not expect the incident to have a material impact on the company.
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Prudential and 123Seguro Team Up to Bring Innovative Insurance to Latin America
Prudential announced a strategic partnership with 123Seguro, one of Latin America's largest digital insurance platforms.
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Hispanic Americans Report Greatest Need for Life Insurance
Only 43% of Hispanic Americans report having life insurance coverage, the lowest ownership among any racial or ethnic group over the last decade, according to the 2024 Insurance Barometer Study by LIMRA and Life Happens.
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Teachers Life Unveils Turnkey Term Life Insurance Solution
In an August 2024 press release, Teachers Life announced the availability of its digital-first SmartLife product lineup and instant issuance platform, a white-label solution that features simplified term life products powered by an award-winning digital insurance platform. In addition, Teachers Life has secured OTIP as its first distribution partner for the new SmartLife platform.
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Washington National Introduces New Hospital Indemnity Insurance Product
Washington National Insurance Company, a national provider of supplemental health and life insurance products for middle-income Americans, announced an enhanced Hospital Indemnity Insurance product available directly to worksite and consumer customers.
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Zinnia Announces Strategic Relationship With LPL to Streamline Insurance Fulfillments
Zinnia, a leading life & annuity insurance technology services company, and LPL Financial announced a strategic relationship providing LPL's network of more than 23,000 financial advisors a simplified way to find, recommend, fulfill, and service life insurance for their clients.
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Consumer Portal to Meet Rising Demand for Annuities
Annuity.com is a newly launched consumer portal designed to meet the increasing demand for reliable information about annuities. As annuity sales surge-doubling since 2019-the site provides a central resource for Americans seeking secure solutions for their retirement planning.
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iPipeline and FIDx Expand Relationship to Deliver Holistic Annuity Platform
iPipeline, a leading provider of digital solutions for the life insurance and wealth management industries, and Fiduciary Exchange LLC, a leading insurance technology provider, announced an expansion of their relationship to offer wealth management firms and their advisors a more complete experience to help them research, open, and manage their annuity business through a digitized solution.
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EY Offers Strategies for Optimizing Reinsurance Opportunities
An Ernst & Young article cited leading practices for insurance companies to optimize performance through reinsurance, suggesting they must "adapt their operating model for people, process, data, technology and governance."
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Most U.S. Insurers Say They Aren't Ready for AI
A LIMRA-Equisoft survey found that insurers in the U.S. and Canada lag behind those in Australia and Latin American in integrating AI into their business operations, with 66% of U.S. carriers and 36% of Canadian carriers saying they're not prepared to implement AI given their current state of data readiness. Data buried in legacy systems was cited as a major impediment to AI implementation.
AI has been a hot topic in other industry news recently:
- Digital Insurance reported on AI use in fraud prevention and claims processing in "How Insurers Use AI to Improve Their Practices."
- MassMutual announced it is the first insurer in the U.S. to offer eligible policyowners free access to Wysa Assure, an AI-powered conversational mental health app created by Wysa and Swiss Re.
- "AI Impact on Marketing Talent" is the focus of a LIMRA webinar 1-2 p.m. ET on October 29, 2024, exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping the roles, skills, and strategies of marketers in the life insurance, annuities, and workplace benefits sectors.
- More than 10 U.S. life insurers are working with Canada-based technology company NuraLogix, whose AI tool uses facial scanning for underwriting.
- BMO Insurance has a new AI-powered digital assistant, integrated with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, to enhance the field underwriting process for life insurance advisors. Launched internally in August, it is expected to launch externally as a phased roll out November 30, 2024.
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Navy Mutual Goes Live with CalcFocus
Navy Mutual Aid Association has gone live with CalcFocus Forecast and Achieve end-to-end, as part of a multi-year initiative to move to a modern and open illustration and policy administration platform. CalcFocus is a provider of front and back-office Life, Accident, Health and Annuities insurance technology for both individual and group lines.
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Upcoming LIC Events
LIC Annuity Committee Conference Call
October 31, 2024, 10-11:30 a.m. ET
LIC Preneed Forum
Hosted by Physicians Mutual, Omaha
November 6-7, 2024
LIC ERM Committee Conference Call
November 21, 2024, 2-3:30 p.m. ET
LIC Supplemental Products Committee Virtual Meeting
December 5, 2024, 2-4 p.m. ET
LIC Winter CEO Forum (reserved for insurance company CEOs/Presidents)
Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach, Florida
February 4-5, 2025
LIC Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach, Florida
February 5-7, 2025
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LIC 2024 Premier Sponsors
Thank you to these LIC Premier Sponsors, who support all LIC events throughout the year.
Parkway Advisors is focused on being the best most respected provider of service in the insurance industry. Parkway offers asset management, consulting, and statutory investment reporting services that are customized to the needs of each insurance client. Through Parkway's emphasis on personal service, custom solutions, and strong communication, our clients have enjoyed historically strong performance success, especially during the financial crisis and the low interest environment that has followed. www.parkwayadvisors.com
iPipeline is a leading provider of low code, cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry. Through our SSG Digital, end-to-end platform, we provide process automation and seamless integration between every participant in our ecosystem including carriers, agents, general agencies, advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, securities/mutual fund firms, and their consumers on a global basis. Our innovative solutions include pre-sales support, new business and underwriting, policy administration, point-of-sale execution of applications, post-sale support, data analysis, reporting, user-driven configuration, consumer delivery and self-service, and agency and firm management. www.ipipeline.com
illustrate inc (merged with thinktum in 2023) provides powerful, cloud-based end-to-end solutions for life insurance carriers to energize, automate, simplify, and streamline the application process for virtually any life insurance product or distribution channel.
The no-code/low-code LIZ and OPUS platforms combine to provide a comprehensive, adaptable, and client-focused solution for life insurance carriers, with a particular emphasis on the needs of small to medium-sized carriers. The goal is to provide not just a technological solution but a partnership that understands the unique challenges and ambitions of each client. www.illustrateinc.com
QLAdmin Solutions is a leading technology partner for the small to mid-sized insurance company offering traditional life, health, annuity, preneed, final expense, and Medicare Supplement products. QLAdmin serves the entire policy lifecycle from new issue to termination with expert policy administration processing that is both comprehensive and easy to use. QLAdmin continues to evolve based on product and client needs ensuring extreme client longevity and satisfaction with QLAdmin products and support. QLAdmin is your proven partner in policy administration. www.qladmin.com
Equisoft is a business-first technology company dedicated to helping insurance and wealth management organizations reach their goals. Specialized expertise: Over 25 years of experience helping small and mid-sized life insurers & fraternals solve their biggest challenges through digital transformation. www.equisoft.com
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About The LIC Bullet
The Bullet is the official e-newsletter of the Life Insurers Council, which has been providing networking and practical business solutions for life insurers since 1910. As a council of LIMRA and LOMA, LIC serves the unique needs of small to midsize member companies, offering a personal network of peers with practical solutions to shared challenges. The Bullet delivers immediate and relevant industry news and editorial.
LIC E-News Online Community: As a networking organization, we welcome dialogue and input from our readers - therefore we are transitioning The Bullet to its new home in the LIC E-News online community at LICConnect. All Bullet subscribers have access to this forum, and others can request access by contacting lic@loma.org.
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Feature Editorial (Full Text)
Scaling Back or Doubling Down: Which Is Your Stance on DEI?
By Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
A recent article in Life Annuity Specialist (September 24, 2024) was titled, "Corporate DEI at a Crossroads: Companies Split Between Scaling Back and Doubling Down" (subscription required). This got me thinking about when this movement began earnestly impacting my "corporate life" as part of senior leadership of a life insurance company.
It's not as if we weren't already discussing diversity, equity and inclusion, and the concept of unconscious bias, but what happened in America after George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement truly sparked new and more intense conversations on race and culture. For some Baby Boomers like me, it seemed like an unbelievable reversion to the 1960s and '70s. For others, it was high time new light was shed on a reality that never went away. We didn't have social media and a 23-hour news cycle decades ago, which today intensifies any issues due to access by polarizing extremes that have always existed but didn't have the same easy access to media back then.
I don't want to make this article political, though. We all have different beliefs based on our personal experiences, and it is not my intention to create new arguments or resolutions. I do, however, wish to share some of the salient points in the article penned by Susan Ladika for Life Annuity Specialist in order to stimulate thought.
Let's look at the preface of the article: "Diversity, equity and inclusion is under fire in the workplace and while some companies see the approach as essential for growth, innovation and talent retention others are retrenching in the face of political and shareholder concerns."
My original question is, are you scaling up or doubling down? What's missing is, "Are you staying the course?" - which could mean you are keeping your current program or remaining without one. Perhaps your organization did not change anything, which, in retrospect, may have been the best decision of all. This is of course assuming your company already embraced concepts that attracted people with diverse life experiences, created an environment in which everyone can achieve their ambitions when opportunities arise, and that people at any level are invited to share their voice in pursuit of company success.
The general feeling, as reported in the article, is that company leaders are at least examining their stances on DEI. Lowe's, John Deere, and Harley-Davidson are reportedly backing away from some elements of their DEI programs. Data from Indeed.com reveals job postings that included DEI in their title or description dropped by almost one-quarter between November 2022 and November 2023.
A McKinsey report cited in the article says, "Companies at the top quartile for both gender and ethnic diversity are 12% more likely to outperform all other companies.... Companies in the bottom quartile of executive diversity on gender and ethnicity underperform all other companies by 27%." Are these numbers compelling enough for senior leadership to make changes one way or another? Perhaps, as Attorney Tom Spiggle avows, pushback against DEI is less about making employees feel valued and included, and more about the terminology.
Let's look at that for a second. According to the article, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently said it is changing its focus to "inclusion and diversity." SHRM posted on LinkedIn, "While we shift to I&D, our commitment to advancing equity remains steadfast. Equity will be integrated under the broader inclusion framework, continuing to be a priority in our strategy and leadership decisions." This comment drew many critical responses. Is this due to an assumption that "equity" is being minimized? This seems to support Spiggle's assertion that terminology is a fulcrum point in the DEI debate.
Another question raised by the Ladica article is, "Is DEI a philosophy or a business practice?" There is broad opinion on this as well, and again, words are important. Could it be a "business philosophy," too?
If I were a member of a leadership team I would advise our group to go back to the company's "Why." What is the ultimate reason the organization exists? As you know, every philosophy and business decision - every conversation - must be centered on this.
Which brings me to how Humana sums things up with respect to its thoughts on DEI. Carolyn Tandy, Humana's senior vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, told the Louisville Courier Journal, "We are committed to putting health first and that includes building and maintaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace culture - one where every employee feels valued and supported." "Our DEI focus, established in 2001, is not a program - it is how we practice, deliver and sustain care for the members, patients and communities."
Notice how Tandy started with their "Why" as the stake in the ground, which is "putting health first," then defining their brand of DEI, which is, "building and maintaining a culture in which every employee feels valued and supported."
Finally, J.T. Saunders, chief diversity officer at Korn Ferry, believes the societal and corporate debate will swing back and forth, recommending that companies respond as the societal context changes. I don't know about you, but this caused me to scratch my head. In the life insurance space, stability is key, and it sure seems like societal context is changing more rapidly every year.
What are your thoughts?
Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
(515) 414-6895 | dlambert@limra.com
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