Election Aftermath, Industry Predictions for 2025
By Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
Weary am I from all the political advertising, candidate vitriol, and talk of the collapse of democracy.
Ya feel me?
Regardless who's President of the United States of America, insurance leaders will gather themselves up - there's work to be done! Protecting our policyowners and members, keeping our...
|
Industry News
|
LIC Annual Conference & CEO Forum Earlybird Rates End January 10
Registration is under way for the LIC Annual Conference February 5-7, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. This year's theme is "Unlocking Potential: Research-Fueled Decision Making." Senior leadership from LIC member insurance companies attend this premier networking and educational event, with emphasis on building connections and sharing ideas with peers at similar companies. See the meeting agenda here.
Insurance company CEOs will be meeting prior to the conference at the LIC Winter CEO Forum February 4-5, 2025. The CEO program will feature artificial intelligence case studies and panel discussion, along with a special LIMRA report on key industry trends.
Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa
|
LOMA's Industry Advantage Honored as Best Association Professional Development Program
LOMA's Industry Advantage - an enterprise-wide program that that gives employees unlimited access to a library of bite-sized content with topics focused on life insurance, annuities and workplace benefits - received a Brandon Hall Group Gold award for excellence in the "Best Association Professional Development Program" category.
|
LIC Preneed Forum Donates to Ronald McDonald House in Omaha
As part of an initiative to leave a lasting impact on the communities where LIC meets, attendees at the LIC Preneed Forum hosted by Physicians Mutual in November 2024 donated over $860 to Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha, improving the health and well-being of children receiving treatment in Omaha-area hospitals. #MeetingsThatMatter
|
Boston Mutual Names Grant Ward Next President and COO
Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company announced that Grant D. Ward, Sr., JD, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1, 2025. He will succeed Paul A. Quaranto, Jr., as President, who will continue to serve as the company's Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors.
|
NGL Selects Equisoft Solution To Enhance Preneed Capabilities
National Guardian Life Insurance Company has chosen Equisoft's SaaS policy administration system solution for a comprehensive digital modernization of its preneed life business capabilities.
|
New Life Insurance Ownership Data Suggests A Need for New Strategies To Engage Consumers
For more than 60 years, LIMRA has been tracking life insurance ownership in the U.S. Much has changed over that time. LIMRA went from talking with consumers across the kitchen table to engaging consumers on computers and mobile devices to learn about what kinds of life insurance protection families had.
On top of the impact of technology, LIMRA's most recent ownership study has uncovered many other changes that have impacted people's awareness and perceptions about life insurance. Understanding these shifts is necessary to inform how the industry effectively engages today's consumers.
|
InsurTech NY Offers LIC Member Discounts
InsurTech NY welcomes LIC members to attend the InsurTech NY Spring Conference in New York City, April 2-3, 2025. A limited number of complimentary VIP passes are available for CEOs of LIC member insurance companies (contact tony@insurtechny.com to request the LIC VIP code).
Anyone from LIC member insurance companies receive 35% off registration using discount code LICMEMBER. LIC affiliate members can take 25% off with the code LICAFFILIATE.
|
Insurance Immersion Virtual Courses Available
LOMA's Insurance Immersion program, designed for top performers who need to quickly expand their understanding of the life insurance business, offers an overview of industry trends, products, operations, and how insurers make money, while addressing new and evolving influences. Virtual classes are beginning February 7, April 8, and September 30, 2025.
|
iCover Introduces New Life-Health-Wellness Marketplace
iCover, a Missouri-based insurtech that provides algorithmic underwriting, QUI™ based eApp Service and Policy Administration for life insurance companies launches iCover Direct, a Life, Health and Wellness marketplace.
|
New Rate Certainty Annuity by American National Offers Market Upside
American National Insurance Company announces the nationwide launch of the new Rate Certainty Annuity (RCA). The RCA is set to provide distribution partners with a unique and simplified approach to annuities, combining the security of guaranteed rates with the benefit of capturing market upside.
|
PWC Discusses Building Sustainable GenAI ROI in Insurance
A recent PwC.com article on generative AI noted that "measurable return on investment (ROI) has been slow to materialize" and outlined 10 questions to help set realistic ROI expectations.
|
Global Insurance Symposium Opens Registration
The 2025 Global Insurance Symposium will be held in Des Moines April 15-16, 2025, offering education and networking for insurance professionals and regulatory authorities from around the world.
|
Equisoft Powers Emma Life Insurance's Expansion into Third-Party Administration
Equisoft, a leader in insurance and wealth management solutions, announced that Emma, a family-centric platform dedicated to making life insurance easy, affordable, and accessible, has selected Equisoft to support their growth and operational transformation.
|
Monica Sole To Retire from Lincoln Heritage
LIC would like to congratulate longtime participant Monica Sole, Vice President, Government & Industry Relations at Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company, on her upcoming retirement in January 2025.
|
SBLI Appoints Wade Seward as Chief Distribution Officer
The Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts announced the appointment of Wade Seward as chief distribution officer. In this role, Seward will oversee SBLI's Independent Distribution and Direct Sales efforts and will drive expansion into new broker, partner, and producer opportunities.
|
LBIG Names Chief Compliance, Legal Officer
Liberty Bankers Insurance Group, a national provider of life, health, and wealth products, announced Lori Ann Fox as the new senior vice president, chief compliance and legal officer. Fox brings a wealth of experience and a meticulous approach to corporate legal strategy, litigation management, and regulatory compliance.
|
LIC Final Expense Survey Pre-Orders Available
The LIC Final Expense Survey (2023 Sales Data) is being released this month. The 2023 Final Expense Report includes information from 22 companies with $775M in final expense premium, including 2023 sales, trends from 2020 to 2023, in-force premium, underwriting and new business processes, premium payments, commissions, riders, rescission ratios, and reformation of claims. The report is complimentary for participating companies and available for purchase with LIC and LIMRA-LOMA member discounts.
|
Upcoming LIC Events
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
|
LIC 2024 Premier Sponsors
Thank you to these LIC Premier Sponsors, who supported all of LIC's 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
|
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.
|
Feature Editorial (Full Text)
Election Aftermath, Industry Predictions for 2025
By Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
Weary am I from all the political advertising, candidate vitriol, and talk of the collapse of democracy.
Ya feel me?
Regardless who's President of the United States of America, insurance leaders will gather themselves up – there's work to be done! Protecting our policyowners and members, keeping our teams focused on the company vision, and maintaining board relations are unceasing. In terms of the election, candidate promises are often quickly forgotten, blurred, or diluted after the "first 100 days." And while the potential barrage of executive orders may make our business and personal lives more interesting, leaders of companies large and small must simply respond to vacillating consumer moods and market conditions.
This is not to minimize the challenges insurance companies may face when political powers shift, which, as we all know are not limited to the national election cycle. Mid-term elections can be disruptive, especially as a state-regulated industry. Incumbent and newly elected legislators may be ambitious in the early days of their terms, requiring legal and regulatory teams to remain vigilant in defending and protecting our ability to operate with as little friction as possible while growing profits and maintaining long term security.
That being said, I am writing this article on Election Day and do not plan to edit anything but spelling and grammar in the days until it is published. I have the luxury of throwing caution to the wind in predicting little shock to the system, besides that which half the country will feel when their candidate does not achieve victory. Folks will hurt for a while, then get back to their TikTok, sports, video games, school, and jobs, and surviving life in the United States of America for better or worse.
Speaking of predictions, I want to close this piece by asking for yours. What are your predictions for the insurance industry in 2025? Daring new products? Will annuity sales continue to be strong? Any game-changing regulations looming? Dare we opine the impact(s) of artificial intelligence in the next 12-18 months? I would love to get a collection of industry predictions together for an upcoming issue of the LIC Bullet, so please send yours via email: dlambert@limra.com.
Until next month...thanks for reading.
Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
(515) 414-6895 | dlambert@limra.com
|
|