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The LIC Bullet
Straight to the point!
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INDUSTRY NEWS | LIC EVENTS | LIC SPONSORS
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June 2025
When It Rains, It Pours
By Dean Lambert
Executive Director, LIC
The life and annuity marketplaces remained abloom throughout the winter, and growth appears to be continuing through spring. But will it last? Reading some current headlines, we're seeing words like "turmoil" and "uncertainty" creep into the lexicon. What might this mean for insurance and financial services companies? Does anything suggest LIC companies will fare differently than others?
At the outset of 2025 LIMRA said, "With no recession predicted, low inflation and stable policy sales, [overall] individual life premium growth is expected to remain...
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Industry News
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LIMRA/LIC Report Shows Growth and Optimism in Final Expense Market
This year's LIMRA/LIC Final Expense Survey Report, released in May, shows growth of 16% in total premium in 2024 over 2023 for 28 companies reporting a total of $1.046B and 1,060,947 policies. The report is free for participating companies and available for purchase at the link below.
Highlights of the new Final Expense Report will be presented at the June 17–18, 2025, LIC Final Expense Workshop hosted by Optimum Life Reinsurance in Oak Brook, IL.
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Political Uncertainty Hangs Over Life and Annuity Sector
ThinkAdvisor's Allison Bell covered S&P's 41st Annual Insurance Conference in a June 5, 2025, article citing CEOs' varied perceptions about the impact political turmoil will have.
In other news, Insurance NewsNet's Rayne Morgan interviewed Peter Dugas, Executive Director of Capco and Managing Director of the company's Center of Regulatory Intelligence, on how the volume and speed of regulatory changes under the Trump administration are reshaping what risk management looks like for insurers.
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Equisoft/LIC Webinar: How CX Technology Transforms Small and Mid-Sized Life Insurance Carriers
In an interactive webinar at 12:00 p.m. ET on August 20, 2025, customer experience experts will reveal the latest research into small and mid-size carrier challenges, solutions, and priorities for enhancing CX delivery. The panel will review the key findings and discuss actual experiences relevant to carriers with resource constraints. Learn what a recent study revealed about LIC members' top CX challenges, accelerating underwriting, CX best practices and how technology can significantly enhance client engagement.
About the Study: Small Life Insurer Transformation Challenged by Limited Resources, Aging Systems
Equisoft and LIC conducted research to help small and mid-sized insurers identify opportunities for creating improved customer experience and engagement. Customer experience was the main driver for digital transformation efforts, although channels for customer support face limitations and inefficiencies to be overcome.
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Federal Life Acquires Texas Service Life
Federal Life Insurance Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Texas Service Life Insurance Company, a leader in preneed insurance.
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SBLI Delivers Faster, Simpler Claim Payouts with CARE from Swiss Re
SBLI (The Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts) has introduced a new advancement to its claims experience with the integration of Swiss Re's CARE claims decision engine.
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Room for Improvement in Insurance Cybersecurity
A May 7, 2025, article in Digital Insurance notes that a majority of the insurance industry has strong cybersecurity practices but is lacking in some areas.
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Navigating the Unknown: Mortality Considerations for Underserved Markets
An RGA industry study reveals mortality disparities between insured and underserved populations. This highlights the need for innovative approaches in underwriting, product design, and market engagement to responsibly expand life insurance coverage while managing increased risk.
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Comply and First Consulting Announce Strategic Partnership for AI-Driven Insurance Compliance
Comply, a leading provider of AI-driven insurance compliance solutions, announced a strategic partnership with First Consulting, a renowned expert in insurance regulatory compliance. Comply will leverage First Consulting's extensive industry experience to enhance its compliance platform, ensuring even greater accuracy, reliability, and regulatory alignment.
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SILAC's Dan Acker: Technology Is Key To Unlocking Future Growth
SILAC President and Chief Marketing Officer Dan Acker was interviewed by InsuranceNewsNet Publisher Paul Feldman, describing how he and SILAC are working to "change the industry for the better in our own way."
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Medical Advances Spur Insurance Product Innovations
RGA noted that recent medical advances, from cancer detection tests and personalized medicine to weight management and dementia diagnostic tools, have spawned a wealth of new insurance product innovations.
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Aflac President Shares Lessons from Military Life
An interview with Aflac President Virgil Miller offers lessons from his military life that have carried over to his corporate career.
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Aflac Expands Partnership with Empathy to Offer Enhanced Legacy Planning Services
Aflac, a leading provider of health supplemental insurance in the U.S., is expanding its partnership with Empathy, an innovative technology company that provides compassionate, on-demand support to families in life's most challenging moments, from dealing with the loss of a loved one to planning for their future. Effective July 1, 2025, Empathy LifeVault™ will be available at no additional cost to some new and existing group term life insurance certificate holders covered by Aflac.
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Three Midsize Annuity Carriers Noted for Zero-Complaint Record in 2024
Among midsize carriers selling annuities, according to NAIC data reported in Life Annuity Specialist, three had "immaculate complaint records" for 2024: Western & Southern Life, Thrivent Financial and Members Life Insurance (part of TruStage Financial). Contributing factors included customer service "surge teams" and flexible product design.
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InsurTech Startup Reimagines Life Insurance as Funding for Life Events
Insurtech startup Kaleido Life, profiled in Hypepotamus, plans to target life insurance to demographics "historically not engaged with the life insurance space," as a vehicle for funding life events instead of a death-related product.
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IUL Provides Stability Amid Market Uncertainty
In an InsuranceNewsNet interview, Jared Nepa, Senior Vice President and Head of Insurance Solutions Distribution for Lincoln Financial Distributors, discussed the protective appeal of indexed universal life products in today's volatile market environment.
READ THE ARTICLE
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AFBA/5Star Life Promotes Jenkins
Armed Forces Benefit Association and its affiliate 5Star Life Insurance Company announced the promotion of Erica L. Jenkins to Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, effective March 14, 2025.
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How to Convert Intent to Action: Closing the Life Insurance Coverage Gap
Although demand for life insurance is strong, just a fraction of interested consumers follow through and buy insurance. A recent study, conducted by LIMRA and Bain & Company, explored how life insurers can improve consumer engagement and get more people to purchase coverage.
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Miguel Ceron Joins illustrate inc
Miguel Ceron has been named AVP Business Developments at illustrate inc.
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Lambert Moderates Panel at InsurTechNY
LIC Executive Director Dean Lambert moderated a panel on "Bringing Tech To Ultimate Loss" at InsurTech NY in April 2025. Featured speakers were Nick Gerhart from Homesteaders, Collin Bhojwani from Allianz Life Ventures, and Sophie Ruddock from Empathy.
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Kaylene Armstrong Named CFO at Gleaner
Kaylene Armstrong has been named the new chief financial and investment officer of Gleaner Life Insurance Society. Previous CFO/CIO Todd Warner was promoted to President and CEO in December.
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American National To Exit Life Business
American National Insurance Co. announced it will no longer write new life insurance policies, focusing instead on annuity, pension risk transfer, and property & casualty lines.
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NGL Announces Executive Promotions
National Guardian Life Insurance Company announced in April the promotions of James Boll to Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel; David Puckett to Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer; and Richard Wicka to Vice President, Associate General Counsel Regulatory and Risk.
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UTUIA Announces New Name: American Journey Financial Life
UTUIA, a 156-year-old fraternal benefit society, has announced that the organization will begin operating under the new name American Journey Financial Life (AJFL).
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Homesteaders Announces Integration with Continental Computers
Homesteaders Life Company, a national leader in preneed funeral funding, has announced an integration with The Director's Assistant Web (TDAW), a widely used case management platform built by Continental Computers. This partnership will allow funeral professionals to connect their preneed data with their existing case management system, helping streamline workflows and improve accessibility.
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Amplify and EMC Team Up to Offer IUL for Digital-First Consumers
Amplify Life Insurance, a leading digital platform revolutionizing wealth-building through permanent life insurance, and EMC Life, a provider of life insurance, have announced the launch of Prosper IUL, an indexed universal life product designed to meet the needs of today's digital-first consumers.
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Wichita National Life Implements Hexure's FireLight to Power Annuity Sales and Market Expansion
Hexure, a leading provider of sales and regulatory automation solutions for the life and annuity industry, announced Wichita National Life Insurance Company has successfully launched two new multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) products on the FireLight platform, streamlining annuity sales processes while ensuring quick access for advisors.
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Royal Neighbors' Reynolds Profiled in INN
President and CEO of Royal Neighbors of America Zarifa Brown Reynolds spoke with InsuranceNewsNet Publisher Paul Feldman, sharing her organization's mission to insure lives, support women, and serve communities.
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Upcoming LIC Events
LIC Final Expense Workshop
Hosted by Optimum Life Re, Oak Brook, IL
June 17–18, 2025
LIC Financial & Tax Accounting Committee Virtual Meeting (1 hr CPE)
Via Webex
June 24, 2025, 2–4 p.m. ET
LIC Marketing & Distribution Virtual Meeting
Via Webex
July 17, 2025, 1–4 p.m. ET
Equisoft/LIC Webinar: How CX Technology Transforms Small and Mid-Sized Life Insurance Carriers
August 20, 2025, 12 p.m. ET
LIC Summer CEO Forum (reserved for insurance company CEOs/Presidents)
Sonoma, CA
August 26–28, 2025
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LIC 2025 Premier Sponsors
Thank you to our LIC Premier Sponsors, who support all of LIC's activities throughout the year.
Parkway Advisors
Parkway Advisors is focused on being the best and 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
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
Equisoft
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: The LIC Bullet is posted in the LIC E-News online community at LICConnect, where we welcome dialogue and input from our readers. All Bullet subscribers have access to this forum, and others can request access by contacting lic@loma.org.
SET YOUR LICCONNECT NOTIFICATION PREFERENCES
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Feature Editorial (Full Text)
When It Rains, It Pours
By Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
The life and annuity marketplaces remained abloom throughout the winter, and growth appears to be continuing through spring. But will it last? Reading some current headlines, we're seeing words like "turmoil" and "uncertainty" creep into the lexicon. What might this mean for insurance and financial services companies? Does anything suggest LIC companies will fare differently than others?
At the outset of 2025 LIMRA said, "With no recession predicted, low inflation and stable policy sales, [overall] individual life premium growth is expected to remain around 3% (with a forecasted range of 1% to 6%)." A January 8, 2025, LIMRA article predicts equity markets are expected to increase in 2025, with a possible downturn later in the year, to the benefit of all products - especially UL, which is on a tear. At that writing, inflation and unemployment were down, particularly good for term and whole life products. Finally, incomes were expected to increase at or slightly higher than inflation.
A great deal has happened since these forecasts were published.
The highlights of Deloitte's weekly global economic update for June 2, 2025, include: "The ever-changing trade situation," and "Growing Impact of tariffs and tariff uncertainty." The summary mentioned U.S. Federal Court rulings that most of the administration's tariffs were illegal, and President Trump's announcement that tariffs are postponed until July 9. (SOURCE)
Let's go after the "T" word first, which, if you're like me, I am getting sick of hearing about. Many economists agree the uncertainty and historically high tariffs increase the likelihood of an economic slowdown or recession in the U.S. this year. This may hinder predicted growth in insurance and annuity sales for the next few months as investment decisions are postponed until things play out. This is obviously the case for CIOs and portfolio managers as well as consumers. Finally, some predict that tariffs could push US inflation to 4%, boosting unemployment and slowing growth. So far it hasn't been moving that way, thankfully.
The financial markets: At the end of May, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, the U.S. Treasury 10-year yield weekly average was 4.44% with inflation at 2.3%. The Fed is expected to continue cutting rates, pricing in two 25-basis point cuts coming in September and December. (SOURCE)
Is the sky falling? According to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Confidence, April saw the second-lowest level since 1952, the first year the index began. By the end of May, however, a temporary pause on some tariffs caused a slight rise after mid-month. Nevertheless, according to their summary, the university's consumer survey group says stagnating incomes throughout May accounted for ongoing consumer concerns.
Whether insurance company leaders are reading/watching the Sunday morning news or at the office in front of a Bloomberg dashboard, we are all consumers. Commuting home from work across the hallway to our kitchens to see what's in the fridge, we cannot help but think about those expensive groceries or the now collectible bottle of Canadian whiskey on the shelf. Despite all the data we insurance professionals might possess to help with prudent decisions, we're all a little squeamish to let our dollars go these days. And if we are, so is the mainstream consumer.
But this doesn't mean the sky is falling. People are, in fact, still purchasing goods and services. It certainly hasn't hurt the life insurance and annuity business (more on this later). It could be the anticipation of price increases due to t-t-tariffs or just good ol' American consumerism at work. It's hard to stop some of us from wanting more new stuff.
Which brings us to inflation, which the US government reported was "favorable" in March. The CPI was up 0.2% in March versus 2024. The May report will be released June 11 after this article is published. The Atlanta Federal Reserve forecasts 0.12% for May, and 0.23% when food and energy prices are removed, averaging about the same as the April CPI. With 10% tariffs on imports (and higher rates on China imports for steel and aluminum), large retailers have not yet felt the need to increase prices on consumer goods. Some media pundits predict we won't see data on tariff effects on consumer pricing until late summer. The environment remains uncertain and potentially volatile.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will set interest rates after the June CPI report, with fixed income market interest rates expected to remain steady at 4.25% to 4.5% according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
LIMRA's April 2025 trend reports show that consumers are prioritizing insurance and preparedness in this unpredictable financial environment, with U.S. annuity sales at record levels ($105B in Q1-25), record workplace life sales for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, and a sustained record pace for U.S. life insurance premium generated, coming off a record high in 2024 (up 3% to $15.9B). Independent distribution accounted for 6 out of 10 dollars sold, up from half of new premium sold in the U.S. (Press Release March 25 2025)
Annuity sales grew 13% in 2024, to a record $434.1B, with more than half of U.S. annuity carriers reporting double-digit growth. (Press Release March 17, 2025)
LIMRA reports Canadian permanent life products drove double-digit new annualized premium growth in Q1-25. According to a May 29, 2025 press release, whole life new premium grew 15% in the quarter to $346.7M, compared to Q1-24. All other life sectors experienced Y-Y growth as well. (SOURCE)
In summary, based on what we're seeing, can we correlate all this market uncertainty to the strong growth in life insurance and annuity sales? Is the emotional response to national and global political and economic unrest, a driver for turning to insurance and annuities for financial preparedness? If so, how so?
Most consumer research reveals consumers have a basic understanding of our products, and LIMRA's research shows independent distribution is driving growth. That would answer the "how." Which means that our industry should feel very good about how we are meeting consumers where they are today. We are providing certainty in a very uncertain world.
Well done!
I invite your thoughts and comments. Please email me at dlambert@limra.com or feel free to start a conversation in LIC Connect.
Dean Lambert, Executive Director, LIC
(515) 414-6895 | dlambert@limra.com
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