With market volatility and growing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, people aren’t just hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer, they are also buying life insurance in record numbers. The need for life insurance has suddenly become clear to Americans and the insurance industry is here to help. Here are a few updates on the insurance industry during this economic climate.
1. COVID-19 Stressing Insurance industry
Market volatility combined with the prospect of rising death claims puts pressure on insurance companies. While some are turning to new insurers that offer online-only applications, point and click solutions may not be the best solution for your family. Make sure that the company has a track record of stability and has been able to weather storms in the past.
2. Trust is Crucial with Your Insurer and your Agent
It’s more important than ever to evaluate an insurance carrier and make sure they have a track record of paying their claims. Fitch is developing a rating system to assess the resilience of insurers to this pandemic. At FFS, we vet our insurance carriers not only for their service to our agents and timeliness in processing applications, but for their claims records and their Comdex ratings as well. Many of our insurers have been in business for over 100 years and they aren’t going anywhere.
3. Virtual Applications
While new online-only insurance platforms have become increasingly popular, they aren’t the only virtual option in the age of social distancing. While those solutions are simple, they offer limited options and can’t guide you to the best products to secure your family, your wealth and your future goals. With shelter-in-place orders increasing around the US, insurers have put new guidelines in place to enable virtual applications, offering clients the possibility of securing a policy even as they shelter at home. Our agents can walk you through the process of getting the best policy for your situation at this time.
The great thing is there hasn’t been a price hike from the increased demand and getting life insurance is as easy as it’s ever been. If you’re an FFS agent and would like details about updated policies and services from your carriers in light of COVID-19, access our ABO article here.
