More people are buying life insurance

Americans buy life insurance for a variety of reasons. But, the most important reason for life insurance is to protect your loved ones after you die, so they have financial security. This rings especially true if you are the sole bread winner, and your family relies solely on you for their financial needs. More and more Americans are realizing the importance of life insurance and are therefore purchasing the product now more than ever. The article, “Americans are buying more life insurance,” featured on Insurance.com explains some of the reasoning behind this surge in new policies.

“In the months after Sept. 11, the haunting question ‘What would happen to my family if the worst were to happen to me?’ was asked in countless households across the United States. The increased uncertainty and the economic downturn that was worsened by the terrorist attacks may have more Americans thinking about life insurance and financial planning. According to the MIB Life Index, which tracks searches for medical records undertaken by insurers after a consumer applies for life insurance, applications in the fourth quarter of 2001 hit their highest levels since the beginning of 2000.”

The events that occurred almost 5 years ago still hold tremendous importance in our everyday lives. Americans realize the fragility of life and are doing whatever they can to protect themselves. “Mirroring the MIB application information, initial sales figures for life insurance for the fourth quarter of 2001, although not completely tabulated, are up about 9 to 10 percent, according to LIMRA International, a financial services marketing and research organization. A Harris Interactive poll conducted for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network also reported 8 percent of Americans bought more disability insurance and 6 percent bought or increased their life insurance within one month of Sept. 11.”

Insurance agents are also feeling great about what they do since they offer some hope of for a light at the end of a tunnel for someone who just lost a loved one. Pride in a job is one of the things that makes someone successful. If you are happy with what you are doing then you are going to do a better job.

“LIMRA attributes the up tick in life insurance sales to a newfound or rediscovered sense of "evangelism" among life insurance agents and financial planners. After Sept. 11, the stories of how life insurance helped victims renewed the pride life insurance agents have in the products they sell and the industry they represent, says Bob Baranoff, vice president and head of research for LIMRA. They felt that they were doing well for themselves by doing good deeds in the world, he says.”

“This enthusiasm, combined with the financial incentive to make sales in an otherwise slow year, mixed with some pent up consumer demand and an America that is more receptive to and aware of life insurance and financial planning, says Baranoff.”

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