Ascarrier investment and employer interest in permanent life planscontinue to grow, brokers who are comfortable with product nuancesmay win more business. (Image: Shutterstock)

Recent Eastbridge research has found that while just over halfof carriers offer a universal life/whole life (UL/WL) producttoday, almost a quarter of carriers see UL/WL as a growth product for the industry over the nextfew years. In addition, UL/WL was the top product (tied withhospital indemnity) listed as most likely to beadded to carriers' voluntary portfolios in the next two years.

Despite carrier investment in developing and enhancing permanentlife products, most brokers did not include UL/WL in their top fivemost frequently sold products. Our joint BenefitsPRO/Eastbridgesurvey found that four of the top five most frequently soldproducts are the same for benefit brokers and voluntary brokers.With such similar portfolios, learning more about permanent lifeoptions may be a point of differentiation with your employerclients.

Related: Variable universal life sales take lead:LIMRA

Bonnie Brazzell and NickRockwell, Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc.

UL/WL is in the top 10 most offered voluntary products, with 11percent of employers offering it. Overall, with 70 percent ofemployers not offering a UL/WL product, and 75 percent of employeesnot owning a UL/WL product, substantial opportunity exists to addpermanent life coverage.

Employers have also voiced interest in permanent life offerings.According to Eastbridge's Employer Viewpoint study, employerssurveyed said life insurance (some UL/WL) is one of the benefitsmost likely to be added to their offerings in the next 18 monthsand also one of the benefits most likely to be moved tovoluntary.

Brokers who sell permanent life plans today find they provide anexcellent complement to an employer's term life offerings, fillingthe longer-duration life insurance need. Today, whole life plansare becoming more popular than universal life, primarily due tointerest rate uncertainty. Plans are generally guaranteed issuewith simplified underwriting options available and can extendcoverage to spouses and children. Riders that cover long-termcare/chronic illness are also becoming more common and arepositioned as a way around the “use it or lose it” limitation oftraditional LTC insurance. Savvy brokers have a solid command ofenrollment dynamics of this complex product and can guide employerson the best possible enrollment and education conditions to achievegood participation.

As carrier investment and employer interest in permanent lifeplans continue to grow, brokers who are comfortable with productnuances and who actively position these plans to their employerclients may win more business. These products allow employers tooffer additional life insurance coverage to more fully meetemployee needs, and the best plans allow employees to enroll withminimal underwriting requirements and offer flexible coverage thatcan be used in case an LTC event arises or, ultimately, as a lifeinsurance benefit.