Section B Flashcards
Primary Life Insurance Distribution Channels
- Direct mail
- Internet direct
- Call center mediated direct response
- Home service
- Worksite
- Independent marketing organizations
- Multiple-line exclusive agents (MLEA)
- Career agent
- Independent agent
- Financial advisors
- Banks
- Retail Outlets
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Digital Distribution in Insurance: A Quiet
Career Agent Considerations
- Primarily sells the products of one company
- Sells all types of life and annuity products
- Expensive – need to recruit, train, and house agents
- Field office is managed by an agency manager or general agent (GA)
- Captive vs. Career - a captive agent can only sell the products of one company
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Independent Agent Considerations
- Can sell products of multiple companies
- Sells all types of life and annuity products
- Validation process controls who can sell products of the company
- Brokers vs. Personal producing general agents (PPGA) - little distinction between these two types of independent agents
- Producer groups negotiate higher compensation
- Wholesalers recruit new brokers to sell the company’s products
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Functions of Distribution
- Prospecting new clients
- Pre-sales activities
a. Needs analysis
b. Underwriting
c. Advice - Completing the sale
a. Present and close
b. Sign contract
c. Issue policy - Managing the client relationship
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 4
Digital Distribution in Insurance: A Quiet
Ways to Generate New Leads
CIDERS
- Cold calling
- Internet marketing
- Direct main campaign
- Event-based networking
- Referrals
- Social media
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 4
Inputs to a Needs Analysis
- Demographic information (martial status, number of children, age, etc.)
- Current assets and debt
- Risk tolerance
- Personal financial goals
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Insurance Distribution Management Structure
- Head of distribution
a. Ultimate responsibility for sales of the organization
b. Typically the highest level a salesperson can achieve - Regional director - report to the head of sales and act as liaisons to the field offices
- Agency head
a. Agency manager or a general agent
b. Primary functions:
- Business management - finance and production
- HR function
- Sales support for special situations - Sales manager - manage and train individual agents
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 5
Life Insurance Producer Compensation
- Commission
- New Agent Financing
- Vesting
- Bonuses
- Expense reimbursement
- Benefits
- Recognition (trips, prizes, etc.)
- Percent of Gross Dealer Concession
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 6
Types of Commission Scales
- Heaped - percent of premium commission is higher in the first year of the policy
- Level - percent of premium commission is level in all policy years
- Levelized - mix between heaped and level
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Gross Dealer Concession (GDC)
- GDC is a payment to a brokerage firm or broker dealer
- The salesperson gets a percent of the GDC
- Advantages of GDC approach
a. Transparent
b. Easy to compare compensation from company to company
c. Sales person can easily see split between agent and brokerage - Challenges
a. Needs to translate traditional compensation to GDC
b. Insurance companies don’t normally disclose their expense loads
c. Insurance provides renewal commissions
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 6
Assumptions needed to model distribution expenses
- Fixed expenses
- Sales volume
- Persistency of policyholders
- Persistency of salespeople
- Other - production bonuses, bundled sales, etc.
The Art and Science of Life Insurance Distribution Chapter 7
Estimating the Cost of New Agent Financing
1. Cost of non-vested commission schedule LaTex needed 2. Definitions a. Latex needed b. Latex needed c. Latex needed d. Latex needed Latex needed
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4
Factors That Impact The Degree of New Agent Financing
Agents makes a PPAACT to get sales
- Preliminary training and supervision
- Personal circumstances
- Aptitude
- Annualized commissions
- Company and agency
- Types of commission scale
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4
Types of Financing Plans
SalSA
- Salary
a. Received for an initial period of time in lieu of commissions
b. This salary will be graded to zero over the time period - Subsidy
a. Also called a training allowance plan (TAP)
b. In addition to regular commissions
c. Can be fixed or variable - Advances
a. Loans made in anticipation of future commission earnings
b. The agents goes “in debt” during the financing period
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4
Validation Requirement
- The production requirements that the agent must meet in order to qualify for continued new agent financing
- Factors that impact the validation schedule
a. Growth rate
b. Commission scale
c. Average persistency and modal mix - Validation requirements usually refer to earned commissions
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4
Advantages and Disadvantages of New Agent Financing Plans – Part I
Variable Subsidy
- Advantages
a. Inventive to produce
b. Higher producers are rewarded proportionately
c. Less Costly - Disadvantages
a. Income is volatile
Fixed Subsidy
- Advantages
a. Incentive to produce
b. More stable than variable subsidy - Disadvantages
a. Higher producers are not rewarded proportionately
b. Production does not have to be smooth
c. Income may be too low
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4
Advantage and Disadvantages of New Agent Financing Plans – Part II
Advances
- Advantages
a. Stable income
b. Fairly flexible - Disadvantages
a. Income may decline after financing period
b. Production does not have to be smooth
c. More costly
Salary
- Advantages
a. Level income
b. Attractive to agents - Disadvantages
a. High producers are not rewarded proportionately
b. Costly if agents do not produce
c. Income may change after financing period
d. Requires close supervision
Marketing for Actuaries Chapter 4