Life Insurance

A recent insurance survey conducted by the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) found that one-third of consumers were considering buying life insurance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate was higher among African American respondents (38% versus 31% of Caucasians), which wasn’t a surprising statistic given that 56% of African Americans already own some form of life insurance, compared to 52% of the general population. Interestingly, 42% of survey respondents reported that they had tested positive for the coronavirus, which presumably led a lot of people to start thinking about their own mortality.¹

Funeral Insurance

The more than half million deaths caused by COVID-19 also prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to offer financial reimbursement for funeral expenses. The agency is now accepting applications for qualifying (coronavirus-related) funeral or burial assistance of up to $9,000, or up to $35,000 for families with multiple deaths.²

The pandemic has impacted millions of Americans in many different ways – from illness and death to job loss and business interruption. We can offer assistance for a variety of insurance options to help meet your needs. Please contact us for a complimentary insurance review.

Health Care Insurance

The coronavirus also prompted some key changes to the state and federal health insurance exchanges. The new American Rescue Plan included a provision that makes Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act health plans more affordable for people who earn above 400% of the federal poverty level. The new premium subsidies will make health insurance affordable for  many middle-income Americans – possibly more so than employer plans. In fact, employees may be inclined to shop and compare plans, especially if they’re thinking of leaving their current job and want to remain insured. Now that there is a competitive option via the individual market, younger/healthier employees may choose to opt out of their employer plan, which could potentially change the dynamic of affordability. In other words, if employer-plan risk pools are left with mainly only older and sicker workers, health insurance premiums could in turn rise in the employer market.³

Property Insurance

COVID-19 isn’t the only catalyst for change in the insurance industry. Extreme weather events in recent years have overburdened the property insurance industry. In Florida, for example, tens of thousands of homeowners have been dropped from their homeowners policies in light of major financial losses experienced by insurers. It was recently reported that more than 50 insurers in Florida experienced $1.57 billion in total underwriting losses in 2020 alone.⁴

The forecast this year isn’t much better. The average hurricane season features about a dozen tropical storms, half of which turn into hurricanes. Last year, there were 30 named storms in the U.S., 13 of which were hurricanes. This year meteorologists are predicting that 17 named tropical storms will form, from which eight will likely become hurricanes.⁵

Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.

¹ Susan Rupe. Insurance News Net. April 12, 2021. “Barometer Shows Greater Interest In Buying Life Insurance.” https://insurancenewsnet.com/conference-post/barometer-shows-greater-interest-in-buying-life-insurance. Accessed April 12, 2021.

² Insurance News Net. April 12, 2021. “FEMA To Provide Funeral Assistance.” https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/fema-to-provide-funeral-assistance. Accessed April 12, 2021.

³ Chini Krishnan. Insurance News Net. March 19, 2021. “What Would ACA Changes Mean To Workplace Plans?” https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/what-would-aca-changes-mean-to-workplace-plans. Accessed April 12, 2021.

⁴ John Hilton. Insurance News Net. April 12, 2021. “Florida Lawmakers Seek Fix For ‘Massive Losses’ Suffered By Insurers.” https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/florida-lawmakers-seek-fix-for-massive-losses-suffered-by-pc-insurers. Accessed April 12, 2021.

⁵ Insurance News Net. April 9, 2021. “Another Above-Average Hurricane Season Predicted.” https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/another-above-average-hurricane-season-predicted. Accessed April 12, 2021.

We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and objectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help you understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed as financial advice.

The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text, please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.

4/21-1613996B