On Their Turf and on Their Terms Is a Must When Selling Life Insurance to Millennials
Welcome to the last article of my five-part series on selling life insurance to millennials.
Millennials buy houses and cars online while at home on their couch, something that would have been unheard of to previous generations. This generation is comfortable making major purchases in an entirely digital world, and banks make it possible.
In 2018, 37% of millennial borrowers completed an online mortgage application, and 70% of them used an online tool for at least part of the borrowing process. The developing InsurTech industry seeks to provide the tools that mortgage brokers are already leveraging for insurance brokers.
75% of millennial parents don’t have a life insurance policy and, as we covered last week, they’re an audience that isn’t willing to do things the pen and paper way. Despite this, we’re seeing that in the life insurance space almost 65% of applications are still done that way with an average of nine exchanges between agent and customer, something that will definitely alienate this younger audience. Agents and brokerages will need to have an online presence to sell to millennials and the generations that follow. And there are advantages to agents beyond pure selling.
Using our platform means that clients can get an answer to their application right away. Eliminating the weeks to months of processing time is not only much more attractive to millennials but it also means you no longer risk losing a client because of wait times. The process is also much more palatable than dealing with dozens of forms and back and forths between client and agent. The application on Breathe Life’s platform has just a few screens to navigate through and we use innovative techniques to have fewer questions than you would find on a classic life insurance application. As an added bonus, the majority of the time, no health exam is required. This is a plus as half of consumers say that they’re more likely to buy a policy if they don’t have to complete a physical exam. For the 75% of millennial parents who don’t have life insurance the long, drawn-out process is one of the reasons why. Online applications shorten this process immensely.
Breathe Life designed its platform with a mobile-first mentality but ensured that the web experience was just as seamless. If consumers want to start their application on their phone while lounging in bed in the morning and then jump on a desktop computer, it will be a seamless transition.
The ability to apply at home lets millennials pause their application to get the information they might be missing, rather than having to leave an agent’s office and bring it back later. They can research options, compare rates, and get quotes in the time that it takes for their food delivery order to arrive. The ease, convenience, and quickness are all selling points to this generation.
Everyone benefits from a robust and well-built online application process. The Breathe Life platform has the tools that both agents and customers need to make purchasing and underwriting decisions from the comfort of their own home.
Throughout this series, we have explored how to sell life insurance to millennials and the generations that follow them. They consume, research and shop in ways that are vastly different from their predecessors and the only way to win is to recognize this and adapt to it. Gone are the days of mailed out leaflets, door-to-door salesmen and lack of publicly available information. We’ve entered the age of digital marketing, where you can find any information you want online, compare quotes and jump from your phone to your computer and back. It may seem daunting to be able to make such a big shift and cater to this new audience but by partnering with a technology-first company like Breathe Life, the transition can be simple, fast and pain-free. And the benefits are big — you’ll be able to reach and target more clients, see a significant drop in your client acquisition costs while also seeing your sales climb steadily.
Interested in learning more? Send me an email — ian@breathelife.com
-Ian Jeffrey, CEO & Co-Founder of Breathe Life
