Many Americans believe that purchasing life insurance is a complex process. Since they are also unlikely to seek help in finding insurance, it is easy to see why 100 million American adults do not have a life insurance policy. A recent survey conducted by Life Happens showed that more than 65 percent of Americans who were less than 40 years old and over 50 percent of the cumulative population did not have a positive view of purchasing life insurance.
The survey’s findings are in line with the general perception of other common financial tasks. About 65 percent of Americans said that income tax forms were complex. When it comes to filing income taxes, many Americans hire accountants or tax prep services to help them. The Internal Revenue Service said that about 60 percent of personal tax returns were prepared by a professional instead of by the filing taxpayer.
While Americans have plenty of resources available for filing their taxes, they do not have the same type of well-known help for finding life insurance. For example, there are question-and-answer programs to guide them through basic tax filing. This simple type of software is not widely available for life insurance guidance.
It is important for consumers to have help when they compare policies. This gives them the opportunity to make sense of the many complexities and confusing terms of life insurance policies. There are some little-known tools and resources available to help them through the difficult process. Agents must be proactive about encouraging them to use the tools, and employers who offer life insurance through their companies should also communicate better with employees about their life insurance provisions.
Since Americans generally see life insurance as just another complex process, this gives life insurance companies the opportunity to improve. Experts recommend that industry professionals be proactive and address the concerns of confused consumers. By doing this, they will be able to create better resources and tools to educate consumers. They will also be able to create tools that aid in the decision-making process. Consumers may not know how easy it is to obtain life insurance, and they may not know how beneficial it is for their survivors. For those who are concerned about finances, many do not realize that there are affordable options for every budget. Industry professionals, employers and agents must work hard to communicate these benefits to consumers and workers.
In addition to the previous findings, the survey by Life Happens showed some additional interesting points. The researchers asked participants which financial tasks were the most complicated to do. In response, more than 65 percent said that understanding and using current technology was one of the hardest tasks. About the same amount of participants said that filling out tax forms without the help of a professional was the hardest task, and more than 55 percent cited driving without a GPS as the most difficult task. Less than 55 percent cited buying a life insurance policy as the hardest task, and almost 50 percent cited setting up an IKEA furniture ensemble as the most difficult task. Another 7 percent chose various uncategorized tasks.
Since many people understand the frustration behind putting together a complicated piece of furniture, it is easy to see why so many avoid buying life insurance or start to compare policies and give up. They need to have answers to their questions readily available, and information must be presented in plain terms that make sense to everyone. To learn more about these options and how to make information more accessible, discuss concerns with an agent.
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