According to the 2023 Insurance Barometer Study, conducted by LIMRA and Life Happens, a record-high proportion of consumers (39 percent) said they intend to purchase life insurance within the next year. The proportion is higher for Gen Z adults (44 percent) and millennials (50 percent). This year’s study looked at the growing market for life insurance market for single mothers. In looking at parents in general, the study found that parent of minor children were more likely to than the general population to own life insurance (59 percent versus 52 percent). The same group were also more likely to acknowledge they do not have enough coverage (47 percent versus 41 percent).
Traditional life insurance is no longer the primary business of many companies in the life insurance industry. The emphasis has shifted to underwriting annuities, which accounted for 53 percent of life/annuity direct premiums written in 2023. Annuities are contracts that accumulate funds or pay out a fixed or variable income stream. The income stream can be for a set period or over the lifetime of the contract holder or beneficiaries. Accident and health insurance, which includes distinctive products apart from traditional health insurance, account for 24 percent of direct premiums written. In addition to annuities, accident and health, and life insurance products, life insurers may offer financial services such as asset management.
Traditional health insurance, which is not included in this section and is not considered a part of the life/annuity sector, is described under Private Health Insurance. Health insurance pays for medical, surgical and hospital services received by the insured, as well as routine and preventive care, usually within a network format. Of the many types of plans available, most include a deductible paid by the insured, and benefits received are tax-free.
Accident and health insurance, a product provided by the life/annuity and property/casualty (P/C) sectors, encompasses a variety of specialty products related to health such as:
Accident and health insurance is not meant to replace health insurance.
($ billions, end of year)