Good news for brokers looking to score some voluntary sales: Only 39 percent of U.S. households recall having an opportunity to buy life insurance in the past two years, says a LIMRA study. 

"This phenomenon is especially true for single people—a growing segment of the population because of a decline in marriages and an increase in divorce during the past few decades," says Cheryl Retzloff, senior research director, LIMRA Markets research. "Only 26 percent of single people recall having an opportunity to buy life insurance (compared to 74 percent of married people). We also found that those singles who did recall having an opportunity to buy life insurance are almost as likely to buy life insurance as married households (51 percent versus 58 percent). Companies could grow their life business by more aggressively pursuing this untapped market."

Another untapped market LIMRA uncovered earlier this year is single mothers—one third of single mothers who are the primary wage earners in their families had no life insurance coverage at all. And even single mothers with life insurance coverage are underinsured: Two thirds felt that their families could not cover everyday living expenses for much more than a few months should they die.