If you're curious what are the top product trends in the voluntary market, a report from Eastbridge can tell you.
Most carriers (75 percent) say "more guaranteed issue" is the most significant product trend in today's voluntary market. More features and more options came in at a close second, followed by lower participation requirements.
Only about one third of respondents said there was a tendency for lower prices, about the same as in 2010. All other trends (higher commissions, fewer/more age bands and more shelf rates) received significantly fewer responses.
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Respondents were also asked which of several specific items causes the greatest pressure concerning voluntary products. Consistent with trends, most carriers (40 percent) selected "pressure to liberalize guaranteed issue guidelines" followed by "pressure to lower prices." Interestingly, no carriers in the most recent survey mentioned feeling pressure to increase compensation/ commissions. This was a significant decrease from the 18 percent in the 2010 survey. The majority of carriers (74 percent) indicated that the pressure was clearly coming from brokers/producers. Just 21 percent said it was from their field staff.
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