COVID-19 raised consumers' awareness about the importance of life insurance. According to LIMRA research, half of U.S. workers believe their life insurance benefit is more important due to COVID-19. To ensure every worker who has access to life insurance at their workplace opts in, our industry needs to expand efforts to educate employers about the value their workers place on life insurance and encourage them to highlight this important benefit during their next open enrollment.

A growing opportunity

LIMRA is forecasting in-force workplace benefits life insurance to grow 5.4% in 2021, a significant jump from the 3% annual growth experienced over the past several years. Many factors play a role in the forecast, including U.S. employment levels, wages and salary growth, and overall U.S. economic activity. All of these reflect a changing, dynamic marketplace. LIMRA's proprietary model incorporates these data along with its carrier-provided workplace benefits life insurance sales and in-force database.

Unlike the 2007-2009 Great Recession, when it took over five years for jobs to fully recover, current estimates are for a full economic recovery by late 2022. A quick recovery, resulting in new hiring and rising wages, should bolster the number of people eligible for workplace life insurance as employers are able to expand their benefits offerings.