In April 2020, Rolling Stone magazine noted a number of older songs that were enjoying a renewed popularity during the first few months of the pandemic. One of those songs was "O-o-h Child" by The Five Stairsteps. With its sweeping chorus of "Someday, we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun/Someday when the world is much brighter," the 1971 hit not only racked up 3.2 million total streams and a 72 percent increase in sales between March 12 and April 23, but keyed into a sense of optimism that better days were ahead. Nearly two years later, that optimism appears to have waned. According to HealthCareInsider's 2022 COVID-19 Attitudes Survey, three in 10 Americans believe the pandemic will never end. About one-quarter of those surveyed believe remote work will be one of the permanent changes wrought by COVID-19, and 12% believe wearing a mask in public is also here to stay. The "new normal" is acknowledged in Aite-Novarica Group's annual report about trends in life, annuities, and benefits. "Heightened awareness of mortality, physical distancing, remote working, and talent shortage are among the key factors that have deeply impacted customers, advisors, and insurers," writes Manoj Upreti. None of this is to say that traditional issues are a thing of the past. "The low interest rate environment, increasing regulations, and long product development cycles still garner a lot of attention," Upreti asserts. "This environment also presents opportunities to leverage emerging technologies, data, and analytics to improve customer engagement and create lasting relationships; make it easy for agents to do business; and lower operating costs and reduce risks." From cloud migration to going full-on digital instead of just digitizing, Aite-Novarica Group has identified 10 trends that will shape the L/A/B space in 2022. See our slideshow above, and click here to get the full report.