InsuranceNewsNet Magazine February 2012 : 18
[ NEWS WIRES ] 24.7% 27.7% 2010 More Adult ‘Kids’ Have Health Insurance That’s the word from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The nonpartisan Washington-based research organization says it checked out federal data to see what the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to offer coverage to adult children ages 19–25 has done so far. The mandate officially went into effect in Septem-ber 2010. Many employers, however, started their plan years in January 2010 and so many insurers Adult Children with Health Insurance Coverage adapted their employer plans to reflect the mandate then, EBRI says. It looks as if consumers took advantage of the expansion. For instance, 27.7 percent in this age group had employment-based coverage as a dependent in 2010, up from 24.7 percent in 2009, according to Current Population Survey as reported by EBRI. In addition, roughly 27.1 percent in this demographic had dependent coverage from October-November 2010, up from an average of 26.9 percent in January-September 2010, according to Survey of Income and Program Participation data reported by EBRI. The upward trend contin-ued into the first half of 2011, too, EBRI reports, citing data from a National Health Interview Survey. The jury is still out on how these shifts are impacting sales at individual insurance broker firms. One thing is for sure, though: The expansion is giv-ing new meaning to the term “family coverage” at the worksite. 2009 One survey, from Allianz Life of North America, found that 31 percent of 1,000 Americans said they will be “less likely” to look for help with finan-cial planning in 2012. Another survey of more than 1,000 Americans, this one from New York Life, found that only 14 percent plan to seek professional help with managing their finances in 2012. “It’s troubling to see that despite all of 2011’s economic volatility, Americans are placing less emphasis on address-ing their financial security,” comments Katie Libbe, vice president of Consumer Insights at Allianz. New York Life Exec-utive Vice President Mark Pfaff, has found an encouraging note in that those most likely to say that they will seek a financial professional’s help include par-ents, college graduates and those ages 30–44, but he also hopes more Ameri-cans will think about engaging a pro-fessional. “While many believe they can go this alone, or hide their heads in the sand, the continued economic uncer-tainties that persist today would be bet-ter managed with professional assis-tance,” he says. Yes, but how to get buy-in on this? That’s the question. sAme-seX Advisors Preferred In the world of financial advice, gender dynamics take on a birds-of-a-feather overtone. According to The American College, approximately 61 percent of female small business owners prefer to speak to a female financial advisor, and 75 percent of men prefer to speak to male financial advisors. By extension, then, if an agency wants to break into the grow-ing female market—or wants to take all comers, male or female — agency man-agers might want to consider bringing some female advisors on board. But there’s a rub in that, and The American College caught it. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that only 30.8 percent of women were personal financial advisors in 2010. Meanwhile, a 2008-2009 study by the college’s State 18 InsuranceNewsNet Magazine February 2012 Farm Center for Women’s Business Research says that 10.1 million busi-nesses are owned by women, and that one in five businesses earning more than $1 million in revenue are owned by women. What to do? “The financial ser-vices industry needs to do a better job of recruiting, training and retain-ing women as financial advisors if it is going to successfully meet the demand of female small business owners,” says Mary Quist-Newins, director of the col-lege’s Center for Women and Financial Services. tWo vieWs on the Product comPAct In December, a few speakers at the first public session of the Federal Insurance Office took jabs at the Interstate Insur-ance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC) for not performing as contem-plated when it started up in 2006 as a speed-to-market initiative. Complaints included that some states still are not members of the centralized product fil-ing authority, and that the 40 states that finAnciAl Advice sits on the bAck burner Despite pressures in the economy and in personal situations, Americans aren’t banging down the doors of their local financial advisors. “As fewer financial advisors offer insurance as a part of their practice and traditional life insurance producers grow older and retire, insurers will need to find innovative ways to attract college grads and young workers into the industry.” — A key prediction for 2012 in the annual insurance industry forecast published by LOMA “ QUOTABLE
Publication List