AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, really hopes you didn’t blink as the first half of 2022 seemed to fly by too quickly for all of us as July marks the midpoint of the year. Based on trends in life insurance and annuities, our team of professionals continues to see spikes in business as more consumers seek to protect their future and legacy with these products.

Some anxious consumers are watching the market fluctuate up and down and wondering whether their retirement dollars will keep up with the increasing rate of inflation this year. The Federal reserve recently hiked its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point, the biggest increase since 1994.

A recent CNBC article also points out that Wall Street has tumbled in response to the Fed’s tightening and rapidly rising inflation. The article stated that the S&P 500 posted its 10th down week in the last 11 and is now well into a bear market. On 6/16, all 11 of its sectors closed more than 10% below their recent highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 30,000 for the first time since January 2021 that week.

AIPMA has noticed how more consumers are looking to protect those hard-earned retirement dollars by looking at short-term planning options, which has opened up a very competitive Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity (MYGA) market. AIPMA wholesalers and agents also are jumping on this trend as consumers can go shorter terms (3, 5, 7) with interest rates starting to hit the 4.0% range.

MYGAs are becoming a safer option, like banking CDs and bonds, but they are generating a larger interest rate than CDs with a guaranteed, higher rate. Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIAs) also are starting to gain some momentum.

On the life insurance side, the COVID-19 pandemic still lingers in our world. COVID-19 prompted 1 in 5 Americans to purchase life insurance, according to a recent survey by LIMRA and Life Happens. This study also found that 50 percent of people overestimate the cost of life insurance as more than three times what it actually costs.

One selling point AIPMA continues to push downline to wholesalers and agents involves accelerated underwriting, which provides an option for consumers to acquire life insurance quickly, and sometimes without a medical exam. AIPMA has multiple carriers offering accelerated underwriting for their life insurance products. Some products also have long-term care riders (hybrid life insurance policies) for those who want to prepare for the unexpected possibility of an LTC health issue.

While we are sharing a couple of market trends, AIPMA also wants to check in with our valued wholesalers and agents as we all have reached the halfway point of the year. Are you on track to reach your 2022 goals? Are you falling a bit behind due to the challenges in the market (fluctuating economy, pandemic, bear market)?

What can AIPMA do to help you promote safety and security to your clients and prospects? AIPMA launched some amazing sales and marketing tools to initiate the conversation, including our new consumer Annuity in a Box program and Life Insurance Policy Review kits with whitepapers on social media and email marketing strategies.

Time flies. You know that. AIPMA just wants to keep the positive momentum from the first half of the year going strong, as before you know it, the fall holidays will creep up on all of us before we realize it. Our team encourages you to contact us to discuss 2022 second half strategy at (800) 783-5206 Press #2 or marketing@aipma.com.

If you are an independent wholesaler looking for new ideas, you also are welcome to schedule a conversation with Chris Howe, Vice President of Business Development. He can discuss AIPMA’s capabilities and resources that support independent life insurance and annuity wholesalers nationwide.