By
San Diego
The American Council of Life Insurance, along with a number of strategic partners, is undertaking a survey of both insurance companies and banks with the aim of getting information that results in the sale of more life insurance through the bank distribution channel.
ACLIs partners in this venture are the Baker & Daniels law firm, KPMG LLP, and the C.F. Effron Company.
Speaking at ACLIs annual meeting here last month, Michael Lovendusky, ACLI senior counsel, said ACLI has sent out surveys to “thousands of insurers and banks regarding life, disability and long-term care insurance.”
ACLI has set up a bank insurance advisory group whose members include the following insurance companies: Aegon, American Health & Life, Commercial Union, GE Financial, Inviva/American Life of New York, Liberty Life, Marmaid, Nationwide, New York Life, Sage Insurance, Swiss Re and Transamerica.
Part of what this advisory group wants to accomplish through the survey, according to its statement of intent, is “to see where the gaps in perception and reality lie and, thereafter, to identify ways to enhance the commercial partnership” between ACLI member companies and banks.
Scott Harrison, partner with KPMG LLP, said the aim of the survey “is to enhance salesthats the bottom line.” To do this successfully, he said, the survey aims to “investigate the disconnects between banks and insurers.”
Reinforcing the message of enhancing the bottom line, Carmen Effron, president, C.F. Effron Company LLC, said, “Banks sold $37 billion of annuities last year, but only $2.3 billion of life insurance. So, obviously there is great potential.”