IUL continues to drive life insurance sales growth

Everybody loves IUL, it seems. What’s not to love? Unlike traditional universal life, where interest is credited based on a declared rate determined by the insurance company, IUL interest is credited based on the performance of an index or indexes. And unlike variable universal life, IUL offers protection to the cash value. You’ve got upside crediting potential with protection against market downturns. This has proven to be a winning formula in a low interest rate environment.

Fox Business had this to say about IUL recently: “An emerging and fast-growing contract design — the indexed universal life (IUL) policy — may come very close to being the ideal contract for most consumers in today’s interest and overall market environment.”

In the past year, a number of carriers, including Genworth, ING and John Hancock, have introduced new IUL products designed for a variety of intended purposes. Carriers have worked to simplify the products by streamlining the paralyzing array of options and choices available within a product, and they continue to devote considerable resources to train agents on IUL products. The illustrations are also better, making it easier to communicate the benefits of these products to consumers.

If you aren’t on the IUL bandwagon yet, what’s keeping you? If you need more background about it, here are some recent articles that will enlighten you:

• Looking to expand your portfolio? Consider Indexed Universal Life
• IUL: One solution for two big problems
• Protected growth: The indexed product advantage
• Talking index products with Genworth’s Charlie Gipple

We are right smack-dab in the middle of Life Insurance Awareness Month. It’s a great time to make your clients and prospects aware of the benefits of index universal life.