Maybe Life Insurers Are Too Focused on Core Operations

(Photo: Thinkstock)

Executives at the world’s life insurers have been bragging for years about efforts to sell small or underperforming units and focus on core operations.

Consultants at McKinsey & Company have come out with a conflicting idea: That maybe life and annuity issuers should consider trying to poach some business from competitors in nearby business sectors.

(Related: 5 Ways an AXA U.S. Spinoff Could Affect You)

The consultants have included that suggestion in a new review of the state of the life and annuity industry.

The McKinsey consultants’ views matter, because life insurers often hire consultants from places like McKinsey to tell them how to fix and improve their businesses.

The consultants make the points that the life business looks better in emerging markets than in the United States and Europe, and that life insurers need to do a lot more to cut costs.