Globe Life Predicts It Will Have Enough Agents
A 17% increase in the agent count helped the company's performance in the second quarter.
Globe Life Inc. posted strong earnings and sales growth in the second quarter, thanks in part to a decrease in the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, securities analysts are wondering whether a tight labor market will hurt the company’s supply of insurance agents.
The McKinney, Texas-based life and health insurer is reporting $200 million in net income for the latest quarter on $1.3 billion in revenue, up from $173 million in net income on $1.2 billion in revenue for the year-earlier quarter.
The flow of life insurance claims attributed to COVID-19 fell to $11 million in the latest quarter, from $38 million in the first quarter.
Globe Life focuses on using a large network of agents to sell life insurance and supplemental health insurance products to middle-income people.
Labor Market
Larry Hutchison, a Globe Life co-CEO, said that an easing of pandemic-related social distancing efforts helped the company’s agents meet with clients and increase sales, and that an increase in the agent count also helped boost sales.
Ryan Krueger, an analyst with Keefe Bruyette & Woods, asked Globe Life executives whether lower unemployment rates could affect the company’s ability to recruit new agents.
“I do think growing agent count is going to be a challenge through the end of 2021,” Hutchison said. “However, as the economy returns to normal growth levels, we believe we will see a continued growth in our agent count in line with our historical levels.”
People who could work as insurance agents now have other work, but Globe Life units are keeping more agents at the middle management level, and the increase in the size of middle management should help with agent recruitment and training, Hutchison said.
One unit had a 6% increase in middle management, a second had a 7% increase, and a third had a 13% increase, Hutchison said.
The Agents
The total number of agents increased 17% between the second quarter of 2020 and the latest quarter, to 14,277
The number of new agents increased 18%, to 10,032.
The number of agents who stuck with Globe Life for more than one year increased 15%, to 4,272.
Life v. Health
Here’s what happened to premium revenue for the company’s main lines of business:
- Life Insurance: $728 million (up from $671 million)
- Health Insurance: $296 million (up from $283 million)
Here’s what happened to new net sales:
- Life Insurance: $136 million (up from $114 million)
- Health Insurance: $43 million (up from $34 million)
(Image: kan_chana/Shutterstock)