Americans know they need life insurance but do not believe it fits into their budget. According to the 2024 Insurance Barometer, 78% of people overestimate how much a term life insurance policy costs, while 52% of people do not have more coverage, or coverage at all, because they think it is “too expensive.” Online quote tools enable users to see that life insurance is often more affordable than they imagined and allow firms to direct users to the purchasing process.
In a recent report, CI’s Life Insurance Monitor analyzed life insurance quote tools offered by eight leading insurers. Most online quote tools collect a variety of personal and medical information and encourage users to continue the life insurance application process. Beyond that, tools differ. Here are some unique ways that firms make their quote tools stand out and cater to those unsure of their coverage needs:
Providing users with additional coverage amount options and recommendations
Insurers should ensure that users can easily adjust their coverage amounts and term lengths on the quote tool result page. Firms in the Life Insurance Monitor coverage group excel in this area, with many employing sliders for users to adjust their coverage amounts. Several firms go beyond allowing users to manually adjust their coverage and offer extra adjustment options and recommendations.
- Ladder provides customized options for users to select from, including Recommended for You, Less Coverage and More Coverage options
- Mutual of Omaha offers different combinations of coverage and monthly payment amounts within a carousel of tiles housing quotes to help users visualize their options
Offering users the option to calculate their coverage needs
Firms such as USAA and State Farm incorporate optional coverage calculations directly in their quote tools, allowing users who are not knowledgeable about life insurance or their coverage needs to receive a more accurate life insurance quote result. This is especially helpful for users seeking a quote but are unsure of their life insurance needs to begin with.
- USAA’s quote tool helps the user determine their coverage via An I Need Help button, which prompts additional questions such as their yearly income, balance left on any of their mortgages, amount of other debt, existing life insurance amount, and savings
- State Farm’s term life insurance quote tool includes an Estimate Your Insurance Needs expandable tab, where users can input their financial information—including total debt, amount for their loved ones, estimated final expenses and future educational expenses—with the coverage amount adjusting accordingly
Learn more about our subscription life insurance research and the other four key findings for firms in our 2024 Life Insurance Monitor report. And check out our Insights section to see more from around the financial services and healthcare world.
Brooke Harmke
Brooke Harmke is an Analyst on CI's insurance team.