The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company 'Worth' Study Shows Women Are Unaware Of Living Benefits Of Life Insurance
Survey Underscores Need to Better Communicate All the Advantages of Life Insurance, Especially to Women, as Part of Life Insurance Awareness Month this September
September 24, 2009
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company today announced that a recent national survey conducted by the company revealed that while women value the "living benefits" of life insurance, primarily the ability to access cash, they are largely unaware these benefits exist.
The survey shows women associate life insurance with death benefits. Upon hearing the phrase 'Life Insurance,' most women (60%), on an unaided basis, think of some type of death benefit. For example, 34 percent of women mentioned 'death/burial/funeral/final expenses.' Even on an aided basis, women appear to be predominantly unfamiliar with all of the living benefits of life insurance. Even women who own permanent life insurance, which offers such living benefits, are not any more likely to be familiar with these.
"These latest results are very telling as they confirm our assertion that women want and need to plan for their financial futures but first must understand all their options," says Eileen McDonnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. "Through our WORTH initiative, Penn Mutual is educating women about how life insurance as a cornerstone of their financial planning can help them achieve their goals, even while they are still living."
According to the survey, it is in fact the living benefits that resonate among most women. Benefits such as an income stream during retirement; access to money for things they want to do; and quick access to cash should it be needed are clearly regarded as very important to women. These three benefits exhibit higher levels of importance than do the death benefits with which they are more likely to be familiar.
McDonnell says, "The distinct gap between importance and awareness indicates that we, as an industry, have been missing the boat when it comes to speaking with women about life insurance. We continue to speak to them about what they already know and perhaps regard as less important, yet we spend little time speaking with them about possibilities and benefits they value. These findings should be top of mind as producers reach out to clients and prospects as part of Life Insurance Awareness Month this September."
The survey is part of Penn Mutual's WORTH initiative, an approach that embraces the vastly underserved women's market. WORTH promotes educational resources and tools that advocate women take charge of their financial futures by understanding more fully the entirety of their value to home and family.
A centerpiece of the WORTH initiative is the Worth for Women calculator. This unique tool allows a woman to measure her true economic value, including often overlooked measurements like childcare, budget management and homemaking. The program also features a dynamic content-rich Web site, newsletter, brochures, a seminar series and other communications initiatives that allow financial professionals to craft a plan specifically geared to meet the challenges and fulfill the goals of women at every life stage.
The annual tracking study was conducted by Penn Mutual over a one-month period and encompassed interviews with more than 600 women. The research included a nationally representative sample of women across a wide income spectrum, women with and without life insurance, women with or without children, married and unmarried.
