Life Insurance help and hindrances
In the UK, the Post Office has announced that it will offer customers over the age of 50 the chance to purchase life insurance over the counter. Although the post office already sells products and services over the counter like travel insurance, this marks the first time it has sold life cover in this way.
The new package will be called Over -50's Life Cover. The policy will offer instant protection from the moment it is brought and is also customer friendly as it will not require UK residents between the ages of 50 and 80 to undergo any medical checks.
This new scheme has come just at the right time because a Barclays survey showed that UK residents were cutting down on life insurance policies due to the recession. However, the new over the counter product could bring a new lease of life into life insurance and offer reassurance in a worrying time.
Duncan Caeser-Gordon, the Post Office's head of protection stated: "In a time of such uncertainty people need peace of mind more than ever, which is why we are now offering instant protection over the counter."
Countries struggle to keep life insurance afloat
Purchasing life insurance may have just become easier in Britain, but in America, life cover has not been so favourable with the public.
Life insurance sales have dropped during the third quarter as new annualised premium for individual coverage fell 11% year over year according to LIMRA International Inc.
This drop represents an overall 4% decline in yearly premiums. Variable life and variable universal life insurance products that invest a portion of customer's premium into the equity markets have also experienced declines in sales.
Variable life fell by 41% in yearly premiums, whilst it's variable universal cousin decreased by 33%. Their number of variable and variable universal policies nosedived too, with variable policies decreasing by 51% in the third quarter and variable universal life fell by 22%.
There is a flicker of good news of American life insurance though, because term and whole life insurance sales have been able to weather the financial storm with only a 1% decline in annualised premiums. Meanwhile, whole life actually gained 7% in yearly premiums in the third quarter.
India has become another victim of the drop of life insurance sales as well. The profit in this sector has declined by 46.5% and worse is still to come as seven out of 17 companies have a negative balance for the period.
Bulstrad Life, Generalis and Dobrudja- M insurance are just a few who have lost out on vital sales, and are therefore in negative balance and have lost a total of BGN 8.4 thousand on an annual basis.
The entire sector made a profit of 14 thousand compared with 2007, where the profit gained reached 26.2 thousand.
So whilst the UK may be able to offer a little bit of hope to its consumers, other countries are waiting with baited breath to see what they can do to solve their problems.
The new package will be called Over -50's Life Cover. The policy will offer instant protection from the moment it is brought and is also customer friendly as it will not require UK residents between the ages of 50 and 80 to undergo any medical checks.
This new scheme has come just at the right time because a Barclays survey showed that UK residents were cutting down on life insurance policies due to the recession. However, the new over the counter product could bring a new lease of life into life insurance and offer reassurance in a worrying time.
Duncan Caeser-Gordon, the Post Office's head of protection stated: "In a time of such uncertainty people need peace of mind more than ever, which is why we are now offering instant protection over the counter."
Countries struggle to keep life insurance afloat
Purchasing life insurance may have just become easier in Britain, but in America, life cover has not been so favourable with the public.
Life insurance sales have dropped during the third quarter as new annualised premium for individual coverage fell 11% year over year according to LIMRA International Inc.
This drop represents an overall 4% decline in yearly premiums. Variable life and variable universal life insurance products that invest a portion of customer's premium into the equity markets have also experienced declines in sales.
Variable life fell by 41% in yearly premiums, whilst it's variable universal cousin decreased by 33%. Their number of variable and variable universal policies nosedived too, with variable policies decreasing by 51% in the third quarter and variable universal life fell by 22%.
There is a flicker of good news of American life insurance though, because term and whole life insurance sales have been able to weather the financial storm with only a 1% decline in annualised premiums. Meanwhile, whole life actually gained 7% in yearly premiums in the third quarter.
India has become another victim of the drop of life insurance sales as well. The profit in this sector has declined by 46.5% and worse is still to come as seven out of 17 companies have a negative balance for the period.
Bulstrad Life, Generalis and Dobrudja- M insurance are just a few who have lost out on vital sales, and are therefore in negative balance and have lost a total of BGN 8.4 thousand on an annual basis.
The entire sector made a profit of 14 thousand compared with 2007, where the profit gained reached 26.2 thousand.
So whilst the UK may be able to offer a little bit of hope to its consumers, other countries are waiting with baited breath to see what they can do to solve their problems.