A.M.BestTV: Lincoln Financial Group’s SVP Mike Burns: Life Products Have Moved Beyond Death Benefits

The seventh in a series of special interviews A.M.BestTV is running in September to support Life Insurance Awareness Month is an interview with Mike Burns, senior vice president of life solutions at Lincoln Financial Group.

Burns addressed how the industry is moving beyond death benefits. “These are really exciting times for life insurers, as the industry is looking to emerging products, which might combine traditional mortality benefits with coverage for illnesses and long-term care,” said Burns.

There are at least three areas Burns said the company will be focusing on in the coming year to enhance consumer awareness. “The first: how life insurance can build up cash value that can create income security in the event of an unforeseen occurrence; the second: opportunities for continuing innovations that would enable the industry to reach untapped markets; and the third: enhance the service levels for both the advisers and the consumers to make it easier for both groups to conduct business,” he said.

Click here to view the video program: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=burns914.

Recent episodes of A.M.BestTV include:

• Rendez-Vous de Septembre: From September 13-18 A.M. Best attended the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous de Septembre. To see entire interviews conducted throughout the conference visit:

  http://www.ambest.tv/montecarlo.

• Prudential Financial Individual Life Insurance CEO Kent Sluyter Says Industry’s Challenge Is Relevance: Kent Sluyter, chief executive officer of individual life insurance and agency distribution at Prudential Financial, Inc., says insurers and producers must focus on showing that life products can be relevant to consumer needs at multiple life stages: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=sluyter914.
• AIG Life Distribution Chief John Deremo: Consumers Need More Useful Life Products: John Deremo, head of distribution for life products, American International Group, said longer life spans and limited savings mean Americans will require life products that perform multiple functions: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=deremo914.
• MassMutual Executive Vice President Michael Fanning: Face-to-Face Life Insurance Selling Is Vital: Michael Fanning, an executive vice president at MassMutual Financial Group, said his organization is continuing to invest in its captive sales force, saying it remains the most effective channel for life and protection products: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=fanning914.

A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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