LionStreet: ROAD to INDEPENDENCE White Paper - Flipbook - Page 5
THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
3
T HE F IN A NCI A L INDU S T RY ’ S S HIF T T O INDE P E NDE NCE
The same trend is happening to
the life insurance industry.
dent
sors
30%
ks &
nce
nies
32%
s&
nal
lers
38%
2005
Compare this situation with
that of wirehouse advisors. A
generation ago, career insurance
companies such as New York Life,
Northwestern Mutual, Guardian,
and Mass Mutual
still dominated
42%
the industry.
Independent channels are
growing at the expense of
career companies because of
31%
changing market expectations,
a lack of significant value being
created with their agency
relationship, restricted access to
products & marketing
27% and lower
compensation.
2015
Career agents are widely
perceived, fairly or not, as
representing one company
and its products over the best
interests of the client. These
perceptions have long existed,
but they especially have mattered
in the years following the 2008
financial crisis.
Premium Market Share by Distribution1
Independent
Agents
Direct & Other
Companies
Affiliated
Agents
47%
5%
48%
1999
51%
11%
38%
2017
1. LIMRA, Historical Trends in Sales Capacity, 2018