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For the past few years, pundits have been predicting that bots, robo-advisors, and other technologies will lead to the demise of living, breathing financial professionals. That hasn’t happened yet, and, in my opinion, it never will. Yes, people can conduct much of their preliminary research online, and a few are willing to purchase basic coverage without ever speaking to a person. But most will want a financial professional to guide them through life’s twists and turns. Even those people who purchase coverage from a robo-advisor will seek the expertise of a financial professional as their needs become more complex. 

Increased demand for insurance products driven by raised awareness due to COVID-19 and a tight labor market.

New annualized premium for workplace life insurance, disability insurance and supplemental health products rose in 2021, according to LIMRA’s workplace benefits sales surveys.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 85% of Americans say they go online on a daily basis, with 31% reporting that they go online “almost constantly.”

With people spending more time online than ever before, it’s important that your website is optimized for visitors to browse and stick around. But longer isn’t necessarily better. You want visitors to stay on your website because they’re enjoying the content and experience — not because they can’t find the information that they’re looking for or can’t complete a desired action, like making a purchase.

In this post, we’ll cover what a “good” average time on page and average session duration benchmark is, and how to improve these metrics on your website.

For your clients who are homeowners aged 62+, a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM, commonly called a reverse mortgage) loan offers some distinct advantages over other types of home-equity-release loans.

According to a survey conducted by Clever,* about half (51 percent) of retirees believe they will outlive their savings. Perhaps even more worrisome, the study also found that 65 percent of retirees say they are not financially secure. They may be facing any number of financial challenges, including how to best pay for long-term care or combat recent jumps in the prices of food, gas, and just about everything else.

As a financial professional, you want to give your clients the best chance at financial success. For most homeowners aged 62 and older, home equity represents the largest portion of their overall net wealth, usually dwarfing their other assets (e.g., retirement savings). While home equity is good, unless the home is sold or the equity is tapped, it is of essentially no functional value to a homeowner in retirement because it is generally very illiquid.

When analyzing your website, you want the full story of how visitors are engaging with your site. You want to know not only how many visitors you get, but where they’re coming from, how long they’re spending on your site, how soon they’re leaving, and much more. 

To find the answers to these questions, you need to track website engagement metrics. In this guide, we’ll introduce this key concept, discuss the top metrics to watch for while running a successful website in 2022, and hear from actual website owners about what metrics they're prioritizing for the upcoming year. 

Don't miss NAIFA partner ReminderMedia's webinar "How to Turn Clients into Raving Fans"! ReminderMedia President Luke Acree will outline the importance of focusing on relationships, not transactions.

In the webinar, Acree will help you:

• Discover why you need to be known, liked, and trusted before you can do business
• Find out how one psychological trigger will guarantee a desired response
• Learn why focusing on transactions rather than relationships will kill your business

The webinar will take place on March 24th at 1 pm eastern.

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world, with an advertising audience of 353 million users on the platform. For professionals in the insurance and financial services industry, Twitter presents an opportunity to network and use the social network as a place for finding prospective clients. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind if you want to be successful at using Twitter for finding prospective customers.

Brian Haney, CLTC, CFS, CIS, CFBS, LACP, CAE, NAIFA's Young Advisor Team (YAT) Leader of the Year recently shared five keys to his success as a financial professional with InsuranceNewsNet's AdvisorNews. Haney is the Founder and Vice President of the Haney Company in Silver Spring, MD. He has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2013 and is very engaged and active in our association.

You can stay in business for a long time by being efficient in the use of your materials and resources, having a strong hold on who you are, and surrounding yourself with other successful, young entrepreneurs.

Efficiency is key to remaining competitive in today's market. When you determine your strengths, you can harness them to maximize your leverage. Using personified production methods, such as dividing a production process into separate operations completed by different people or at different times, allows you to be more efficient. Play on your strengths and know that developing these skill sets will give you an edge over competition, both new and seasoned.

A LinkedIn profile is a critical tool in today's world if you want to grow your business and client base. It can add immense value to your professional and personal brand. Conversely, the absence of a social media profile means lost opportunities. 

Follow LinkedIn's Lead

The LinkedIn website will lead you through the process of building your profile. Have an updated resume handy as you begin the process. Take a look at profiles of others in your industry. Make sure to use a professional headshot; it can make or break your profile. While it may be tempting to use a decades younger picture−don't. Your picture should reflect your professional, approachable, trustworthy self. It's worth spending some money to be sure you have the right picture, and don't be afraid to smile.