Launching new products is crucial for insurance companies to stay competitive and meet evolving customer demands. Over the past two years, RGA has partnered with clients to help them bring numerous products to market, advancing our purpose of making financial protection accessible to all.
The strength of these partnerships was once again demonstrated by insurance companies ranking RGA #1 for product innovation in 2023 – the 12th consecutive year – on NMG Consulting’s Global Life and Health Reinsurance Study.
In this article, we discuss product trends observed across different regions based on projects supported by RGA. We will also explore emerging themes and provide examples of products RGA has developed with our clients.
The life insurance industry is evolving rapidly, with trends emerging regionally. This section explores the latest developments in life, critical illness (CI), long-term care (LTC), and health insurance products.
Life insurance products – where the main benefit is a death benefit – account for nearly a third of new product launches supported by RGA during the past two years. Life insurance is often the first product considered when exploring new distribution channels, including digital insurance distributors and partnerships with non-insurance entities, such as retailers.
A geographic comparison provides an interesting view. In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, RGA helped launch a significant number of life savings products. This was not the case in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region and in North America, where most life products supported were protection-only products.
A trend continuing to gain momentum with life protection is to allow policyholders to access their benefits for financial support when suffering from a critical condition or when hospitalized, by accelerating a portion of their death benefit.
CI products continue to be popular in the APAC region. Many new CI products cover conditions at various stages (e.g., early, moderate, or severe) and offer multi-pay benefits across different disease groups.
In the EMEA and Americas regions, CI products tend to be less sophisticated than in APAC, typically offering a one-time lump sum payment and covering fewer conditions.
RGA’s CI product development activity highlighted several trends:
Although this coverage is not as widely popular as other insurance options, RGA has observed an increase in the number of LTC product launches over the past two years, including dementia coverage.
RGA has collaborated with clients in Korea to introduce LTC products with different benefits triggered at various stages of dementia, from moderate to severe.
RGA has supported clients across multiple markets to launch medical reimbursement products, including specialized offerings focused on cancer-related medical expenses, particularly in the APAC region, and hospital cash products distributed through call centers in the EMEA region.
New life insurance offerings are driven by the diverse and evolving needs of customers. Key product trends that RGA has observed across various regions include flexible benefits, mental and neurological health conditions, products for seniors, cancer-only products, and alternative distribution.
Insurers have employed several approaches to enhance product flexibility:
Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities, as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, functional impairment, or risk of self-harm. In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that more than one in eight adults and adolescents worldwide have a mental disorder.1 The presence of a neurodevelopmental disorder in young people can also increase their vulnerability to developing a mental health problem later in life; thus, treatment of these disorders at an early age can act as a preventive measure for addressing mental health conditions.2
Mental health coverage is starting to be included in insurance products. For example, RGA supported a client in Malaysia to launch a product for expectant mothers that covers mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorders and generalized anxiety disorders. In Hong Kong, RGA supported the launch of a CI product that provides coverage for juvenile diseases up to age 19. The product features first-in-market coverage for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Tourette syndrome in juveniles. This innovative approach addresses a significant gap in traditional insurance products, ensuring that young individuals with these conditions receive the support and coverage they need.
The number of people worldwide aged 65 years or older is projected to more than double, from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2050, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.3 Yet seniors remain an underserved market and find it challenging to access financial protection. In response, insurance companies have begun making products more inclusive for this segment.
RGA worked with a client in Portugal to launch a CI product covering seniors for seven illnesses, including dementia, as well as funeral costs. It also offers value-added services, such as home medical care (e.g., doctors, nurses, and physiotherapy) and non-urgent transportation.
In Taiwan, RGA supported the launch of a fixed-term (10 or 20 years) cancer product designed for those aged 55 years and above that provides a lump sum payment when policyholders are diagnosed with cancer.
In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated there were 20 million new cancer cases globally and about one in five people would develop cancer in their lifetime.4 This highlights the growing burden of cancer on individuals and governments.
Insurance companies are stepping up to introduce offerings that address the cancer protection gap.
For example, RGA supported a client in Hong Kong to launch a cancer medical reimbursement plan that provides financial support for cancer screening and experimental drugs, as well as personalized value-added services. RGA also supported the development of cancer medical reimbursement products in Korea that cover diagnosis tests and anti-cancer treatments such as radiation and hormone therapies. In China, RGA helped launch the market’s first CI product that covers cancer at various stages, with benefits varying by cancer severity. In the UK, RGA developed a digital cancer protection product targeted at women.
Alternative distribution enables insurers to reach customers wherever they are by working with non-insurance brands that have an established customer base or digital distributors that can acquire new customers effectively.
RGA has collaborated with various insurance companies to support new product launches through alternative distribution channels. For example, RGA partnered with an insurance company in South Africa to sell life insurance to loyalty cardholders of a large retailer. In Poland, RGA worked with a digital insurer to distribute life insurance via property and casualty insurance agencies. In Canada, RGA collaborated with multiple insurers and a digital distributor to launch new life and CI products.
As the protection needs of consumers continue to evolve, the insurance industry must develop new product offerings to keep pace. Over the past two years, RGA has built on the company’s long tradition of innovation by partnering with clients to design targeted solutions to meet local market needs around the world. Reach out to your RGA representative to learn more about recent trends and to discover how we can support your new initiatives and help advance your product development strategy.
