Thinking about the Unthinkable: Key strategies for selling digital critical illness products

According to the Association of British Insurers, in the last five years term life policy sales have grown steadily. Yet CI policies and term plus CI policies have not kept pace.

Because half of all policy sales are now non-advised, analysts believe the real problem with CI sales is due to an incompatibility with current non-advised and digital models. What is behind this gap in the market for digital CI?

Factors impacting the lag in digital CI products

• Complexity: Heart attack, stroke, paralysis, blindness – the list of covered conditions can be lengthy and include conditions unfamiliar to consumers, or conditions they do not feel are relevant to them. 
  
  
• Exclusions: Without advisors, people may feel overwhelmed or confused by policy exclusions. 
  
  
• Positioning: Again, without an advisor or broker, comparing CI plans is difficult for individual consumers. Should they opt for a standalone CI policy or a rider to a traditional life plan? Should they seek out a broad CI option or a cancer-only product? What about price?
  
  
• Awareness: In the global market, our industry is still struggling with general awareness about CI plans, which offer added financial protection outside of health and life plans. Selling a solution is infinitely more difficult when your audience is not aware of the problem. 
  
  
• Customer risk perception: Although hard to believe, consumers may be more comfortable considering the impact of their death than the realities of a debilitating illness or disease. Behavioral scientists tell us this “It won’t happen to me” mindset is a psychological defense against the anxiety and stress of planning for an uncomfortable prospect like a critical illness. 

With these significant hurdles – and the absence of an advisor who can ask questions that highlight the need for CI coverage – how can carriers creatively craft and market CI products for specific demographics? Here are lessons learned from recent case studies. 

Sharing the wider impact of critical illness

CI policies are sometimes known as “dread disease” policies for a reason: Consumers do not want to think about cancer, a heart attack, or any other debilitating conditions that might befall them and bring significant costs. One way to respond is to offer value-added services that go beyond the lump sum payment at the heart of a CI policy. 

Aynjil is a South African cancer insurance provider that launched in 2021. Beyond a benefit payout, Aynjil offers a host of services that follow a patient through his or her cancer journey, including complimentary transport to treatments, childcare and tutoring, and counseling with clinical professionals to address the mental health impact of a cancer diagnosis. 

Taken together, these additional offerings make the value of the CI product more real for customers. People may not want to think about the physical discomfort of cancer, but they can consider and appreciate Aynjil’s holistic focus on the wider financial and familial impact of a diagnosis. 

Learn more about the opportunities and challenges of selling critical illness insurance digitally in this presentation from the RGA Critical Illness and Supplemental Insurance Conference.