Everybody Jump The Social Norming of Life Insurance

Over the years an endless number of well-intentioned parents have asked the question if they would jump off the bridge just because everyone else does. If everyone is jumping off a bridge, then they probably have a very good reason for doing it. LIMRA research from 2014 (when 59% of US adults owned the product) found just 2 in 5 Americans agree that life insurance is something most people have. Historically there has been a close relationship between the number of career agents and life policy sales especially after 1985. Just prior to that, home service distribution sold about 4 million policies -- more than 25% of policy sales. As major companies moved away from home service distribution, ownership rates tumbled. Fast forward to today, and people don't really know whether their friends and neighbors own life insurance. It's just not something people talk about.