23 January 2016

Deloitte: 2015 life insurance and annuity industry outlook - Taking the longer-term view

In this outlook, Deloitte once again strive to provide their perspective on the threats and opportunities that lie ahead, as well as practical suggestions as to what L&A insurers ought to do about them.

However, while touching upon the impact of the economy and the state of cyclical insurance markets, Deloitte focus the bulk of their attention on more systemic, bigger picture agenda items that are likely to have a significant effect on consumer behavior and insurer operations well beyond the year ahead. Their views on industry trends and priorities for 2015 are based on the first-hand experience of many of Deloitte’s leading practitioners, supplemented by research from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

In many ways, the life insurance and annuities industry is on more solid footing entering 2015 than it has been for quite some time. Economic growth is improving and the unemployment rate is steadily falling, which should create a more conducive environment for carriers to market their products and services.

But fundamental challenges — some new, some ongoing — are keeping industry executives on their toes. Whether it’s how to maximize information fluency in the age of big data, contain the growing threat of cybercrime, meet moving compliance targets during a time of regulatory uncertainty, or delivering on the demand for longevity products as life spans increase, life and annuities (L&A) leaders have their hands full. Agility, innovation, and collaboration will be increasingly important to upgrade capabilities and spark sustainable growth.

Producing outlooks of this type has the result of exposing the authors to second-guessing; hindsight is 20/20. Nevertheless, Deloitte felt it was important to reflect on what Deloitte said a year ago and put their prior prognostications to the test by analyzing what they got right — and perhaps not exactly right — in their 2014 outlooks. You will find this “looking back” analysis leading off this year’s edition, followed by a “looking forward” summary of their views about 2015.

The bulk of the report will explore a number of key areas for L&A companies over the coming year, each including a specific look at the industry’s focus for 2015 and a “bottom line” that provides some actionable takeaways for industry leaders to consider.

Full report

© Deloitte LLP