Facts + Statistics: Distribution channels

Life insurance distribution channels

Life insurance was once sold primarily by career life agents, also known as captive agents, representing a single insurance company, and by independent agents, representing several insurers. Now, life insurance is sold directly to the public by mail, telephone, and the Internet. Independent insurance agents have the largest share of the market, followed by affiliated agents.

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Worksite marketing is the selling of voluntary (employee-paid) insurance and financial products at the worksite. The products may be sold individually or in groups, and policyholders usually pay premiums through periodic payroll deductions. Worksite sales of life and health insurance totaled $8.3 billion in 2021, up from $7.46 billion in 2020, according to Eastbridge Consulting Group.

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Annuity distribution

According to LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, total U.S. annuity sales in 2021 increased 16 percent from 2020. Independent broker-dealers were the largest single distributor of annuities, with 27 percent of sales, higher than in 2017 when they accounted for 22 percent of the market. Independent agents accounted for the second-largest share of annuity sales by channel with 19 percent in 2021, about the same as 2017.