LIMRA reported that life insurance sales, as measured by policy count, increased by 2 percent in 2011.

That growth might seem small to most, but president and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global, Inc. Robert A. Kerzner said in an interview with InsuranceNewsNet that is should not be discredited.

“This was only the fourth time in the last 30 years that the industry’s life policy count has increased,” Kerzner said.

LIMRA statistics show the number of life policies sold in 2011 dropped drastically from those reported in 2000. How much? The numbers fell from 20.6 million policies to 9.5 million.

That decline happened during a period of time in which the U.S. population continued to grow. In 2000, the U.S. population was 282 million and now it has grown to more than 311 million. In 1980, there were only 227 million people in the U.S. and 14.75 million policies were sold that year, according to LIMRA.

“We can’t grow if we don’t grow the number of people and households buying life insurance,” Kerzner said in the InsuranceNewsNet interview.

How does the industry do that?

Agents and companies have to realize the needs of clients are changing – quickly.

In many cases, households feature two parents with full-time jobs, but one-parent households are at an all-time high. Ethnic markets are growing and changing. Younger generations are getting older and need coverage. Kerzner said it’s time for the industry to take advantage of the ever-changing scope.

The sales approach has to change for many agents because the clients have changed. New relationships – based on trust – must be established. Generation X (now in their 30s and 40s) offers a huge market that wants insurance.

Old research should be tossed out the window. The insurance game has changed. Training it outdated. The sales pitch is totally different now because the clients come from a vastly different level of knowledge.

LIMRA reports that younger adults want information about how much coverage is needed, what kind is needed and how to know whether the insurance offered is the right type for them.

Older producers, unfortunately, have not adapted well and are failing to capture the interest of younger people. Some clients are even more confused after speaking with an agent. Kerzner suggested that producers change their strategy to fit the times.

How should they do that?

Additional training will produce results, Kerzner concluded. He said that LIMRA research from 2011 found that when agents were trained in building trust using updated approaches, production improved “substantively.” Those same improvements were apparent one year later also.

Agents should not be afraid to change up their approach if what they are doing now doesn’t work.