As an industry, we’ve made incredible progress in product innovation. But the truth is, products alone aren’t enough. To truly meet the needs of modern consumers and today’s time-strapped advisors, we need to rethink how we sell. Because in today’s world where you can apply for a mortgage on your phone and buy a car from your couch, life insurance sales shouldn’t come with a complicated, lengthy process. Especially not for term life, final expense, and guaranteed universal life (GUL) insurance.
These simplified products are designed to be straightforward and should be quick to sell. Yet too often, the sales process is anything but simple. Manual processes, disconnected systems, and outdated workflows still stand in the way. Advisors are stuck spending too much time on low-margin sales, and clients are left with clunky experiences that don’t meet their expectations.
Why Efficiency Matters More Than Ever
One of the greatest opportunities we have in our industry is to make the simplified life insurance sales process truly simple—for the advisor, the client and for firms. Being high-volume, transactional products, advisors should be able to analyze needs, compare carrier options, and submit a complete application in just a few minutes. This should be the new benchmark—and with the right technology, it’s absolutely achievable.
Without a simple, digital workflow, these sales quickly become unprofitable. But when you digitize the process and make it fast and simple, you not only protect the margin—you create real incentive for more advisors to sell. The easier it is to sell, the more it gets sold.
A Better, Connected Experience Makes All the Difference
A simplified sales experience starts with smart pre-sale tools. With a health analyzer, suitability check, and needs calculator built right into the experience, advisors can easily identify the right product from the start. This leads to more accurate pricing, better product alignment, and greater confidence that the application will be submitted in good order.
Next is real-time quoting. Advisors need fast, accurate, multi-carrier quotes they can access from any device. Whether they’re in the office, at a client’s home, or on the go. And when quoting is part of the same platform as the e-submission, there’s no data loss or rework.
Finally, submission, which should be just as smooth. Data gathered during the health analysis and quoting steps flows directly into the e-application, automatically enforcing business rules. When available, integrated underwriting and embedded rule-based questions can support instant or accelerated underwriting—further reducing friction, speeding up decisions, and minimizing delays. With auto-fill, validation, and real-time feedback, advisors complete more in-good-order submissions in less time.
Why It Matters
Simplified life insurance products are high-volume, low-margin. Efficiency isn’t a bonus. It’s the business model. When every extra step costs time and money, a slow or disconnected process kills profitability. But when that same process is fully digital, fully connected, and fast? Advisors sell more. Carriers gain distribution lift. Clients get the coverage they need, faster.
And it’s not just about the sale. A smooth experience builds trust and opens doors for cross-sell and long-term relationships. It sets the tone for future business.
Turning Simplified Life into a Strategic Advantage
Simplified life products are meant to be simple. When we support them with the right digital tools, they become strategic growth drivers across distribution. Advisors can sell more with less friction. Carriers can gain new producers and grow their footprint. And clients can get protected faster with a better experience from start to finish.
The technology is here. The demand is here. And the results are already proving out.
Let’s simplify the sale and amplify the impact. I’d love to show you how. Let’s connect. I’m always up for talking life.
by Kevin Pohmer, President, Hexure
