Monday, April 24, 2017

Ominous sign

We last seriously discussed worksite life plans back in 2011:

"The basic idea, though, remains the same: small face amounts, simplified underwriting and easily-budgeted premiums"

At the time, we noted that the market was facing a rather serious challenge:

"U.S. sales of voluntary group insurance products and individual products sold at the worksite fell 2.9% in 2010."

Now, that original post didn't differentiate between life and other insurance products available through these kinds of arrangements, but at least some of these numbers reflect life insurance sales.

Now there's even more bad news, and this is specifically related to payroll deduction (worksite marketed) life insurance:

"Middle-aged white Americans without four-year degrees are at increasing risk of dying [prematurely]."

There are, of course, any number of possible explanations for this, but Bloomberg's Jeanna Smialek puts the blame on drug and alcohol abuse, and "slowing progress against heart disease and cancer."

I'm not quite in agreement on this: after all, black men (and white women) face the same challenges, and I don't see evidence cited that they're dying any earlier. And this is drivel:

"For all the debate over whether college is worthwhile, high school graduates who go straight into the workforce have higher unemployment [and] weaker wage growth" than their college-educated peers.

Really?

They also have zero college debt, and at least least 4 years of wage-earning over their college-educated peers. And if they're in the trades, the odds are pretty good that they're going to earn more - perhaps a lot more - than the barrista with the 6 year feminist studies degree.

Something to consider.
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